Portraits and the Human Figure

Drawn from Sheffield’s collections, this recently refreshed display explores artists’ enduring fascination with depicting people.Portraits are complex. They have power and go far beyond a record of someone’s physical appearance – they offer insights into a sitter’s identity and status, as well as revealing the power dynamic between sitter and artist. They can flatter their subject, be grounded in the reality of the lives of the people they show, or be reminders of our own mortality. The advent of photography further changed the nature of portraiture - not only through its speed and accuracy, but in being a cheaper medium, allowing greater representation of the working classes and everyday society.