El retrato en el Fondo de Arte de la Región de Murcia: tipologías y enseñanza

Abstract

This research aims to inquire of the study of genre of portraiture and the possibilities that has in order to explain general features of the History of Art. In that sense we have analyzed a group of portraits that belong to the official collection of Art of Region of Murcia, most of the works are shown for the first time in a scientific study while others were hidden for years as they are used as decoration for offices and public buildings. Our study has divided the portraits into different typologies, which we think is the most useful way to make an approach to portraiture, as the typology is the basic element that defines the features of compositions in the portraits. The eleven typologies that have arisen after our research are: state portraiture, bourgeois portraiture, civic portraiture, feminine portraiture, children portraiture, self-portrait, group portraiture, funerary portraiture, photographic portraiture and the iconotheques. The typology could be considered as a opened concept, as we can observe different typologies depending on the author, so it’s important to say that this eleven typologies are the reflection of the artistic, social and cultural context during the last centuries in the Region of Murcia. We’d like to note as well, that some of this categories and subcategories coincide to other national and international typologies, but some others, like civic portraiture or iconotheques, reflect an historic, social, and cultural context specific from the Region of Murcia. We have also proposed a didactic method to teach History of Art through the genre of portraiture. Our suggestion actually contains three different approaches to study History of Art using the portraits previously analyzed. The first way we suggest is the biographic approach, that tries to show general characteristics of History of Art from the study of a single author, being the portraiture the basis of the explanation. The second itinerary is based on a formal comparison of art-works, seeing the different styles of general History of Art that we could appreciate on portraiture. The third, and last, approach through portraiture consist of a historic tour using works of art to compare different social contexts, as art is always a reflection of the society in which is created.