by Delaynna Trim, Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art Curator
Did you know that Museum Selfie Day is January 17? Come out to the Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art to take a selfie in front of some world-class art! Maybe even pose like one of the people in the paintings.
Selfies have just been around since the invention of the camera, but portraits have been around for thousands of years! While the museum has lots of portraits, we have several on exhibit in a mini portrait gallery.
First is a portrait of an Elizabethan lady. You can date the piece by looking at her clothing. The stiff lace collar gives us a good clue. Cut-work lace collars called piccadills became popular in the late 16th century. The name piccadill reputedly derives from Spanish picado, which means punctured or pierced. Queen Elizabeth I of England was painted wearing them. They became a status symbol, so the larger the collar, the more important you were. They became quite large with the use of starch. They became less popular in the 17th century as fashions changed. Her lace head covering is called a coif.
Next, we have the Ronnie family portraits. These are early American portraits of a husband and wife. Notice how stiff they look? Early American itinerant artists would travel around and paint people’s portraits. It would often take a long time to paint someone, so to make the process go faster some artists would go ahead and paint generic bodies and just paint the details on the heads. These would often be self-taught artists. We might call them folk artists today. These portraits were typically stiff with little to no background.
One of our most famous portraits is Fr. Gerrer’s portrait of Pope Pius X which he painted in 1904. Pope Pius X had just been elected Pope and needed an official portrait. Fr. Gerrer was selected as one of a few painters to have the Pope sit for them. Pope Pius X liked his portrait so much that he chose it to be his official portrait. He told Fr. Gerrer, “You painted me warts and all!” Notice how Fr. Gerrer painted the eyes – they follow you as you move in front of the piece! He painted St. Paul’s Basilica outside the window on the left side – this helps the viewer know about the sitter of the portrait. Other clues are his outfit – these are robes of a pope, as is the ring – even the chair or Cathedra Romana helps us know who this is.
We can compare Fr. Gerrer’s portrait of Pope Pius X from 1904 to Tintoretto’s portrait of Michele Suriano the Venetian Ambassador from the 16th century. There are lots of clues as to who this sitter is. Outside his window is Castel Sant’Angelo which was a papal castle and later prison – this connects him to the Vatican. In the lower left corner, we see a piece of paper with a seal. The seal is the Venetian Republic seal and the paper is a Papal bull or official letter from the Pope. These clues all lead to the fact that Suriano is the Venetian ambassador to the Vatican.
What would you include in your portrait so people know it was you? What would be outside your window? What would you hold?
Check out www.mgmoa.org/art-projects for more activities including videos on how to paint self-portraits.
Self-Portrait
Supplies needed:
Paper, crayons or markers or colored pencil, mirror
First decide what, if anything, you want to be drawn with. What objects would make people think of you? It could be a toy, or a pet, or even a hat.
Remember not all portraits are exact, some are abstract.
Start by drawing an oval for the outline of your face. Then start adding your eyes, nose, mouth, etc.
Have fun!
