Portraits of Power: The Iconography of Truth in Images of Authority

Location

Old Dominion University, Learning Commons at Perry Library, Room 1310

Start Date

4-8-2017 2:40 PM

End Date

4-8-2017 3:00 PM

Description

Upton Sinclair once stated that all art is propaganda, describing it as “inescapably so.” Throughout history, the elite have used the arts as simply another method to project their power. Art is frequently politics by other means, warfare with the brush or the pen instead of the sword. Of these “weaponized” images, though, none is as powerful as the portrait. Self-commissioned portraits of historical figures can tell us much about the portrayed, their ambitions, and the world in which they lived. Through examples both ancient and recent, we can track the development of societal attitudes towards power and the elites who wield it, as well as the visual vocabularies of their times.

Presentation Type

Presentation

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Apr 8th, 2:40 PM Apr 8th, 3:00 PM

Portraits of Power: The Iconography of Truth in Images of Authority

Old Dominion University, Learning Commons at Perry Library, Room 1310

Upton Sinclair once stated that all art is propaganda, describing it as “inescapably so.” Throughout history, the elite have used the arts as simply another method to project their power. Art is frequently politics by other means, warfare with the brush or the pen instead of the sword. Of these “weaponized” images, though, none is as powerful as the portrait. Self-commissioned portraits of historical figures can tell us much about the portrayed, their ambitions, and the world in which they lived. Through examples both ancient and recent, we can track the development of societal attitudes towards power and the elites who wield it, as well as the visual vocabularies of their times.