August Sander (1876-1964) became interested in photography while working in a mine in Herdorf in the 1890s. He helped a local photographer, and in 1892 his uncle gave him a medium format camera, since then he has not melted with the camera. Even when Sander served in the army, he was a photographer's assistant. After his service, he traveled for some time in Germany doing architectural and industrial photography. In 1901, Sander went to work in a photo studio in the city of Linz. He turned out to be a talented worker: a year later he became a partner, and in 1904 he bought out the company, which became known as the Studio of Artistic Photography and Painting by August Sander. In the same year he received a gold medal at the Paris photography exhibition, and two years later his first solo exhibition took place in Linz.
In 1909 he sold his studio in Linz and moved to Cologne. Having opened a new studio there, August Sander began work on the main project in his life: "People of the twentieth century" - "Menschen des 20 Jahrhunderts". The aim of the project was to create a group portrait of the German people, so the name was somewhat arrogant, and maybe for the photographer, the concepts of "man" and "German" meant the same thing. Nevertheless, the idea was grandiose, and with some interruptions - military service during the First World War, a photographic expedition to Sardinia in 1927 - he was engaged in this project until the mid-1950s. In 1929, the book "The Face of Our Time" was published, containing 60 photographic portraits.
With the advent of Hitler, the position of August Sander became dangerous. In 1934, his son, a member of the Socialist Party of Germany, was arrested, and a little later, by order of the Ministry of Culture, the book “The Face of Our Time” was banned, in which, according to Nazi culturologists, photographic portraits did not sufficiently correspond to “racial aesthetics”. Fortunately, Sander himself remained at large and took up architectural and landscape photography, while continuing to secretly work on "People of the Twentieth Century." With the outbreak of World War II, he left Cologne and moved to the countryside, taking with him the remnants of the negatives. By doing this, he saved his collection from the bomb that destroyed his studio in 1944 - but, apparently, it is not easy to escape from fate: some of the negatives were destroyed by robbers in 1946.
Despite all the blows of fate and the fact that in the late 1940s his name was almost forgotten, August Sander continued to work hard. Former fame returned to the photographer in 1951 after the famous photo exhibition "Photokina". In 1952, the Cologne Museum bought his pre-war photographs, and in 1955, Edward Steichen included several of his works in the famous exposition "The Human Race". In the late 1950s, August Sander was elected an honorary member of the German Photographic Society. As for the main work of his life - the project "People of the Twentieth Century", it was published in full only after the death of the photographer.
August Sander at his house
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As always, everything comes from the depths of the collective psychology of the era. The personality experienced a crisis, the view of reality was no longer harmonious, the inner world of a person became more complicated. More complex connections with the outside world arose, the desire for deeper self-knowledge gained momentum. Hence the changes in the traditions of painting portraits: the creators are trying to reveal the character of the model in a more “layered”, voluminous and complex way.
In the 17th century, the main heights in this genre were reached by the Netherlands, who by that time had divided into two camps - the Flemish and Dutch schools. At the peak of fashion, group and family portraits and, in addition, ordinary people from the people finally appear on canvas one after another. Such a "democratization" of painting goes beyond the borders of Holland (Hals), the Spaniard Diego Velasquez does not neglect the images of the poor.
However, this does not prevent anyone from continuing to paint aristocratic faces contented with life, more worthy, by the standards of that time, to be depicted on the canvas. A prime example is Peter Paul Rubens.
A self-portrait takes on a new life - all thanks to a person's craving for self-realization: Rembrandt, his student Karel Fabricius, Anthony van Dyck, Nicolas Poussin - these are the main selfie lovers in the realities of the 17th century.
18th century portrait
With the end of the 17th century, the genre degraded and was relegated to the background without the slightest regret. Achievements of a realistic portrait are forgotten, semi-official and pompous portraits become the standard - ceremonial or mythologized. In addition to the elegance and beauty of the model, the artists care little, so the faces become “doll-like”.
But the just begun era of Enlightenment with its ideas of humanism dictates its own rules, so a new realistic portrait is being affirmed - the genre is saved. While the famous Francisco Goya is creating in Spain, Russia, represented by Dmitry Levitsky and Vladimir Borovikovsky, comes out of the backstage with pomp, who emphasize the accuracy of social characteristics, the subtlety of psychological analysis, the disclosure of the inner world and the richness of emotions.
