LOS ANGELES, CA.- Throughout the Middle Ages, the goal of medieval portraiture was to present a subject not at a particular moment in time, but as the person wished to be remembered through the ages. Faces of Power and Piety: Medieval Portraiture, at the J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Center, August 12 – October 26, 2008, will explore the development of portraiture from the highly stylized likenesses of people in the Middle Ages to the emergence of recognizable portraits in the Renaissance and modern times. Included in the exhibition are 19 illuminated manuscripts, a 16th century painting, and a 19th century photograph from the Museum’s collection that trace the history of portraiture. The exhibition complements the Getty’s Fall Premiere Presentation Bernini and the Birth of Baroque Portrait Sculpture.

“While modern portraiture strives to capture the accurate likeness of a specific person, medieval portraiture was primarily valued for its ability to express an individual’s social status, religious convictions, or political position,” says Elizabeth Morrison, curator of manuscripts, J. Paul Getty Museum.

As demonstrated in Faces of Power and Piety portrait painters often identified individuals by their clothing, heraldry, or other objects related to them. Portraits of Christ and the various saints, for example, were intended to inspire religious devotion rather than capture their actual likeness. In fact, artists invented these portraits, cleverly using facial types, costumes, and objects to help identify each figure. For instance, Christ usually appears with a cross in his halo, Saint Peter holds the keys to heaven, and the well-dressed noblewoman Saint Catherine appears with the sword that beheaded her. Over time, the various saints became so commonly associated with these attributes that they were instantly recognizable to medieval viewers.

Depictions of other individuals also contained clues to their occupation or standing. Portraits of authors were meant to affirm that their work was trustworthy. Writers were either portrayed working on a manuscript or accompanied by an object that recalled some important aspect of their text. Portraits of living people, often the owner or donor of a manuscript, included coats of arms or other clues that helped identify the subject. They also had a religious function, and figures were usually shown in prayer before Christ or a saint. By inserting their owners into sacred narratives, such portraits enabled people to imagine themselves before their favorite saintly figure.

The exhibition traces a link between medieval portraiture and later images of individuals, making a direct comparison between a medieval portrait of Saint Blaise and a 19th century photograph of English poet Robert Browning by Julia Margaret Cameron. Although these portraits may appear to have little in common, both artists concentrated their efforts on recording the forceful gaze and psychological intensity of their subjects. Additionally, while the portrait of Saint Blaise was intended to inspire religious devotion and Julia Margaret Cameron’s portrait endeavored to capture the look of a celebrated personality, both portraits accomplish these goals by grabbing the viewer’s attention and bringing the subject to life.

Also included in the exhibition is a recently acquired Gospel book from the Christian kingdom of Ethiopia from around the year 1500. This rare and brilliantly colored book features a bold and graphically patterned portrait of the evangelist John.

Faces of Power and Piety: Medieval Portraiture is curated by Elizabeth Morrison, curator in the Department of Manuscripts at the J. Paul Getty Museum, and Erik Inglis, professor of art history, Oberlin College.