Writer Polly Coles reads the third of her essays about portraiture and our obsession with ourselves: Fame and Infamy. In this series, she looks at five different aspects of portraiture and makes the case that portraiture is the most intimate artistic conversation of all. Face to face with another human being, no other art form investigates and reveals more richly what it is to be human. Portraits can promote exploitation and self-aggrandisement, but at their best, they are instruments of honesty, love and profound attention.

Examining a series of idealised portraits, Polly asks when is a portrait no longer a psychological study of an actual individual but an iconic image of an imagined character?

Produced by Melanie Harris of Sparklab Productions
Photo by Ella Gradwell

You can find images of some of the paintings by artists referenced here:
Antonio Canova: bit.ly/AntonioCanova-Wellington
Velasquez: bit.ly/Velasquez-Pope
Anita Garibaldi: bit.ly/AnitaGaribaldi-Equestrian
Holbein: bit.ly/Holbein-ChristinaOfDenmark
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