Hieroglyphics: A Collection Of Composite Portraitures By Fores 


Published 6 hours ago

Before AI and Photoshop became the dominant art generators, one artist from the 16th century spurred a whimsical trend dubbed composite portraiture amongst art aficionados.  This rather idiosyncratic style was inspired by the Italian Renaissance painter Giuseppe Arcimboldo whose unique idea was to compose the form of human portraits using animals, fruits and tools that are rife with symbolism. 

This unusual approach inspired a few European artists to embody Arcimboldo’s work in their own artistic efforts. Nicolas de Larmessin in the 17th century and Martin Engelbrecht in the 18th used the instruments of trade professionals to embody the physical attributes of the relevant tradesperson.

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One of the most bizarre but brilliant interpretations of this style was by London-based publisher Samuel William Fores. His series gained popularity in the 1800s under the title of Hieroglyphics. Featuring aquatint portraits of various traders from grocers to blacksmiths and more, these pieces were constructed using the tools of their respective trades. For example, the grocer’s image is a cleverly composed collection of produce and baskets visually forming the portrait.

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The Hieroglyphics moniker is more than just a witty reference, it’s also a reflection of significant cultural impacts. According to The Public Domain Review, Fores designed these portraits soon after the 1977 discovery of the Rosetta Stone by Napoleon’s troops in Egypt. The concept of symbols representing words and ideas had taken the art world by storm, imbuing the world with a keen interest in hieroglyphs. Though today, hieroglyphs represent ancient Egyptian writing, the thought behind this particular passion project was that anything, including a human face, could be translated into a series of complex but meaningful symbols.

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These wonderful prints from this intriguing series are exhibited at the Wellcome Collection in London free to anyone interested in visiting.

Shanilou Perera

Shanilou has always loved reading and learning about the world we live in. While she enjoys fictional books and stories just as much, since childhood she was especially fascinated by encyclopaedias and strangely enough, self-help books. As a kid, she spent most of her time consuming as much knowledge as she could get her hands on and could always be found at the library. Now, she still enjoys finding out about all the amazing things that surround us in our day-to-day lives and is blessed to be able to write about them to share with the whole world as a profession.

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Tags

aquatints, art, art news, Giuseppe Arcimboldo, Italian renaissance, portraits, Samuel William Fores
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