Aneta Georgievska-Shine, professor of art history, University of Maryland on

A Brief History of Portraiture: Antiquity to the Renaissance

Tuesday, April 1, 2025 at 11:00 am

Reception 10:30 - 11:00 am

Hybrid in-person and online program

The Women's Club of Roland Park, 4500 Roland Avenue, Baltimore, MD, 21210 & Zoom

As one of the most important categories of painting in Western art, portraiture offers a window both into individual identities and broader social and cultural values. Whether we look at formalized depictions of elites or more personal, introspective works, portraits communicate salient qualities of a particular era, as well as human psychology and character. In this five-part series, we look more closely at public and private aspects of portraits from different historical contexts as a means of gaining a deeper understanding of the significance of this pictorial genre.

The genre of portrait painting occupies a particularly hallowed place within the Western tradition. Indeed, according to a story told by the Roman historian Pliny, the very first painting in antiquity was a portrait – created for the sake of memory and as a reminder of absence. In the first lecture in the series, we provide a brief history of the genre, with a focus on its rebirth and popularity in the Renaissance.

$15 fee for guests and subscribers (no fee for members)

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