L(es) homme(s) (2016)
Based on Renaissance marriage portraits. If one was of an aristocratic background in Renaissance times, one’s marriage would have been arranged. Viewing a painted portrait of the future betrothed would be the first time one would be acquainted with his or her future spouse. Renaissance marriage portraits were typically life sized, consisting of just the person’s face and bust. For a man it usually included the land he owned in the background, and for a woman various symbols of her purity. However even presumed to represent the true likeness of the betrothed, the artist had many ways of enhancing the visual appearance of the subject, much like photoshop is used in present day photography. It is famously said that Henry VIII fell in love with his third wife, Anne of Cleves, based on such a portrait, only to be bitterly disappointed on their wedding day. Apparently, the painter failed to represent the exact extent of the scarring Anne had due to chickenpox, an illness she suffered during her childhood. The marriage was never consummated and the “false representation” of the portrait served as the basis of their divorce.
L’homme(s) deals with the representation of real and idealized male beauty. Thirty men of marriageable age are presented in all their beauty, potential, and promise. The portraits open themselves up to the projections of others’ hopes, dreams, and expectations. Yet the portraits are only partial representations of who the men are; they do not guarantee the whole truth, if any at all.