Portrait of the 1st half of the 19th century
A ghost haunts Europe, the ghost of classicism, the main genre of the French Revolution. The portrait loses the splendor and sweetness of the 18th century and becomes more strict and cold, as can be seen, for example, in the works of Jacques Louis David.
The next "ism" is romanticism, and here one cannot fail to mention the names of Theodore Gericault and Eugene Delacroix (France), Orest Kiprensky and Karl Bryullov, partly Tropinin (Russia), Philip Otto Runge (Germany).
But classicism does not give up under the onslaught of a new direction, but, on the contrary, moves to a new round of its development - for this special thanks to Dominique Ingres.
Portrait of the 2nd half of the 19th century
Now it's time for realism. The artist focuses on the social characteristics of the model and its psychology.
In the last third of the 19th century, more and more artists depart from the precepts of their mentors, creating their own laws of painting. The new "free-thinking" and even at that time "impudent" direction is called impressionism. In it, the moment is everything. The artist renounces the pursuit of photographic verisimilitude and instead focuses on the variability of the human face and its behavior in a changing environment.
The goals and images of the Impressionist portrait were completely opposed to the work of their contemporary, Paul Cezanne. Although at first glance they may seem like kindred spirits, Cezanne, unlike the Impressionists, sought to express certain stable properties of the model in a monumental image.
Vincent van Gogh, absorbed in the burning problems of the moral and spiritual life of his contemporary, draws attention to another aspect.
At the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century, it comes to the fore with its laconic sharpness, sometimes with features of the grotesque. All this can be observed in the works of Toulouse-Lautrec, Alphonse Mucha, Gustav Klimt.
Portrait in the 20th century
In the 20th century, after a dizzying rise, the portrait is again in decline. To push off the ground with renewed vigor and soar to unprecedented heights. On the basis of modernism, other artistic movements arise (expressionism, cubism, fauvism, suprematism, etc.), and along with them - works that are nominally called a portrait, but completely devoid of its specificity - with a demonstrative and rebellious departure from the real appearance of a person who turns into a kind of abstract, conditional scheme - from the corners. shapes, faces or color spots. The portrait becomes more of a reflection of the state of mind of the artist than of the model.
By the middle of the 20th century, crisis features fill the portrait to the brim, turning it into a solid black square. The deliberate deformation, distortion of a person is becoming more and more obvious, and interest in abstract and non-figurative art is growing at a frantic pace of the new century.
Changes are brought by Andy Warhol, Alex Katz, Chuck Close, who again focus their works on the person. Now the icon of the century is Warhol's Marilyn Monroe. By the way, pop art is one of the few art movements of the 20th century that uses the human face without large proportional distortions.
For those who want to get up close and personal with the greats of their era portraying great artists, this is the best-of-its-kind guide book to the best of the genre.
Ancient pictorial portraits
In ancient Egypt, ancient Greece and ancient Rome, according to the whims of the Muse, sculpture was more popular than painting. Paintings include Fayum portraits found in Middle Egypt - images of the most beautiful inhabitants of Roman Egypt of the 1st-4th centuries AD: Egyptians, Greeks, Nubians, Jews, Syrians, Romans.
Faces of the Middle Ages
During the Middle Ages, the portrait begins to penetrate into easel painting with small insinuating steps. The first (and therefore the most famous) of the surviving works of this type is the "Portrait of John the Good" (circa 1349).
Outside Europe
Medieval Chinese portraits (especially from the Song period, 10th-13th centuries) are strikingly concrete. Despite the submission to a strict typological canon, the luminaries of medieval painting from the Celestial Empire created many vivid individualized psychological portraits. In addition, tall examples of portrait miniatures (albeit a little unusual for the European eye) were created by masters Central Asia, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Iran, India.
Renaissance portrait
During the Renaissance, a turning point occurred in portraiture, which again came to a prominent position, catching up for the times of neurotic medieval obscurantism. Renaissance man loosened the fetters of religion and believed in the power of the individual, began to consider himself the measure of all things, forgetting the bitter lesson with the Tower of Babel.
