The birth and evolution of the portrait, the meanings of its symbols, the creative solutions applied by the great masters, in one of the most ancient and subtly disturbing artistic genres.
[The portrait. Masterpieces between history and eternity] What lies behind our urge to entrust our image to a painting and to challenge the passing of time with the permanence of memory? The answer is supplied by this 300-page book with over 400 beautiful full-color illustrations, at a price affordable for all. The text retraces the birth and evolution of portrait painting and addresses particular themes, from portraits of powerful rulers to self-portraiture, discussing the meaning of symbols, the creative solutions, the originality of the masters. The figure of a person reproduced starts with a simple, direct impulse, but is transformed into one of the most subtly disturbing of all artistic genres.