In today’s art world, many artists are using portraiture to explore complex issues of identity. The Portrait Now brings together more than eighty portraits from internationally acclaimed artists to demonstrate the accomplishment and inventiveness of this art form.
Recent works by John Currin, Sally Mann, Catherine Opie, Chuck Close, Lucian Freud, Thomas Ruff, Wolfgang Tillmans, Vik Muniz, Thomas Struth, and many others reveal developments in painting, sculpture, video art, photography, self-portraiture, and caricature. Challenging the boundaries of figurative art, these works often go beyond likeness, break free of traditional media, and respond to complicated political, religious, and social issues. With beautiful color images of and in-depth discussions on each work, the book also includes an insightful introductory essay that places portraiture within a historical context and examines how this art form––as well as the purpose it serves––has evolved.
The Portrait Now is an indispensable reference book for anyone interested in contemporary art.
- ISBN10 0300115245
- ISBN13 9780300115246
- Publish Date 1 April 2006 (first published 24 February 2006)
- Publish Status Active
- Out of Print 16 June 2021
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Yale University Press
- Format Paperback (US Trade)
- Pages 160
- Language English