Art History Lecture w/ Tom Richards - Portraiture Pt.1

An Installment in the Art History related content on The FAA Collective Patreon

Dear Patrons,

Thank you for your support! This week we would like to present you with an art history lecture with Tom Richards, Assistant Director of The Florence Academy of Art. In this lecture, the first of two, we explore the history and many potentials of the genre of portraiture through an analysis of a few selected examples. 

With Tom Richards’s direction, we delve into particular facets of the artworks such as their historical context and various compositional and technical decisions. The selected works cover a diverse range, and as we are guided from artworks such as a sculpture by Bernini, to painted portraits inserted on mummies, and portraits by Titian, Tintoretto, and Moroni, (complete list indexed below), we are explained and asked to consider aspects of the artworks such as if the portrait in question is the focus or a part of a larger work, the identity of the subject and their relationship to the artist, how the artist captures the life of the subject, and the purpose behind the portrait’s creation. Through these lines of inquiry and more we learn to better understand these portraits - not only as individual works, but how they fit into the grander scheme of Art History as well. 

Although Art History Lectures are currently on hold at The Florence Academy of Art until schools in Italy reopen, there are over 10 available to view on our Patreon. All are accessible with a subscription here: https://www.patreon.com/m/2685644/posts?filters[tag]=Art%20History%20Lectures

We hope you thoroughly enjoy this lecture! 

Artwork Index:

-Peter Paul Rubens- Portrait of a Young Girl, 1615-1616. Collection of Lichtenstein Museum. 

-Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Bust of Cardinal Scipione Borghese, 1632. Galleria Borghese, Rome.

-Philip de László (1869—1937)- Portrait of Pamela

-Thomas Gainsborough- Mary and Margaret Gainsborough, Artist’s Daughters Chasing a Butterfly,  c1756. The National Gallery, London.

-Sir Joshua Reynolds- Master Crewe as Henry VIII, c1775. Private collection on long term loan at Tate Britain. 

-Tradition of painted portraits on mummies in Egypt. 

-Head of a pharaoh, attributed to Ptolemy II & Head of a Hellenistic King, attributed to Ptolemy II

-Tondo of Woman with wax tablets and stylus (so-called "Sappho"), National Archaeological Museum of Naples. 

-Golden hairnet in Palazzo Massimo alle Terme, Rome. 

-Giotto di Bondone - Portrait of patron in fresco cycle in the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua

-Il Sodoma (Giovanni Antonio Bazzi) - Self portrait with two pet badgers in fresco in The Abbey of Monte Oliveto Maggiore near Siena. 

-Titian (Tiziano Vecelli or Vecellio)- The Pesaro Madonna (Italian: Pala Pesaro) (better known as the Madonna di Ca' Pesaro) in the Frari Basilica in Venice. Comissioned by Jacopo Pesaro. c1519–1526.

-Jan Van Eyck- Portrait of a Man in a Turban or Portrait of a Man in a Red Turban, potential self portrait. 1433.

-Antonello da Messina- Unknown Sailor. Museo Mandralisca of Cefalù.

-Giorgione (1478-1510)- Portrait of a Man, 1506. Collection of San Diego Museum of Art. 

-Titian- A Man with a Quilted Sleeve, 1510. National Gallery, London. 

-Titian- Portrait of a Young Man, 1515. National Gallery, London. 

-Tintoretto (Jacopo Robusti) (1518—1594)- Gentleman with a Gold Chain. Museo del Prado, Madrid. 

-Giovanni Battista Moroni (c1520–1579)- portrait of a man. The Accademia Carrara, Bergamo. 

-Moroni- Portrait of a Man holding a Letter ('L'Avvocato’). The National Gallery, London. 

Additional Resources:

This lecture was originally recorded as part of a joint Art History-Materials lecture at the Florence Academy of Art with Tom Richards and Toby Neve who demonstrated how to mix lead white oil paint by hand. Being so, discussion of lead white paint and its use in portraiture recurs in this lecture. If you are interested in learning about grinding oil paint by hand, make sure to check out Techniques w/ Toby Neve - Grinding Lead White by Hand  https://www.patreon.com/posts/techniques-w-by-33583731 on our Patreon! 

Previous faculty lecture mentioned regarding Egyptian painting was given by Ola Alaa El-Din https://www.florenceacademyofart.com/faculty/ola-alaa-el-din/

Tom Richards was born in London in 1982. In addition to his experience as a painter he has an MA in Art History from the University of St Andrews, graduating in 2005. Since then Tom has divided his time between London and Florence. In recent years he has exhibited his work in London and undertaken numerous commissions in Europe and beyond. Before joining The Florence Academy of Art he trained extensively with Charles H. Cecil, a former colleague of Daniel Graves. 

To view his work please visit:

https://www.instagram.com/tominflorence/

https://www.tawrichards.com/

https://www.florenceacademyofart.com/alumni-gallery/tom-richards/