(continued from last post)
Later on in my project I was able to visit the National Portrait Gallery and see many different collections. But I’ll just start with the Presidents Collection so we can compare. When you think of all of the Portraits of Presidents, especially the official ones, you think of strength and power. Which is exactly what you get in the first few Presidents portraits, like George Washington’s:
Later on in my project I was able to visit the National Portrait Gallery and see many different collections. But I’ll just start with the Presidents Collection so we can compare. When you think of all of the Portraits of Presidents, especially the official ones, you think of strength and power. Which is exactly what you get in the first few Presidents portraits, like George Washington’s:
 |
George Washington (Lansdowne portrait) by Gilbert Stuart,
oil on canvas, 1796
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian
Institution.
|
(http://face2face.si.edu/my_weblog/2013/02/george-washington-the-first-face-of-america.html)
In
comparison, Lincoln’s portrait shows him sitting in a chair, ready to jump up
at any moment and also with a pondering expression. This posture alone shows
how he thinks before jumping into action, but also is ready to go and help out
our country. There is still a great amount of power shown in this painting, because of the detail in the chair and the very perfect lighting (This portrait is in the White House)
 |
| Abraham Lincoln by George Peter Alexander Healy, oil on canvas, 1869, State Dining Room in the White House |
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Lincoln_%28Healy%29)
Now
compare this portraits to the ones done by Thomas Eakins. See how humble they
look? No wonder no one wanted a commission from him when you could be painted
like a President!
Moving
into the more current Presidents I again noticed a shift. Presidents began to
look more like ordinary men. For instance, the portrait of
George W. Bush:
 |
| George W. Bush by Robert Anderson, oil on canvas, 2009 |
(http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/george-w-bushs-portrait-at-national-portrait-gallery-34317269/)
In this
portrait he is not wearing a jacket AND he’s sitting on a couch (and not a fancy couch) looking at you
like you just said your daughter just got accepted to go to college. This is a
more casual, reach out to the people, I’m one of you moves. Presidents now are
trying to not be as high and mighty but relatable. This pose is very comfortable, but it shows off his nice watch, and it shows off his hands (which generally means hard working). Now we see pictures all the
time, so we’ve seen tons of pictures and videos of George W. Bush. Back when
George Washington and Lincoln got their portraits done, people across the country
didn’t see them as often so the impact of their pose and power was awe-worthy.
These are
just some of the things I learned. There is definitely more to come with
portraiture.
