The Portrait in Photography (Critical Views)

The Portrait in Photography (Critical Views)


The photographic portrait is discussed in a wide context, from general subjects such as the family photograph album and American portrait photography to the work of individual artists like Sander and Stieglitz.



A portrait photograph is compulsively ambivalent. It promises to reveal and depict the character of the individual portrayed, but at the same time it may hide and distort. The essays in this book investigate the aura of the portrait photograph, an aura made all the more poignant by the fact that today the subject is universal: everyone has their photograph taken, and images of portrait photography abound, both in the media and in our private lives.

The photographic portrait is discussed in a wide context, from general subjects such as the family photograph album and American portrait photography to the work of individual photographers like Sander and Stieglitz. They also explore the relationship between the portraitist and the sitter, including D. H. Lawrence, Baudelaire and Balzac.

Ranging from the earliest photography by pioneer figures such as Nadar and Cameron to the more recent work of Winogrand, The Portrait in Photography offers a variety of critical approaches and includes discussions of theories on photography held by writers such as Roland Barthes, Susan Sontag and Victor Burgin.

With essays by Roger Cardinal, Stephen Bann, Pam Roberts, Graham Clarke, Dawn Ades, Eric Hornberger, Mick Gidley, David Ellis, Alan Trachtenberg and Philip Stokes.

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