Identity
Our World
IDENTITY
Art history records are filled with images of ourselves, however the further back we go the more anonymous these visages are. The earliest works of art that have endured are chiseled stone sculptures. They record the human figure in exaggerated forms, perhaps intentionally or perhaps because detail has worn off over hundreds of thousands of years, yet we can still recognize ourselves in the pieces.
The Venus of Tan Tan is one example, dated to around c. 500,000-300,000 BCE, and discovered by the River Draa near the Moroccan town of Tan-Tan, this is considered to be one of the oldest sculptures and measures roughly 2-1/2 inches high.
Venus of Tan-Tan, (500,000-300,000 BCE
It and other small stone figures from the same period indicate that artistic expression was part of a pre-homo sapiens culture. There is now evidence of an ‘art instinct’, a natural inclination for humans to be creative and perceive our surroundings with an aesthetic sense.
The Venus of Willendorf (pictured below), dated to about 25,000 years ago, is an archetype of early human expression. The sculpture is remarkable for what is included and what is missing in the 4-1/2 inch tall figure. The female figure’s arms are draped over enormous breasts, and the enlarged genitalia, short legs and exaggerated midriff reinforce the idea of a fertility figure. The tightly patterned headpiece indicates either braided hair or a knit cap. Missing from this extraordinary figure is any hint of facial identity: she may represent a solitary female or the collective idea of womanhood.
The Venus of Willendorf, c. 28,000-25,000 BCE, Natural History Museum, Vienna, Austria. Image in the public domain.
These faceless and enigmatic figures persist in art for thousands of years. We see them again in figurines from the Aegean Cycladic culture dated to about 3000 BCE (image below). Their form is standardized, with smooth surface texture, triangular heads and crossed arms. You can even see a resemblance to these figures in certain modern sculptures, particularly by Romanian artist Constantin Brancusi from the early 20th century, his beautiful sculpture, Sleeping Muse Links to an external site. from 1909 is an example.
Cycladic Figurines, c. 3000 BCE. Archeological Museum, Athens.
Image in the Public Domain
Ancient Jōmon period of Japan produced extremely stylized earthenware figures, often female and, similar to the Venus figures of Western Europe, with enlarged breasts and hips but disproportionately short arms and legs. Thought to be ritual figures, the earliest examples Links to an external site. are faceless and without adornment. Later ones Links to an external site. show generic features with curious insect eyes and more elaborate decoration.
We start to see human figures with individual characteristics during the Old Kingdom dynasties of Egypt about 2500 BCE. Reserved for royalty and other high-ranking figures, these portrait sculptures Links to an external site., many times containing a man and women together, include an emotional connection as they stand or stride forward with their arms around each other. In another example below an Egyptian scribe sits cross-legged with his palette and papyrus scroll and a hairstyle comparatively similar to that of the Venus of Willendorf. Here we get a much stronger sense of identity and form, with detailed description of the scribe’s facial features, subtle but important rendering of musculature and even individual fingers and toes, all sculpted in correct proportion and scale.
Egyptian, Scribe, 5th dynasty (2500 – 2350 BCE), painted limestone. Licensed under Creative Commons.
Greek vase painting Links to an external site. uses figurative and decorative motifs to illustrate mythic narratives or simply depict scenes from everyday life. Many of the vases show athletic games, social gatherings or musical entertainment.
The Romans used painted portraits to commemorate the dead. Commonly known as Fayum mummy portraits, they were created with encaustic or tempera paints on wooden panels and placed over the face of the mummified body. The portraits all show the same stylistic characteristics including large eyes, individual details and the use of only one or two colors. The portrait below shows a young man with curly hair and light beard. There is also a melancholy psychological element as the figure stares back at us.
Roman, Faiyum Mummy Portrait, c.1st century CE. State Collections of Antiquities, Munich Image in the public domain
Perhaps the most famous portrait in the Western world is Leonardo Da Vinci’s La Gioconda, more commonly known as the Mona Lisa. The painting embodies many of the attributes we look for in a portrait: realistic form, detailed rendering of the sitter’s features and an intangible projection of their character. These qualities emanate from the genius and skill of the artist. Her gentle gaze and slight smile has endeared the Mona Lisa to viewers around the world for over 500 years.
Leonardo Da Vinci: Mona Lisa, c. 1503-1519, oil on wood. The Louvre.
Image in the public domain.
Portraiture and the figure continue to be important motifs in modern and contemporary art. Pop artist Andy Warhol used photographs of politicians and Hollywood celebrities to create series of images that supplant traditional painted portraits and reinforce our idea of brand identity. His diptych of Marilyn Monroe from 1962 signifies her place on popular culture’s altar as an icon of beauty and sexuality while alluding to her tragic suicide earlier in the same year. The print’s bright colors and rapid-fire images on the left hold our attention while on the right we see her fading away into obscurity in black and white. With this staccato image format Warhol presents us with conflicting alternatives: the ubiquitous nature of celebrity and the fleeting nature of life.
Andy Warhol, Marilyn Diptych, 1962, acrylic on canvas
Bruce Nauman’s neon sculpture Human/Need/Desire Links to an external site. uses words that uncover “fundamental elements of human experience"(Museum of Modern Art, New York: image statement for Bruce Nauman’s sculpture Human/Need/Desire). The pulsating neon sculpture has a trance-like effect as the viewer watches the words change in front of them. The work provides a collective meaning because we can all identify with its message.
Not all images of ourselves are meant to be flattering. Many times artists portray people in ways that represent distrust, ignorance and other less attractive human qualities. In the painting Oriental Type (below), artist Roger Shimomura constructs a visual narrative symbolizing his experience with racial discrimination and stereotyping during a job interview. In self-parody, he paints himself wearing a traditional Japanese theatre mask and robe while surrounded by white students in a university painting studio.
Roger Shimomura, Oriental Type, 2003. Acrylic on canvas.
The painter Alice Neel’s portraits Links to an external site. are exceptional as they capture a sitter’s likeness and character but with an expressionistic edge. She preferred informal poses, used harsh colors and an unerring sense of design in portraits of family, friends, fellow artists and political personalities.
Finally, in an artistic gesture that redefines what portraiture and self identity can be, Spanish born artist Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle does away with the figure altogether. His three-panel chromogenic print, Glen, Dario, and Tyrone presents us with the DNA signature of each individual. This work blurs the line between art, science and technology. Now a portrait is manifest as blobs of color and its integrity is established by the fact that each series of blobs is genuinely different than any other. This creative idea has even migrated to the marketplace: You can order your own (or someone else’s) DNA Links to an external site. portrait for the home or office, follow the link.
Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle, Glen, Dario, and Tyrone, 1998, three chromogenic prints, face-mounted to acrylic
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York Gift, The Bohen Foundation, 2001