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The Portrait: Re-examining Portraiture and the New Subject

How do we picture ourselves and others? Do portraits construct, convey, conceal or mortify their subjects? This course explores histories of portraiture in Western and non-Western art across diverse artistic media probing questions about the relationship of art, memory and the politics of representation. By examining a diverse range of artworks from antique sculptures through Renaissance paintings, African memorial portrait masks, documentary photographs and films to early 21st century videos, we will address the development of portraiture as a genre, examine conventions of mimetic representation and discourses of identity formation. Artists to be discussed include, among many others, Chantal Akerman, Shirley Clarke, Jacques-Louis David, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Francisco de Goya, Frans Hals, Frida Kahlo, Joshua Reynolds, Malick Sidibé, Catherine Opie, Wolfgang Tillmans, James Van der Zee, and Andy Warhol.

2 credits

Course Code: HTA 296

  • Founded by inventor, industrialist and philanthropist Peter Cooper in 1859, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art offers education in art, architecture and engineering, as well as courses in the humanities and social sciences.

  • “My feelings, my desires, my hopes, embrace humanity throughout the world,” Peter Cooper proclaimed in a speech in 1853. He looked forward to a time when, “knowledge shall cover the earth as waters cover the great deep.”

  • From its beginnings, Cooper Union was a unique institution, dedicated to founder Peter Cooper's proposition that education is the key not only to personal prosperity but to civic virtue and harmony.

  • Peter Cooper wanted his graduates to acquire the technical mastery and entrepreneurial skills, enrich their intellects and spark their creativity, and develop a sense of social justice that would translate into action.