The new ideology demanded a new structure for the portrait. Renaissance portrait painters idealized the model in many ways, but at the same time they certainly tried to comprehend the essence of the depicted person - and this was a leap forward. Depicting his hero in a certain environment, the artist found a place in space for his model. The change of directors entails a change of scenery: the conditional, surreal background of the Middle Ages is replaced by an interior or landscape. Communication of the depicted person with fictional characters (mythological and evangelical) becomes the norm. In monumental paintings, among other heroes of the picture, the artist also often depicts himself, there is not a trace left of the former medieval bashfulness. Finally, the final touch was the emergence of the technique of oil painting, which made the painting more subtle and psychological.
Man is the central figure in the portrait work of the masters of the High Renaissance. Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Giorgione, Titian, Tintoretto further deepen the content of portrait images and significantly update the means of artistic expression. Among them are the aerial perspective of Leonardo da Vinci, the coloristic discoveries of Titian.
The famous Italians were ahead of the Dutch: Jan van Eyck, Hans Memling, Robert Campin with their inherent spiritual sharpness and the utmost accuracy of the image. If the artists of the “boot” often seemed to elevate their hero above the world, then here the person being portrayed is rather an integral part of the universe. To achieve this effect, the creators described in detail the environment around the person. In addition, not a single wrinkle on the model's face escaped their vigilant gaze.
Mannerist portrait
In the art of Mannerism (XVI century), the clarity of Renaissance images is losing ground. The artist perceives his era more and more anxiously and dramatically, the compositional structure becomes sharper and more spiritually rich. A good example of this is the portraits of the Italians Pontormo and Bronzino and the Spaniard El Greco.
In this era, new forms of group portraits appear in different countries - now the characters are more alive, more closely connected with each other. The frozen portrait groups of the Middle Ages are slowly but surely replaced by multi-figured compositions.
17th century portrait
As always, everything comes from the depths of the collective psychology of the era. The personality experienced a crisis, the view of reality was no longer harmonious, the inner world of a person became more complicated. More complex connections with the outside world arose, the desire for deeper self-knowledge gained momentum. Hence the changes in the traditions of painting portraits: the creators are trying to reveal the character of the model in a more “layered”, voluminous and complex way.
In the 17th century, the main heights in this genre were reached by the Netherlands, who by this time had divided into two camps - the Flemish and Dutch schools. At the peak of fashion, group and family portraits and, in addition, ordinary people from the people finally appear on canvas one after another. Such a "democratization" of painting goes beyond the borders of Holland (Hals), the Spaniard Diego Velasquez does not neglect the images of the poor.
However, this does not prevent anyone from continuing to paint aristocratic faces contented with life, more worthy, by the standards of that time, to be depicted on the canvas. A prime example is Peter Paul Rubens.
A self-portrait takes on a new life - all thanks to a person's craving for self-comprehension: Rembrandt, his student Karel Fabricius, Anthony van Dyck, Nicolas Poussin - these are the main selfie lovers in the realities of the 17th century.
18th century portrait
With the end of the 17th century, the genre degraded and was relegated to the background without the slightest regret. Achievements of a realistic portrait are forgotten, semi-official and pompous portraits are becoming the standard - ceremonial or mythologized. In addition to the elegance and beauty of the model, the artists care little, so the faces become “doll-like”.
But the just begun era of Enlightenment with its ideas of humanism dictates its own rules, so a new realistic portrait is being affirmed - the genre is saved. While the famous Francisco Goya is creating in Spain, Russia, represented by Dmitry Levitsky and Vladimir Borovikovsky, comes out of the backstage with pomp, who emphasize the accuracy of social characteristics, the subtlety of psychological analysis, the disclosure of the inner world and the richness of emotions.
Portrait of the 1st half of the 19th century
A ghost haunts Europe, the ghost of classicism, the main genre of the French Revolution. The portrait loses the splendor and sweetness of the 18th century and becomes more strict and cold, as can be seen, for example, in the works of Jacques Louis David.
The next "ism" is romanticism, and here one cannot fail to mention the names of Theodore Gericault and Eugene Delacroix (France), Orest Kiprensky and Karl Bryullov, partly Tropinin (Russia), Philip Otto Runge (Germany).
But classicism does not give up under the onslaught of a new direction, but, on the contrary, moves to a new round of its development - for this special thanks to Dominique Ingres.
