Reframing the Portrait

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Wisconsin Public Radio

Prx, Philosophy, Knowledge, Wpr, Ttbook, Wisconsin, Society & Culture

4.7 • 844 Ratings

🗓️ 4 May 2024

⏱️ 52 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Before family photos, or school pictures or Instagram, there were hand-drawn and painted portraits. Throughout the ages, portrait artists have captured expressions and personalities on canvas or paper, and those who view the picture interpret this “likeness” in their own way. We talk with a philosopher, a musician and a novelist about the role of portraits through history, and how we see ourselves —and others — through these deeply personal images.

Original Air Date: September 23, 2023

Guests:

Peter Brathwaite, Maggie O'Farrell, Steven Nadler, Thijs Gerbrandy, Norbert Middelkoop

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey friends, it's Anne.
0:04.0	If you ever stood in front of a portrait at a museum and wondered,
0:09.0	what was that person thinking?
0:12.0	Or what was the artist trying to tell us about them?
0:15.0	Portraits have layers of paint and layers of meaning,
0:19.0	but it's up to the viewer to peel them back. This week,
0:22.4	on to the best of our knowledge, reframing the portrait.
0:40.9	It's to the best of our knowledge.
0:42.5	I'm And Strange Champs. How do you get people to look, really look, at an old master painting?
1:02.8	Well, in 2020, when art museums around the world were shuttered, L.A.'s get a museum
1:08.2	issued a kind of playful challenge.
1:12.8	Recreate a favorite work of art using just three objects you have lying around at home.
1:19.4	I was, like everyone else, at home during lockdown, with not a lot to do.
1:27.4	Meet the celebrated British baritone, Peter Brathwaite.
1:31.3	As an opera singer, I was looking at my inbox,
1:34.3	seeing the emails coming in saying that work was either being postponed or cancelled.
1:40.3	So I was sat at home, scrolling through Twitter,
1:43.3	and saw this challenge and thought,
1:46.9	well, maybe I should try this.
1:51.2	Peter's used to playing roles on stage. So his idea was to reenact a historic portrait,
1:57.3	make a costume, strike a pose, snap a selfie.
2:01.9	There was just one problem.
	...

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