Picasso said, “Who sees the human face correctly, the photographer, the mirror, or the painter?” It is a fascinating question. Having recently been to some lovely exhibitions, it was interesting to see the different art schools’ portraits. The classical two-dimensional early British paintings where even the babies look the same as the adults. The French school of noble events and various French leaders, with most seeming to point down or at something – go and have a look! Then the Dutch painters who offer a gentler and more realistic view of people, capturing wrinkles, joy and sadness. Fast forward to now with the various social media ‘portraits’ of pouting perfection with many adopting a similar look, makeup and eyebrows. It is an interesting discussion on what we are reflecting, who we think we are are, how will we be perceived in the future and why we have gone backwards to a homogenous view of ourselves.
