Hidden Faces: Covered Portraits of the RenaissanceMany small Renaissance portraits were richly adorned with covers or backs bearing allegorical figures, mythological scenes, or emblems that celebrated the sitter and invited the viewer to decipher their meaning. Hidden Faces includes seventy objects, ranging in format from covered paintings to miniature boxes, that illuminate the symbiotic relationship between the portrait and its pair. Texts by thirteen distinguished scholars vividly illustrate that the other “faces” of these portraits represent some of the most innovative images of the Renaissance, created by masters such as Hans Memling and Titian. Uniting works that have in some cases been separated for centuries, this fascinating volume shows how the multifaceted format unveiled the sitter’s identity, both by physically revealing the portrait and reading the significance behind its cover. |
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adorned Aikema Albrecht Dürer Allegory altarpieces Alvise Contarini artist attributed Bayer Bembo Borchert Brown Christiansen and Weppelmann coat of arms coins covered portraits Cranach curtains decorated depicted diptych double-sided Dülberg Dürer early emblems example female portrait Ferino-Pagden fictive stone fifteenth Florence frame Francesco Frankfurt Gemäldegalerie Giorgione Giovanni Bellini Giovio grisaille grotteschi Hans Memling heraldry humanist Ibid imagery Inscribed inscription Italian Kemperdick Koepplin Kren Kunsthistorisches Museum landscape Lorenzo Lotto Lotto marriage Maryan Memling Metropolitan Museum mirror motif multisided portraits Musée Museo Museum of Art Natali National Gallery Netherlandish Nuremberg obverse Oil on wood painted portraits painter patron Pietro Pietro Bembo Pisanello portrait covers portrait medals portraiture Pozzolo recto Renaissance Portrait Robert Lehman Robert Lehman Collection Rogier Roman sacred Saint Schedl Scher SELECTED REFERENCES sitter sixteenth century sliding cover symbol Titian triptych trompe l'oeil Venetian Venice verso virtues Weppelmann 2011 Whistler woman wood panel