In the Renaissance, the rebirth of portraiture in the early 15th century led to a tradition of elite figures being represented in the trappings of their rank in society. These honorific portraits included clerics, sovereigns, donors, statesmen, merchants, and scholars. Antonis Mor’s Charles V of Spain, portrayed at the height of his reign concurrently as Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain, remains the epitome of this tradition, in which individualized details and even flaws were depicted, with his slightly pouchy eyes and uncertain, parted lips. Durer’s Philipp Melanchthon celebrates the highly respected theologian and professor of Greek at the University of Wittenberg. This work, the last portrait print made by Durer, was originally drawn from life and transferred to the engraved block for cutting and printing. Like William Gropper and Nancy Weinberg, Ben Shahn was a lifelong champion of exposing social inequities through his art, dating from the 1930s on. Influenced by his roommate, photographer Walker Evans, Shahn used his skills to shine a light on racism, anti-semitism, unfair labor practices, poverty, and political injustice. Frederick Douglass IV celebrates this self-taught former slave turned activist, author, speaker, advocate for women’s rights, and leader of the abolitionist movement prior to and during the Civil War.
Antonis Mor | Albrecht Durer | Hans Holbein | Fra Vittore Ghislandi | Ben Shahn
Circle of Antonis Mor
Flemish School
Charles V of Spain, c. 1550
Oil on wood panel
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Jack Linsky, 58.23
Albrecht Durer
Philipp Melanchthon, 1526
Engraving
Gift of Audrey McMahon, P06
Hans Holbein
Brooke Lord Cobham, c. 1520-1543
Ink on paper (facsimile reproduction)
Gift of Audrey McMahon, P23
Fra Vittore Ghislandi, called Fra Galgiario-Bergamo
Portrait of a Prelate, c. 1695-1735
Oil on linen
Gift of Bertina and Robert Manning, 86.9
Ben Shahn
Frederick Douglass IV, from the portfolio Frederick Douglass (Washington, DC, Frederick Douglass Institute, 1965)
Color photo screenprint
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Peter Eider-Orley, 70.13
Images by Jacqui Hopely Monkell