A Closer Look: Faces

This insightful book explores the portrayal of faces in art, revealing their significance in expressing personality and character. A Closer Look: Faces offers a rich examination of artistic intentions.

The way faces are depicted in art reveals much about the artistic intentions behind their creation. In A Closer Look: Faces, the author explores how the portrayal of a face can suggest deeper aspects of personality and character. This book delves into various themes, including the ideals of beauty and the techniques used by portrait painters to capture likenesses that resonate with viewers. Through thoughtful analysis, it raises questions about the relationship between art and identity.

Faces are a prominent feature throughout the National Gallery's collection, appearing in portraits, narrative scenes, allegorical works, and everyday life paintings. The expressions of these faces often convey the essence of a story or the nature of the individual depicted. By focusing on the emotional and narrative power of facial expressions, A Closer Look: Faces offers insights into how artists communicate complex ideas through seemingly simple images.

This book showcases a diverse range of fascinating faces found in the National Gallery, explaining the historical context of how these representations have evolved. It discusses the concept of the 'ideal' face across different time periods and cultures, the techniques artists employed in their work, and the significance of portrait painting as an art form. With seventy illustrations and detailed analyses, this work provides a comprehensive overview of the many faces that populate Western European art.