26 June – 22 July 2012
The exhibition Portrait of the Artist As… looks at the ways in which artists have portrayed themselves, their peers, and their predecessors from the 18th century to the present day.
Inspired by the unique pairing of two powerful masterpieces, Vincent van Gogh’s Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear (1889), and Francis Bacon’s Study for a Portrait of Van Gogh VI (1957), it uses works from a variety of media to show the richness, complexity, and singularity of the artist’s position within our culture, and addresses the many and varied implications of asserting an artistic identity.
Portrait of the Artist As… has been curated by students on the MA course Curating the Art Museum, and draws on the holdings of two major collections, The Courtauld Gallery and The Arts Council Collection.
Several of the students have written ‘spotlight’ essays, offering insight into the artworks and their creators, and addressing themes of artistic inspiration, influence, process and method.