2nd floor 19th century
Now it's time for realism. The artist focuses on the social characteristics of the model and its psychology.
In the last third of the 19th century, more and more artists depart from the precepts of their mentors, creating their own laws of painting. The new "free-thinking" and even at that time "impudent" direction is called impressionism. In it, the moment is everything. The artist renounces the pursuit of photographic verisimilitude and instead focuses on the variability of the human face and its behavior in a changing environment.
The goals and images of the Impressionist portrait were completely opposed to the work of their contemporary, Paul Cezanne. Although at first glance they may seem like kindred spirits, Cezanne, unlike the Impressionists, sought to express certain stable properties of the model in a monumental image.
Vincent van Gogh, absorbed in the burning problems of the moral and spiritual life of his contemporary, draws attention to another aspect.
At the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, Art Nouveau came to the fore with its laconic sharpness, sometimes with features of the grotesque. All this can be observed in the works of Toulouse-Lautrec, Alphonse Mucha, Gustav Klimt.
Portrait in the 20th century
In the 20th century, after a dizzying rise, the portrait is again in decline. To push off the ground with renewed vigor and soar to unprecedented heights. On the basis of modernism, other artistic movements arise (expressionism, cubism, fauvism, suprematism, etc.), and along with them - works that are nominally called a portrait, but completely devoid of its specificity - with a demonstrative and rebellious departure from the real appearance of a person who turns into a kind of abstract, conditional scheme - from the corners. shapes, faces or color spots. The portrait becomes more of a reflection of the state of mind of the artist than of the model.
By the middle of the 20th century, crisis features fill the portrait to the brim, turning it into a solid black square. The deliberate deformation, distortion of a person is becoming more and more obvious, and interest in abstract and non-figurative art is growing at a frantic pace of the new century.
Changes are brought by Andy Warhol, Alex Katz, Chuck Close, who again focus their works on the person. Now the icon of the century is Warhol's Marilyn Monroe. By the way, pop art is one of the few art movements of the 20th century that uses the human face without large proportional distortions.
Yusuf Karsh- the legend of portrait photography. It is he who owns the world-famous photographs of Hemingway, Churchill, Khrushchev, Einstein and many others. The talent of the photographer was so great that The Sunday Times wrote about him: " When famous people start thinking about immortality, they call Karsha from Ottawa."
Yusuf Karsh(Yousuf Karsh) was born in Turkey to an Armenian family, but later in his youth he moved to Quebec, Canada to live with his uncle. It was the uncle who noticed photographic talent in young Karsh and helped the boy learn the intricacies of the profession, sending him to study for 4 years in the USA. Upon his return, Yusuf founded his own photography studio, which eventually became very popular among celebrities. From the list of 100 most notable people of the 20th century in the book " International Who's Who"(2000) Karsh photographed 51.
One of the hallmarks of Yusuf Karsh's photographs is his phenomenal mastery of studio lighting. With the help of lighting, he created the necessary background, in perfect harmony with the clothes and even with the emotions of the person being photographed. Yusuf managed with a minimum of scenery, and most often without them at all, focusing on faces, on character, on what is special in a person. " My greatest pleasure is photographing the great at heart, great mind or spirit, whether they are famous or not."
The history of the creation of a magnificent portrait is widely known Churchill for the magazine Life. The noble anger of the prime minister, his determination, fearlessness in his eyes - it is difficult to imagine a more suitable portrait for a politician who is forced to deal with serious problems during the Second World War. However, Yusuf Karsh did not have to ask the prime minister to portray all this - the emotions were the most sincere and real. During his visit to Canada, Winston Churchill had a very busy program, and therefore he reluctantly found only a few minutes for the photographer. Arriving at the photo studio, Churchill was already out of sorts and, standing in front of the camera, lit a cigar, which did not suit the photographer at all. Then Karsh went up to the prime minister and sharply snatched the cigar from his lips. The portrait of the British leader, radiant with fury and anger, turned out from the first frame.
The development of the portrait genre is influenced by two trends: the development of ideas about the significance of the human person, the development of the laws of painting, perspectives, the invention of colors, etc.
Ancient portrait.
The oldest known attempt to depict a human face is 27,000 years old. It was found in the Villoner cave. "Portrait" made with chalk. Drawn horizontal lines for the eyes and mouth and a vertical stripe for the nose.
