The Portrait as Individual in Society

Erasmus of Rotterdam by Albrecht Durer, 1526

Herbert Burda, art historian and German media mogul, has a super article, 'How People See Themselves', tracing the history of portraiture through a somewhat anthropological lens.

A quote:

Whoever managed to climb the social ladder automatically won the right, so to speak, to have their own portrait painted, which in earlier times had been the preserve of the saints. Using a few examples, I would now like to show how those classes which were climbing the social ladder at that time used the portrait to give visibility to their claim to power and status, how the painted portrait lost this function following the invention of photography and how the portrait, as a result of the opening up of the media to anyone wanting to get themselves seen, has been superseded by other forms of expression.

Sure, the portrait I wish to present to the world, Art Slob, consists of tossing random cultural fragments at the computer screen. That or cheesy photos like the one below.

Bill Pocock by James Naylor, 2005