It provides a new perspective on the history of the medium examining the personalities both behind and in front of the camera, as well as the fascinating relationship between photographer and subject as revealed through the genre.
The Theatre of the Face is an engaging and authoritative commentary on the history of portrait photography by one of the world's leading photography critics. It provides a new perspective on the history of the medium examining the personalities both behind and in front of the camera, as well as the fascinating relationship between photographer and subject as revealed through the genre.Fully illustrated with over 300 black and white and colour photographs, it covers a broad range of styles and movements from early portraitists such as Edward SheriffCurtis to the wellknown work of seminal figures including Walker Evans, Cecil Beaton and August Sander,and contemporary portraiture by Thomas Ruff,Philip-Lorca di Corcia and Cindy Sherman.This book is an essential title for critics,students and photography enthusiasts.
Introduction
Chapter One
Retrospection and Clairvoyance
Portraits of the Early Twentieth Century
Chapter Two
Introversions of the Self
The Author in the Portrait 1900-1935
Chapter Three
Shades of Valour
Portraiture and the Makin9 of History 1930-1945
Chapter Four
The Sander Effect
Portraiture and the Exposure of the Masquerade
Chapter Five
Insiders and their Cultures
Portraits of Difference 197o-2ooo
Chapter Six
From Celebrities to Nonentities
Portraiture, Beauty and Death 1980 to the Present
Notes
Bibliography
Index