"Propria Figura": The Advent of Facsimile Portraiture in Italian Art

• Laura Jacobus ^[1]
  1. [1] University of London

     University of London

     Reino Unido

     
• Localización: Art bulletin, ISSN 0004-3079, Vol. 99, Nº 2, 2017, págs. 72-101
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Scrutiny of two medieval portraits shows that they are "facsimile portraits", exploiting mechanical means of reproduction with the intention of capturing and re-creating exact physical likeness. Through the development of a new kind of portraiture the artists, their patron Enrico Scrovegni, and the early humanist Albertino Mussato expressed a particular historical consciousness arising within their specific cultural milieu. The discovery challenges prevailing ideas about medieval concepts of likeness, prompting revision of accepted histories of portraiture. Establishing the category "facsimile portraiture" and employing methods of close observation may also help to nuance historical understanding of portraiture beyond the medieval period.