Info Favorites Register Log in
myArmoury.com Discussion Forums

Forum index Memberlist Usergroups Spotlight Topics Search
Forum Index > Off-topic Talk > Looking for Armour portrait / paintings resourse Reply to topic
This is a standard topic  
Author Message
Andrew Pribor





Joined: 29 Dec 2007

Posts: 52

PostPosted: Mon 06 Oct, 2014 10:57 am    Post subject: Looking for Armour portrait / paintings resourse         Reply with quote

Greetings, a friend is looking to paint a portrait of a man in full armour . I am wondering if there is an on line resource or if people have any pictures of later period portraits of men in armour. Thinking 1400 and later. Looking for ideas for poses, background, lighting, etc.

Any help is appreciated.

Andrew

"The Bow brings grief and sorrow to the foeman; armed with Bow may we sudue all regions."
View user's profile Send private message
Dan Howard




Location: Maitland, NSW, Australia
Joined: 08 Dec 2004

Spotlight topics: 2
Posts: 3,636

PostPosted: Mon 06 Oct, 2014 1:17 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Google is your friend
https://www.google.com.au/search?q=renaissance+portrait+armour&biw=1249&bih=953&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=Z_kyVOrFIoKkoQTL9IKYCg&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ

Some artists, like Rubens, did a lot of portraits of men in armour. Christies sold this for £9,001,250 a few years ago.
http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/paintings/...tails.aspx

Author: Bronze Age Military Equipment, Pen and Sword Books
View user's profile Send private message
Raman A




Location: United States
Joined: 25 Aug 2011

Posts: 148

PostPosted: Tue 07 Oct, 2014 9:17 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Use the Web Gallery of Art:

http://www.wga.hu/

You can narrow your search down to only portrait paintings and specify the time period. Your best bet is going to be the 16th century, that's when most paintings of this style were made, although nobles were having themselves painted in armor all the way into the 18th century.

Here's one of Cosimo de Medici, by Bronzino Agnolo, c. 1550
http://www.wga.hu/art/b/bronzino/1/cosimo1.jpg

Bronzino Agnolo is a good artist to search for since he did a lot of portaits of men in armor.

There is a surprising diversity of style for such a narrow field. Some, like the portrait of Medici, are a true "portrait" that focus on the upper body. However, a large amount include the entire body, like this portrait of Ottavio Farnese:

http://www.wga.hu/art/c/campi/giulio/farnese.jpg

Some portraits feature intense chirascuro that put all the focus on the subject, while others have lush and detailed backgrounds.

http://www.wga.hu/art/c/carpacci/5/03knight.jpg

The subjects are helmetless, obviously to capture their visage, but the helmet is almost always visible somewhere in the painting because it is an important part of the armor and the subject's martial image.

http://www.wga.hu/art/t/tiziano/10/3/2rovere1.jpg

As a final example, here is my favorite portrait of a man in armor. It's earlier than the rest of the examples, painted c. 1475 by Pedro Berruguete (or possibly Justus van Gent) depicting Prince Montefeltro:

http://www.wga.hu/art/b/berrugue/pedro/montefel.jpg

The important thing to remember is everything depicted in these portraits was symbolic, including the armor. The decision to be depicted wearing armor was an important choice that was meant to convey martial heritage and noble status. Montefeltro was a successful condottieri so naturally he would want to be depicted in full harness with his sword, helmet, and commander's baton featured prominently. However, Montefeltro apparently wanted to be seen not only as a man of war but also as a man of learning because he is shown reading a book, which also symbolizes the great library he constructed in Urbino. His rich adornments and throne show his wealth and status; specifically the garter of the eponymous Order of the Garter given to him by Edward IV is prominently displayed on his leg. The mitre in the top left was a gift from Sultan Mehmed II. Even the choice to include his son was a calculated one, but I'm not going to get into the details of why I believe that. Suffice to say if your friend wants to make a "true" portrait of a man in armor he should not only mimmick the style and accurately render the shape and texture of the armor, but also carefully analyze what objects and scenery he wants to depict in the portrait and why.
View user's profile Send private message
Andrew Pribor





Joined: 29 Dec 2007

Posts: 52

PostPosted: Sun 12 Oct, 2014 6:10 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Thank you for the resources gentlemen. There is a lot out there. I just didn't know where to look.

The web gallery of art that Raman shared is very extensive. I have just started delving deeper.....

http://www.wga.hu/

I hope others will use this info. also.

Cheers,

Andrew

"The Bow brings grief and sorrow to the foeman; armed with Bow may we sudue all regions."
View user's profile Send private message


Display posts from previous:   
Forum Index > Off-topic Talk > Looking for Armour portrait / paintings resourse
Page 1 of 1 Reply to topic
All times are GMT - 8 Hours

View previous topic :: View next topic
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
You cannot attach files in this forum
You can download files in this forum






All contents © Copyright 2003-2024 myArmoury.com — All rights reserved
Discussion forums powered by phpBB © The phpBB Group
Switch to the Basic Low-bandwidth Version of the forum