How many features does a face need?
Wooden seal with the profile of George Washington. Made in France, c.1810. Collection of Werner Nekes.
How much information do we need to recognize a face? Astonishingly little. Here George Washington’s can be recognized in the handle of a wooden seal (c.1810). This explains, perhaps, how artists can continuously convey their features in other objects, in landscapes or still-lifes for example, with just the minimum of information.
Detail of Gauguin's Nave Nave Fenua (1893-4) compared to the detail of an 1888 self-portrait.
Gauguin did just that when he portrayed his face in a plant (above left) in Nave Nave Fenua (1893-4) but he's just one of many. Dozens of other artists have too. You can find many such examples under the theme Veiled Faces. So, remember, if you're searching for a veiled self-portrait in art, you are only on the lookout for one or two features. An eye and nose perhaps; or a moustache as here. Once you get the hang of looking for them, you'll see them everywhere. Practice, as they say, makes perfect.
Posted 19 Jul 2014: Visual MetamorphosisPortraitureTheoryVisual Perception
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Reader Comments
he many hidden faces of Paul Gauguin are just now getting their due. Love your analogy as well, thank you! Here is a video from a few years back on the hidden faces missed for more than a century
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gE7G4GFXVC8
michelle moshay
03 Mar 2016