Portrayal or Betrayal? A Few Thoughts on Milton’s Curls
In one of his most frequently reproduced portraits, John Milton appears as a young man, depicted in a three-quarter view, looking sideways, not directly at but rather beyond the beholder. His small mouth and undereye lids hint at a faint smile. He has rather thick eyebrows, a straight nose, and the...
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| Pubblicato in: | URI:https://journals.openedition.org/interfaces, |
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| Autore principale: | |
| Natura: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
| Lingua: | Anglais |
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Interfaces
2024
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| Accesso online: | Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM |
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openedition-oai:revues.org:interfaces_8980 |
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openedition |
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openedition-oai:revues.org:interfaces_8980 https://doi.org/10.4000/122dq urn:doi:10.4000/122dq en https://journals.openedition.org/interfaces/8980 2024-07-20T02:00:00Z info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess article info:eu-repo/semantics/article urn:handle:20.500.13089/122dq https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Portrayal or Betrayal? A Few Thoughts on Milton’s Curls Interfaces Université Bourgogne Europe info:eu-repo/semantics/reference/issn/2647-6754 info:eu-repo/semantics/reference/issn/1164-6225 URI:https://journals.openedition.org/interfaces Laurent, Béatrice art portrait Milton (John) Faithorne (William) Lavater (Johann Caspar) Knight (Charles) art portrait Milton (John) Faithorne (William) Lavater (Johann Caspar) Knight (Charles) In one of his most frequently reproduced portraits, John Milton appears as a young man, depicted in a three-quarter view, looking sideways, not directly at but rather beyond the beholder. His small mouth and undereye lids hint at a faint smile. He has rather thick eyebrows, a straight nose, and the full cheeks and round chin of a youth. His long hair parted in curtains falls in graceful curls far below his shoulders, over his white collar and black robe. This familiar image that the general public associates with the name of John Milton differs however from authenticated portraits of the poet, and results from a series of alterations that started in the 19th century. The purpose of this essay is twofold: firstly, to trace the modifications made on portraits of the author of Paradise Lost, and to study them in the context of changing aesthetic preferences and psychological debates; secondly, to initiate a theoretical reflection on historical portraits. Drawing on recent scholarship on biofiction, this article will suggest that distorted images affect the portraits of “great men” by fictionalizing historical figures and presenting “iconofictions” that pass as portraits. Located at the intersection of art, history, and biography, this paper intends to discover how a modified portrait of John Milton became iconic even while it lost its status as a documentary piece. Dans l’un de ses portraits les plus fréquemment reproduits, John Milton apparaît comme un jeune homme. Il est présenté de trois-quarts, le regard tourné vers la gauche, au-delà du spectateur. Sa petite bouche et ses paupières inférieures esquissent un sourire. Il a des sourcils plutôt épais, un nez droit, ainsi que les joues pleines et le menton rond de la jeunesse. Ses longs cheveux séparés par une raie au milieu tombent en boucles gracieuses sur son col blanc et sa toge noire. Cette image familière que le grand public associe au nom de John Milton diffère cependant des portraits authentifiés du poète et résulte en fait d’une série de modifications qui ont commencé au XIXe siècle. Le but de l’article qui suit est double. Il s’agira, d’une part, de retracer les modifications apportées aux portraits de l’auteur de Paradise Lost, et de les étudier en prenant en compte l’évolution des préférences esthétiques et des débats psychologiques entre les XVIIIe et XIXe siècles. D’autre part, nous proposerons une réflexion théorique sur le portrait historique. Des travaux récents sur la biofiction ont montré comment ce genre déforme le passé pour servir un agenda idéologique contemporain. Nous suggérons qu’il en va de même pour les portraits de “grands hommes”. A travers l’exemple du portrait de John Milton, nous établirons qu’il s’agit davantage d’une “iconofiction” que d’une représentation de la réalité. Situé à l’intersection de l’art, de l’histoire et de la biographie, cet article vise à découvrir comment un portrait modifié est devenu emblématique, alors même qu’il a perdu toute crédibilité documentaire. |
| collection |
OpenEdition Journal |
| language |
Anglais |
| format |
Article ou chapitre numérique |
| building |
0/Bibliothèque numérique/ 1/Bibliothèque numérique/OpenEdition Journals/ |
| topic |
art portrait Milton (John) Faithorne (William) Lavater (Johann Caspar) Knight (Charles) art portrait Milton (John) Faithorne (William) Lavater (Johann Caspar) Knight (Charles) |
| spellingShingle |
art portrait Milton (John) Faithorne (William) Lavater (Johann Caspar) Knight (Charles) art portrait Milton (John) Faithorne (William) Lavater (Johann Caspar) Knight (Charles) Laurent, Béatrice Portrayal or Betrayal? A Few Thoughts on Milton’s Curls |
| description |
In one of his most frequently reproduced portraits, John Milton appears as a young man, depicted in a three-quarter view, looking sideways, not directly at but rather beyond the beholder. His small mouth and undereye lids hint at a faint smile. He has rather thick eyebrows, a straight nose, and the full cheeks and round chin of a youth. His long hair parted in curtains falls in graceful curls far below his shoulders, over his white collar and black robe. This familiar image that the general public associates with the name of John Milton differs however from authenticated portraits of the poet, and results from a series of alterations that started in the 19th century. The purpose of this essay is twofold: firstly, to trace the modifications made on portraits of the author of Paradise Lost, and to study them in the context of changing aesthetic preferences and psychological debates; secondly, to initiate a theoretical reflection on historical portraits. Drawing on recent scholarship on biofiction, this article will suggest that distorted images affect the portraits of “great men” by fictionalizing historical figures and presenting “iconofictions” that pass as portraits. Located at the intersection of art, history, and biography, this paper intends to discover how a modified portrait of John Milton became iconic even while it lost its status as a documentary piece. |
| author |
Laurent, Béatrice |
| author_facet |
Laurent, Béatrice |
| author_sort |
Laurent, Béatrice |
| title |
Portrayal or Betrayal? A Few Thoughts on Milton’s Curls |
| title_short |
Portrayal or Betrayal? A Few Thoughts on Milton’s Curls |
| title_full |
Portrayal or Betrayal? A Few Thoughts on Milton’s Curls |
| title_fullStr |
Portrayal or Betrayal? A Few Thoughts on Milton’s Curls |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Portrayal or Betrayal? A Few Thoughts on Milton’s Curls |
| title_sort |
portrayal or betrayal? a few thoughts on milton’s curls |
| publisher |
Interfaces |
| publishDate |
2024 |
| container_title |
URI:https://journals.openedition.org/interfaces |
| url |
https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://doi.org/10.4000/122dq https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://journals.openedition.org/interfaces/8980 |
| _version_ |
1877292352639336448 |