Cloud of Witnesses: Painting History through Combinative Portraiture
Description:
New Perspectives on Portraiture: “Cloud of Witnesses: Painting History through Combinative Portraiture” by Christopher Allison From the Edgar P. Richardson Symposium: New Perspectives on Portraiture at the National Portrait Gallery, Sept. 20, and Sept. 21, 2018 Day 1, Session 2: Dissemination: Furthering Social, Political, Economic, and Religious Agendas Christopher Allison Collegiate Assistant Professor in the Humanities, Affiliate Faculty Member in the Departments of History and Art History, University of Chicago “Cloud of Witnesses: Painting History through Combinative Portraiture” In “Cloud of Witnesses: Painting History through Combinative Portraiture”, Dr. Allison explores our country’s love affair with combinative portraits: the style’s roots in religious motifs, the power of past witnesses to influence the ongoing present, and the application of those witnesses as an almost spiritual reminder. Dr. Allison goes on to consider how this concept, if not the style, has continued into our present day and, particularly in the context of the National Portrait Gallery, how portraiture figures into our understanding of history.
