What Role Does Portraiture Play Within Self-Expression and Art Therapy?
For a portrait to be effective, I feel as though it is important to draw people in by creating an atmosphere in which the audience feel some kind of connection to the sitter. Colours, mark-making, composition, facial expressions, size of the artwork... All of these factors play a significant part in determining whether someone is going to be drawn in by a piece of work and this applies to all areas of art in a sense.
Having said that, there is also the question of does a portrait have to include someone's face to be a portrait? According to the Oxford Dictionary, a portrait is "a painting, drawing, photograph, or engraving of a person, especially one depicting only the face or head and shoulders." Some people may be of the opinion that this is a rather broad definition in terms of what mediums you can use to create portraits. This definition contrasts that of the Tate website where they declare that "a portrait is a representation of a particular person." Even though this definition is equally as vague, it comes from an artistic stance meaning that it is significantly more relevant to artists and their work. There are multiple versions of a definition for representation, however the most applicable to art I believe is "the description or portrayal of someone or something in a particular way."
I find the use of the word "representation" interesting in The Tate's definition as it doesn't state what forms of art should be used in order for a piece of work to be considered a portrait, like the Oxford Dictionary definition does. This says to me that they're of the belief that portraiture shouldn't be limited to that of more traditional forms of art and that as long as the piece succeeds in representing a person and their being, why shouldn't it be considered a portrait?