Or as his disciple, Heidegger, might say, a portrait can succeed at "unconcealing the truth" of the person portrayed.
Which would be more than merely conveying "something generalized, or even suggestive of other portraits" Of course, as we saw when Heidegger was discussing the "truth" of Van Gogh's "peasant shoes", that perceived "truth" might be false. But that's a risk which those who actually make and love portraits are willing to take. (I assume that Boris occasionally paints a portrait, while William does not) BTW -- the making of portraits is not especially a cross-cultural human activity -- especially if physical resemblance is taken as a necessary condition. But Western Europeans have been keen on them for a long time. Here's a passage I just pulled off the web: "It seems to me that as regards the term "portrait statues", the available examples (from South India prior to the Gupta) in almost every case ought to be called effigies rather than portraits in the ordinary sense of the word; they do as a rule reproduce the details of contemporary costume, as representations they are types rather than individual portraits. It is noteworthy that in the Praima-Nataka (c200BC-200AD) Bharata is not only unable to recognize the statue of his own father, but cannot tell whether the figures in the devalkula represent gods or human beings, though the latter view is suggested to his mind by the fact that they are not provided with any distinctinve attributes." T G Aravamuthan .................................................................... .>So I take that to mean that the artist's portrait conveys something generalized, or even suggestive of other portraits. So instead of particularizing the portrait, the artist generalizes it to achieve what Hegel had in mind, even though he didn't say it well. Translation issue? wc ____________________________________________________________ Weight Loss Program Best Weight Loss Program - Click Here! http://thirdpartyoffers.netzero.net/TGL2231/c?cp=sab1Uq28jRdwlbHyLDRTDQAAJz6c l_zTaptgNR5c8Mer1v9kAAYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADNAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEUgAAAAA=
