In Defence of Composite Portraits

Abstract

It seems natural for a modern spectator to laugh when he sees portraits in the style of Louis XIV, in which men continue to wear their perukes and moustaches while posing as Apollo, Endymion, or Hercules. The ladies appearing as ancient goddesses-Diana, Juno, Thetis, or Hebemight have more chance of escaping unridiculed if the fur of the huntress or the crescent of the moon better suited their build or complexion. Alas ! too many resemble the painting by Largillibre in which a classical nymph couched near the banks of a river exhibits the colossal features of Charlotte von der Pfalz (P1. I6d). Laughter at seeing the unexpected is a danger-signal to the weak spectator. Young anthropologists are said to have laughed when they first saw the Pueblo Indians performing the dance of the antilopes.1 It struck them as funny that men should studiously imitate the appearance and behaviour of hopping quadrupeds. Once the meaning of the ritual was understood there was little room for laughter. Primitive men, being genuinely humble, believe that animals are superior to themselves. They also believe that, by taking the shape of superior beings, men can acquire their powers, and that these beneficial gifts can be preserved and transmitted by the force of imitation. From animal worship to hero worship the distance is not very far ; nor is the ritual very different. The Roman Emperor Commodus had his portrait sculptured with lifelike accuracy, yet he surrounded his head with the skin of a lion and held a heavy club in his hand (P1. I6a). Being thus vested with the emblems of Hercules, he presented himself as possessed of his virtues, and the honours due to the ancient demi-god were transferred to the emperor in whom he was embodied.2 Such a ritual will survive with the force of an atavism. From the ceremonies attached to the Roman emperor cult, it will descend to the court rmasques of the modern dynasts. The Virgin Queen will assume the role of Diana, and the Roi Soleil will invest himself with the symbols of Phoebus Apollo. The days were past when one acquired superior power by transforming oneself into another being; yet transformation remained the method of expressing one's power through a visible sign. The gods of Olympus no