Portraits Without a Face

As art becomes more conceptual, artists stretch and scrutinize traditional boundaries and rules in art. Within the last few decades, portraiture has been an area that has seen some of the most experimentation, with artists attempting to depict their subject's being without strictly having to recreate their physical appearance. 

This freedom has led to the complete reinvention of the art genre, with artists picking portraits apart and sticking them back together, blurring our understanding of what makes someone themselves, and reimagining this artistic tradition that dates back thousands of years.

Within the domain of portraits without faces, a recurrent and key element is symbolism. Obviously, as artists attempt to create representations of people without using their physical resemblance, symbols have become crucial in indicating parts of people's individuality. Whether it is an accessory someone always wore, an object that relates to a passion or interest, or something that hints to a fundamental characteristic of the individual, artists have begun using these in order to figuratively represent their subjects. 

Furthermore, some artists depict the private and personal spaces of their subjects, such as bedrooms and other intimate living spaces, as a substitute for a traditional portrait. The thought process behind such choices is that these personal objects create an openness and vulnerability, which often reveals as much as a portrait would.

Experiment with this avant-garde style of portraiture and make a portrait without a face a part of your own collection and browse our selection.