Interpreting Portraiture Collections

• Toolkit Homepage
• Interpretation - for whom?
• Interpretation - how?
• Interpretation - of what?
• Further reading and resources
• Beningborough Hall Case Study
• Acknowledgements
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Reading Portraits - reading a specific portrait

In writing text about a specific portrait the ideal is to link different aspects together. For example, can any events in the sitter's life be linked to what is shown in the portrait, maybe in the costume or through symbols, or is anything about the relationship between artist and sitter reflected in the portrait? One technique is to begin by saying something about the portrait, then move to some contextual information and then return to the portrait at the end of the caption.

• Sitter - Concentrate mainly on what is key to understanding this portrait rather than attempting a whole potted biography (if possible, make further biographical information available nearby). Another technique is to display a real object along side its painted representation in a portrait; if it is the actual one depicted this can be extremely effective for linking portrait with the sitter's biography.
• Artist - Concentrate on the artist while they were creating this portrait rather than on their total career (if possible, make further information available nearby).
• Medium - Even if you do not know the sitter or artist you will be able to say something about the medium.
• Costume - Most portraits show some costume (it can be very helpful for dating the image, particularly of unknown sitters) and it is a popular subject with visitors; explain all technical terms.
• Symbols - These need pointing out and explaining to visitors as they often carry important messages for understanding the portrait (Hall's Dictionary of Subjects and Symbols in Art is a useful tool).
• Context - Only pick what is relevant to understanding this portrait - one technique is to make links with other portraits nearby (friends, family members, enemies etc or other works by the same artist). Another is to provide a contemporary written description of the sitter for comparison with the portrait to help reveal flattery by the artist.

Reference: Beningbrough Case Study