In the mid-1400s, the Flemish painter, Rogier van der Weyden, created an image of ideal female beauty. This striking young woman’s image is an example of portraiture, an art form with an ancient pedigree that rose to prominence in European art of the renaissance.

So, what is a portrait? This video considers the art of portraiture and its relationship to identity, both real and idealized.

Main Image: Rogier van der Weyden, Portrait of a Lady, c. 1460 CE, oil on oak panel, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

CHAPTERS

0:12 The Flemish Master, Rogier van der Weyden

0:39 What is a portrait?

0:49 Independent portraiture on the rise

1:04 What is a sitter?

1:18 Portraits need to be recognizable

1:23 Idealization in portraiture

1:40 What do portraits do?

Learn more

If you want to learn more about renaissance portraits:

1. Portraiture in Renaissance and Baroque Europe, https://www.metmuseum.org/essays/portraiture-in-renaissance-and-baroque-europe

2. Portraiture, on Italian Renaissance Learning Resources: https://www.italianrenaissanceresources.com/units/unit-5/essays/portraiture-2/

3. The Renaissance Portrait: From Donatello to Bellini (2011), https://www.metmuseum.org/met-publications/the-renaissance-portrait-from-donatello-to-bellini

4. Portrait Painting in Florence in the Later 1400s, https://www.nga.gov/features/slideshows/portrait-painting-in-florence-in-the-later-1400s.html