Analysis of our Representation in Images Today compared to Dutch Baroque Portraiture

Analysis of our Representation in Images Today compared to Dutch Baroque Portraiture
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A portrait exclusively records the proof of a person’s personal identity development. The totality of a person’s self-construct largely depends on the magnitude of his or her relationship to groups of people where different involved possibilities of relating through many social interactions. Portraiture was used to present identity and status; here Westermann (1996) focuses on married couples and professional and civic roles. In this essay, the analysis on how we represent ourselves in images today is compared to Dutch Baroque portraiture.
869315295846500During the 1700s, Portrait paintings were commissioned by wealthy people who desired artworks to leave behind a remembrance of their significance. The Dutch during that time were greatly attracted to have themselves expressed as a portrait as a way of immortalizing oneself. A typical form of the portrait was made to immortalize marriage couples. This form was called pendants. Pendants are represented in two separate and at the same time complementary paintings. The social code of that era about marriages was reflected in the couple’s portraits. The separation of the couple into two frames signifies the husband and the wife as separate people with separate individuality, but, at the same time, their identities are reflected by each other. Westermann ideally examines depictions of the moral conduct within the household.
9144002537128Figure 1: The Image shows a pendant painting by Johannes Verspronck, Oil on Canvas, 32x26": Portrait of a Man (1641) and Portrait of a Woman (1640).00Figure 1: The Image shows a pendant painting by Johannes Verspronck, Oil on Canvas, 32x26": Portrait of a Man (1641) and Portrait of a Woman (1640).
During the baroque era, Dutch portraits followed certain conventions. Generally, Dutch portraits were applied to maintain existing social structure. The large majority of all portraits were of these types, and their composition and arrangement rarely differ. Additionally, Dutch artist specialized in taking true to life depiction of everyday life at the least possible alteration.
While most portraits follow a generic formula of portraiture during that era, painters such as Frans Hals and Rembrandt made innovative paintings to rise above the current conventions. According to Westermann (1996), “Their painting was unconventional: an outdoor setting, full-length, casual poses, public display of affection and smiles may be expected in modern photographs of lovers” (pg. 135). As apparent in other portraits made by Hals and Rembrandt, the characterizations evident in their works emanate the personality and habits of the subjects they were portrayed as if we know them.
At contemporary times, people are more concerned with the "Ideal Self," or admirable version of you shaped from personal experi...