This lecture focused on differences in styles of portraiture and the meanings behind portraits. Leonardo’s Mona Lisa exhibits the artist’s efforts to improve the construction of a portrait. The 3/4 view is extended down to waist level and allows the hands to rest at a normal position, something not seen in other portraits of the time. Leonardo emphasizes the face and chest of the figure through a clear central vertical line and the use of sfumato, making the clothes and background blend together without distinct boundaries. Gheeraert the Younger’s Elizabeth I and Titian’s Isabella d’Este reflect the power of portraiture in displaying status. The portraits emphasize the social, economic, and political importance of the figures. Decisions made by the artists reflect conscious efforts to portray a specific message about the sitters. I found it interesting how these choices depart from the realistic to emphasize things that may not be reflective of the actual person.
Finally, we continued to examine symbolism through van Eyck’s Giovanni Arnolfini and His Wife and Holbein’s The Ambassadors. Both artists hint at the importance of the worldly events happening at the moment depicted through subtle and obvious detail. Van Eyck utilized more visible symbols such as peaches and a dog but also included small details such as possibly himself in the reflection in the mirror to strengthen the scene. Similarly, Holbein’s use of everyday objects on the shelf presents one layer of detail, but hidden within items such as the music and math books is another level of meaning. Finally, I found it fascinating how Holbein’s skull was intended to be seen from a different very specific angle than the rest of the work.