Portraits in Disguise and Imaginary Lives
Dressing up for your portrait has been a technique and 'accepted as a norm' according to a section of England's National Portrait Gallery, Portraits in Disguise:
"The idea that the portrait isn't some form of disguise is interesting, after all it is always an interpretation of a presence. There is no guarantee that the sitter is not 'naturally disguised' when sitting for a portrait, this being often a peculiar and sometimes difficult experience to submit to."
"Facial expression is so often a disguise — how many people recall opening a gift in front of the donor and feigning delight when disappointment is the real emotion provoked by the offering?"
"Portraits are done for so many reasons, and these reasons influence just how much the people portrayed are shown in disguise or not. For example, sitting for one's lover is a very different experience to sitting for a retirement portrait by a commissioned artist."" 'Dressing up for your portrait', has always been the accepted norm. Whether we look at Bronzino's Eleanora da Toledo, Bellini's Leonardo Loredan, Doge of Venice, or in this country, Holbein's Henry VIII or Gheeraerts the Younger's portrait of Queen Elizabeth I — we are confronted by images of people who are making the most of clothes and jewels to reinforce their powerful presence. These bodily coverings and adornments are not always all that they seem, painters can easily invent the odd diamond, and records suggest that Elizabeth I had fake jewels on her clothes that were recycled with new clothes (which might more appropriately be described as costume)."
"The people shown on the National Portrait Gallery site have chosen to be portrayed wearing clothing other than everyday or work related attire. The pictures give us an alternative view of the sitters; a manipulated image suggesting their fantasies, pretensions and desires through chosen guises. They also hint at a yearning for timelessness beyond mere fashion."
"A new National Portrait Gallery display of unseen paintings of 16th and 17th-century mystery figures opened at one of its regional partners, the National Trust's Montacute House*, on 17 March 2010. Over the last 450 years, the identities of the sitters featured in the portraits on display have been either lost or mistaken. This was the first opportunity to see these portraits, which have either been recently restored or not exhibited for over half a century."
"Inspired by the mystery that surrounds the unknown sitters, the Gallery invited writers John Banville, Tracy Chevalier, Julian Fellowes, Sir Terry Pratchett, Sarah Singleton, Joanna Trollope and Minette Walters to contribute short imaginative stories on what their lives might have been like. These fantasy character sketches and fictional biographies accompany the portraits in the display and help bring the sitters to life."
"The display features portraits of men and women whose identities are no longer known. They appear to depict courtiers, musicians, writers, soldiers and others who hoped to preserve their memory by sitting for a portrait. They were purchased by the National Portrait Gallery from 1858 to 1971. When the identity of these portraits was disproved or disputed, the paintings were often removed from display or lent to other collections. Recent conservation work and new research has meant that some portraits can now be re-identified."
"The character sketches and imaginary biographies by the authors brilliantly provide new ways of looking at these mystery portraits. Their short fictional narratives respond to what can be seen in each portrait, picking up on details of the costume and pose in intriguing ways. For example, in a story entitled Rosy Tracy Chevalier has written about a portrait of a handsome young man with a flushed complexion as the object of homosexual desire."
"The crime writer Minette Walters has written a poignant letter from the perspective of the wife of a man shown in a portrait, which brims with despair at her husband's extravagance. The author and scriptwriter Julian Fellowes has created a subtle biography (written in the style of a traditional biographical entry in a dictionary) about a resourceful woman whose husband was executed in the reign of Henry VIII."
"Sarah Singleton has written about the adventures of a spice merchant and amateur musician struggling to make his way in the world despite his illegitimate status. Joanna Trollope has written a touching tale about the offer of a marriage proposal in the form of a letter from the sitter's intended bride."
"In a complete change of tone, the science fiction writer Sir Terry Pratchett has written an amusing tale about an explorer who presented Elizabeth I with a skunk. John Banville has seen in the features of a man laying upon his death bed the face of an admired officer serving with Cromwell's New Model Army."
