Portraits and Self-Portraits Series: A Radical Aesthetic

Event Description

An online art history lecture by Gilles Genty

As the 20th century shattered the rules of representation, portraiture didn't disappear, it transformed. Klimt wrapped his subjects in sumptuous ornament, elevating them to the level of myth; Matisse and Derain unleashed colour as pure expression, stripping away appearances to reveal the emotional core beneath. From the bold distortions of Fauvism to the fragmented planes of Cubism, these upheavals didn't mark the end of the portrait: they revealed its infinite possibilities, and cracked open the door to everything contemporary art would become.

This lecture is part of the series Portraits and Self-Portraits: From Jacques-Louis David to Andy Warhol (1770–1970). This series explores the art of portraiture through the evolution of artistic media and approaches to representation, from painting to photography, while examining the changing relationship between artist and subject across time.

Presented in French

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