Following on from The Shape of Time and The Voice of Things, the Centre Pompidou × the West Bund Museum will be presenting the third part of its semi-permanent exhibition entitled Mirrors of the Portrait from the summer of 2023 and until late 2024. Bringing together a selection of three hundred works from the Centre Pompidou collection dating from 1895 to the present day, this new presentation in fifteen sections highlights the multiple facets of the art of the portrait.
Before they enabled us to recognise the artists who created them, portraits served to identify the person they represented. Since the 19th century, however, artistic excellence has not been assessed on the basis of resemblance or technical skill. In German photographer August Sander's photographic portraits, only the artists, opinion leaders and prominent figures retained their names. But all, whether unknowns or celebrities, were entitled to a portrait. Photography provided the masses with what had previously been the privilege of the few. And more than ever, all portraits were portraits of society.
Here the presentation of the Centre Pompidou collection is exhibited along a tour punctuated with many encounters. The exhibition unfolds in a theme-based breakdown rather than in chronological order. Famous figures and forgotten artists are presented side by side. The first section, "In Colour", reminds us that the modernists put an end to the lacklustre hues to which the portrait genre had long been confined. The second, "Disfiguring", underscores the fact that they had to break free from the conventions of representation. The "Hats Off!" section which concludes the presentation testifies to our admiration as we take our leave.
Press release courtesy Centre Pompidou x West Bund Shanghai.
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