The earliest examples of easel portraits are Roman portraits that served as funerary masks - Fayum portraits. They were created from nature, carried a pronounced resemblance to a specific person, and in later samples - a specific spirituality.
The masters of the Byzantine and Western Roman Empires depict their models in a generalized way, the portraits of various emperors are practically indistinguishable from each other.
Portraits are often found in antique coins and medals.
Medieval portrait.
During the Middle Ages, the artist, limited by strict church canons, rarely turned to the portrait.
Although, at the same time, artists are beginning to give little by little to the saints the facial features of real people.
One of the first such works, which shows the beginning of the development of a realistic portrait - a portrait of Enrico Scrovegni by Giotto on the walls of the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua, 1304-1306.
Giotto
The portrait appears in book miniatures, especially in portraits of customers who were offered books.
A self-portrait begins to develop.
Hildegard of Bingen
Little by little, the portrait begins to penetrate into easel painting. One of the first examples of an easel portrait from this period is "Portrait of John the Good" (c. 1349).
In the territories of the East.
The Chinese portrait dates back to 1000 BC. e. He has the features of brightly individualized secular portraits.
Unknown artist. "Portrait of the Buddhist Monk Wuzhun Shifan"
Portraits of the Japanese are also psychologically colored.
In the Peruvian culture of the Mochica Indians (1st-8th centuries) there were portraits that showed the anatomical features of people, their social status.
Portrait of the 14th-15th centuries.
In the Renaissance, man began to be perceived as the center of the world, the influence of religion weakened. Outer beauty, harmony between a strong spirit and body has become of great importance.
The first portraits were influenced by ancient coins and medals, and therefore often show the model in profile. Time passed before the faces in the portraits began to be depicted in front or three-quarters.
Another important component in the development of the portrait was the emergence of the oil painting technique, which allowed the painting to become more subtle and psychological.
Sometimes the artist idealized the model, but at the same time they certainly tried to comprehend its essence. The portrayed were depicted more often not against a conventional background in the interior or landscape, often next to fictional (mythological and gospel) characters.
The means of artistic expression are updated (the aerial perspective of Leonardo da Vinci, the coloristic discoveries of Titian).
By the middle of the 15th century, the person portrayed in the paintings became an integral part of the universe - for this, a detailed prescription of the environment around was used, the slightest wrinkles on the face.
Portrait 16th century.
It shows the anxiety and drama of the era. Mannerism.
17th century portrait.
In the 17th century, portraits of people engaged in mundane affairs appear. Realism.
An estate portrait appears.
The increased interest in self-realization contributes to the development of self-portrait.
Rembrandt, "Self-portrait"
The aristocratic portrait continues to develop.
The basis of the composition of many portraits of this period is movement, while a huge role is given to the expressive gesture of the model. Baroque.
Rembrandt, The Night Watch
At the same time, negative trends in the development of the portrait genre are also outlined. The customer demands flattery from the artist. A sugary sentimentality, cold theatricality, and idealization appear in the works. Classicism.
18th century portrait.
France sets the tone for the whole world, ceremonial court portraits with "doll faces" are now everywhere. Rococo.
But towards the end of the 18th century, during the Enlightenment, a social portrait appears. The technique of pastels is developing.
Jean-Baptiste Chardin. "Self-portrait", pastel.
The Russian Empire declares itself in world art as first-class painters - these are Levitsky, Borovikovsky. Their works reveal social characteristics, psychological analysis, and rich inner emotions.
Borovikovsky. "Catherine II for a walk in Tsarskoye Selo Park"
In the second half of the 18th century, a portrait made with cheaper means (engraving, watercolor, pencil) became widespread. In addition, the portrait miniature flourished.
This situation with a private portrait as a keepsake persisted until the 1850s, when photography appeared accessible to almost all segments of society.
19th century portrait.
The development of the portrait in the 19th century was predetermined by the Great French Revolution. Romanticism.
The early 19th century portrait is often austere and cold.
By the middle of the century, a new standard of ceremonial custom-made portrait was taking shape.
Winterhalter
Starting from the middle of the 19th century, a portrait of realism appears.
Impressionism.
Artists in the portrait abandoned the plausibility left to the photographic portrait (which began to develop widely), focused on the inconstancy of man and environment.
