The power of a portrait

At the Gallery
Since time immemorial, artists have been keen on capturing the human form. Perhaps this interest goes down to the simple notion that art imitates life or that life is preserved through art, mainly by the recording of a scene or figure in pictorial means. “Portraiture: A Chapter in History and Memory” is now showing at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe, displaying different genres of portraits and favourites from the Permanent Collection.

“Portraiture: A Chapter in History and Memory” is dedicated to Sir Stephen Courtauld, the National Gallery’s foremost patron. Sir Courtauld presided as chairman of the Board of Trustees, a position he held between the Gallery’s inception in 1957 until 1962. Sir Courtauld’s enthused role in supporting the organisation’s activities saw him granting and making substantial acquisitions for what is now the Gallery’s Permanent Collection.

Historically, portraiture has been used to capture various figures. Categories range from the single portrait, such as Paul Wade’s “Figure Study of Wonder”; the family portrait as in the case of Tom Maybank’s “African Family” and the child portrait. The artist’s ability to add different setting plays a crucial part in such a painting or sculpture such that the centre of interest stands out in a manner that describes their rank or status in society, their hobbies or their occupation.

One may examine the use of the setting used in a portrait to understand the figure’s background and circumstances in life. Taking examples from several of the works on show, the setting of Heather Cameron’s “Grace” and William Bennett’s “Woman with a Basket on her Head” include two different locations and cultures as both figures appear to be of one circumstance, that is domestic or agrarian labour.

The setting that conveys the difference in the two is the space they occupy as one presents an African backdrop (constructed from maps of Zimbabwean communal lands) in Cameron’s case as compared to the European woodland in Bennett’s scenario.

The same can be said of the single portrait or single sitter and the child portrait. The effect of the setting around the focal figure will greatly incite different emotions. The reaction a viewer would have to the portrait of the daughter of wealthy landed gentry such as Joshua Reynolds’ “Portrait of Lady Elizabeth Lyttleton” is very much contrary to that of the servant girl in Bennett’s aforementioned “Woman with a Basket on her Head” despite the level of beauty either may present.

Circumstance is bound to evoke a broad range of responses depending on one’s taste but what stands in a portrait is what it announces at first glance.

The exhibition has been curated to encourage the audience to spend a quiet moment with each portrait, to contemplate each personality; creating a personal dialogue and confronting its presence while reaching out to try and understand its history and bring to light the memories associated with the piece.

Thomas Mukarobgwa’s “Baboon Man” is anamorphic in presenting man at ease with nature. Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones (1833- 1898), a British artist and designer, said: “The only expression allowable in great portraiture is the expression of character and moral quality, not anything temporary, fleeting, or accidental.”

This is true of Doreen Moore’s “Portrait of Sir Stephen Courtauld” to whom the exhibition is dedicated and is presented while relaxing in his study with the backdrop of a church outside the window.

This painting presents a powerful figure whom despite the trappings of power played benefactor to the nation’s artistic heritage, captured in all his characteristics as an affable man reading in a smoking jacket.

Some of the paintings have a strong presence in the room. For example in “Sue” by Dulcie Wesseik, the character permeates through the piece and the audience can gain insight into how the artist responded towards the subject. The portrait is not only limited to paintings but is also realizsed in sculpture and photography.

David Mutasa’s “Bust of H.R.H Prince Charles” details a much more physical, three dimensional presence as it is to the subject’s scale.
Søren Kierkegaard once said, “Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards” as Yousuf Karsh’s Photograph “Portrait of Georgia O’Keefe” provides testimony to this.

Karsh’s portrait has a way of transporting the viewer back in time to a “black-and-white” age merely by viewing the level of engagement the camera had with the model. Many a subject would appreciate their own continued presence being immortalised in art whether for the influence they enjoyed, their popularity or what the artist appreciated in them.

This is then etched into history by the artist. The National Gallery of Zimbabwe presents “Portraiture: A Chapter in History and Memory”, a showcase of works from the Gallery’s Permanent Collection curated by Raphael Chikukwa. The exhibition runs September through October.