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157
FACES and one pair of hands
 “It is the common wonder of all men, how among
so many millions of faces, there should be none alike” commented
Sir Thomas Browne (1605 – 1682) in his book ‘Religio
Medici’.
Though
the catalogue title specifies “157” FACES there
are considerably more, in fact 229, if the multiple heads
in some of the 157 catalogued items are tallied. Equally
there is more than “one pair” of
hands,
but only one item whose subject is exclusively a pair
of hands.
Seymour
Haden’s intriguing ‘self-portrait’ of
just his hands printmaking is an indication of the expressive
importance of hands too in portrait making. Quite a number
of the portraits here include hands, more often a single
hand, holding an ‘attribute’ such as a
paintbrush, or a palette, a book or a pen, in several
instances a cigarette. There are prominent hands, elegant
hands, well-observed hands. And two noticeably hidden
hands; both Voltaire and fellow French philosphe Dalembert
anticipate Napoleon with one hand thrust inside the jacket.
This catalogue offers an entertaining mixture of different
faces. Faces from different centuries, in a variety of
styles, faces of men and women, even babies, animals
and a doll. Secondary sculpted and painted faces, reflections
in mirrors, masks and caricatures. Images full face,
and in profile; one in silhouette. Eyes that engage the
viewer and eyes that are closed or looking inward. A
great variety of hairstyles and headgear. Faces that
are arresting by nature or form and those that are significant
because of whom they identify.
Among
the latter, faces of such artists as Pieter Brueghel
the Younger, Géricault, Rodin, Berthe Morisot,
Gauguin, Whistler, Roger Fry and Wyndham Lewis. Also
studies of themselves by several ‘serial’ self-portraitists,
William Strang, Käthe Kollwitz, Max Liebermann,
Ludwig Meidner and Foujita, as well as a non-self
portrait by Daumier, where he gives ‘himself’ the
exaggerated features of his collaborating editor and
caption-writer Charles Philipon. Divers portraits of
writers – Voltaire, Winckelmann, Goethe, Kipling,
Ruskin, Housman, Maugham, Ibsen, Victor Hugo, Verlaine.
And other notables of their day.
Since the Renaissance rediscovery of appreciation of
individual achievement we are curious to know what famous
people from the past looked like. And while acknowledging
the fallacy, we have a recurring tendency to read faces
as an expression of the inner person.
 Conversely, a fine portrait image can stimulate research
both into the life of the person depicted and of the
artist. And within a diverse group of prints such as
that presented here, acquired ad hoc from wide ranging
sources, intriguing sub-themes emerge, specific relationships,
coincidences and cross references become apparent in
the process of cataloguing them.
Recognition
of faces is central to the human experience. As babies,
the first object of our developing focus is the reciprocal
watchful gaze of a parent’s face.
From childhood-on the ability visually to distinguish
another individual’s cast of features contributes
to the successful interaction with our immediate world
and with society at large, and determines many of our
relationships. Faces matter to us, they are unique personal
identifiers that mark us out to others. We do not wish
to lose face. We put on a brave face. People remember
faces when they cannot recall names.
Most
of all it is other people’s faces that are
important to us, our own faces we see less frequently
and only in reverse in the mirror. As the limerick writer
Anthony Euwer (born 1877) put it But my face – I
don’t mind it; because I’m behind it; It’s
the folk out in front I jar.
I hope the selection of portraits here will not jar,
but give pleasurable interest.
Published
Summer 2011
64 pages, 158 illustrations, 13 being in colour.
(UK
Price: £12, International orders: £15)
Prints
still available
A selection
of prints from this catalogue is still available and will
be added shortly within the Selections section
of the website.
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Artists
included in the catalogue:
- Asselin M
- Auerbach A
- Austin F
- Ayrton M
- Bardey J
- Becker A
- Beckmann M
- Belleroche A de
- Belleroche W de
- Berton A
- Blampied E
- Boissieu J J de
- Bolswert
S à
- Bone M
- Boxall E
- Bracquemond F
- Brockhurst G L
- Brockway H
- Brüning
M
- Bryden R
- Castiglione G B
- Cogniet
L
- Copley J
- Cotman J S
- Daumier H
- Dagoty J B
- Degas E
- Delacroix E
- Delâtre
E
- Desboutin M
- Dodd F
- Dongen K van
- Dupuis C
- Dyck A van
- Fairclough W
- Faithorne W
- Fantin H de Latour
- Foujita T
- Fry R
- Fussman K
- Galanis D
- Gautier
D’Agoty J B
- Gavarni G S
- Ginger P
- Goya F
- Grossman E M
- Haden F S
- Hartrick A S
- Harvey H J
- Heintzelman A W
- Hill F
- Hogarth W
- Ilsted P
- Jope A
- Kauffmann A
- Jackson F E
- Jahn G
- Jennis G C
- Kilian (Circle of)
- Knopff F
- Kollwitz K
- Lambert E
- Lang E
- Laurencin M
- Legros A
- Leoni O M
- Lewis C G
- Liebermann M
- Lumsden E S
- Manet E
- Mediz-Pelikan E
- Meidner L
- Menpes M
- Menzel A von
- Montfried D de
- Moreau L A
- Müller
F
- Nanteuil R
- Neeffs J
- Newton E
- Nicholson W
- Orlik E
- Osborne M
- Pricke R
- Pryse G Spencer
- Rajon P
- Redon O
- Rembrandt
- Rhead G W
- Rodin A
- Rothenstein W
- Sandys F
- Sené L
- Simpson J
- Sloane M A
- Smith J T
- Stauffer Bern K
- Strang W
- Sullivan E J
- Sutherland G
- Thomas P
- Turner M Dawson
- Vorsterman L
- West J W
- Wolfsfeld E
- Worlidge T
- Zorn A
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