One of the first ways to begin to identify the sitter of a portrait is to look closely and carefully at the image and to catalogue or list everything you see, both front and back. Visual cues can provide information about the identity of the sitter in some cases. Making this list might also help you to identify the artist(s) who created the portrait. In any event, looking closely at the portrait and listing those elements you see will allow you to notice things you might not have seen otherwise.

You might ask yourself such questions as the following about the physical appearance and formal arrangement of the portrait (these questions are described in relation to a painted portrait, though you could slightly adjust them to address a sculptural, photographic, or printed portrait too):

• What colors are used in this portrait? Can you place colors in relation to where they occur in the portrait image, whether they are used to depict the sitter, the sitter’s clothing, or the background?

• What kinds of gesture or movement do you see in the portrait? Is the sitter shown in movement or sitting still? Does the sitter seem to be directing your eyes to any particular portion of the image through gesture or pose?

• How much space does the sitter occupy in the portrait image? How is that space used? Is the sitter positioned to one side, centrally, in the background, in the front of the image?

• Are there any objects in the portrait that seem to add to the information provided about the sitter? Ask yourself what kind of objects they are, where they are located in relation to the sitter, and what their presence or use might suggest about the sitter’s identity.

You might ask yourself such questions as the following about the physical appearance of the sitter:

• Is the sitter pictured from behind, in profile view (from the side), 3/4 view (with face or body turned 3/4 of the way towards you), or full front (with face and body fully facing you)?

• Is only the head of the sitter pictured? Is the sitter pictured in bust-length (from top of head to just below the shoulders), half-length (top of head to waist), 3/4 length (top of head to knees, more or less), or full length?

• How is the sitter dressed? Describe articles of clothing, as well as the kinds of colors and fabrics you see pictured in the portrait.

• How is the sitter’s hair arranged?

• What parts of the sitter’s body do you see? Which parts are covered?

• What age does the sitter seem to you to be?

• In what time period (including the present day) does the sitter seem to have lived, based on what you see?

You might ask yourself such questions as the following about the physical evidence provided by the portrait (again, these questions are described in relation to a painted portrait, though you could slightly adjust them to address a sculptural, photographic, or printed portrait too):

• Can you see distinctive brushstrokes, areas where the paint seems to be applied more thickly than in other areas?

• Can you see any distinctive marks such as letters, numbers, or symbols on the front (recto) or back (verso) of the painting?

Many of the questions in the three groups above will overlap in the kinds of information they can supply. There are many more than can be asked as well, especially as you begin to gather more information about the portrait at which you’re looking. In many cases – particularly when you are looking at a “painting in little” such as this – you will need to look very closely and be very patient in order to gain the information you are seeking. And sometimes – perhaps even quite often – the answers to many of your questions will only be speculations.

Next: What do we see? (Step 2)