Privatporträt

Representation of real people is one of the fundamental concerns of artistic expression – seeing either oneself or another person depicted has always been a topic of interest that has taken new forms over the years. At the end of Roman Antiquity a wide range of forms and a broad spectrum of opportunities were available for private portraits, which were encountered both in everyday life and on special occasions. However, the format, the motivation, and the context underlying such portraits are affected by changing traditions and developments. But so far there has been only infrequent research into the occasions for and forms of private representation in art from the close of Antiquity to the end of the Middle Ages and it has seldom been conducted in a systematic manner. Whilst Roman portraits in their various forms have already been the subject of intensive research, so far relatively few studies have dedicated their attention to the subsequent periods through to the fall of Constantinople. Set against the backdrop of the comprehensive processes of change between Antiquity and the Middle Ages, exploring the occasions for and forms of personal representation provides access to a wide range of levels to the development of the portrait, which has, as yet, rarely been considered in a wider context.
In the course of an international conference held in 2013 at the Austrian Academy of Sciences, researchers from seven nations addressed the private portrait from a wider diachronic and methodological perspective in 13 contributions dealing with a diverse range of monuments and aspects. The individual contributions in the conference proceedings edited by Vasiliki Tsamakda and Norbert Zimmermann each explore particular aspects of private portraits, whether in relation to their chronological and topographical distribution or in connection with features particular to the type or other art historical aspects, and point out traditions and changes.