Heroes and Villains

One person’s hero can be another’s villain so this theme is not as black and white as it may seem. You may have an obvious villain in your collection – perhaps someone who was jailed, transported or even hung but did the crime merit the punishment? You may have an obvious hero but were his / her motivations so heroic?

 

If you have portraits of well known figures, whether contemporary or historic, this could be a chance to look at how history judges them and invite people to agree, disagree and add their own judgements.

 

A good example: Heroes and Villains: The National Portrait Gallery Through the Eyes of Gerald Scarfe

In 2004 caricaturist Gerald Scarfe delved into the National Portrait Gallery’s collection to produce his own twisted take on the country’s historical icons, politicians and celebrities. The exhibition Heroes and Villains: the National Portrait Gallery Through the Eyes of Gerald Scarfe paired classic portraits from the National Portrait Gallery with caricatures by Scarfe raising the question; does a caricature give a truer representation of the sitter’s personality?

 

The idea of this exhibition came from Scarfe himself. Whilst walking around the National Portrait Gallery, he felt that the portraits didn’t give the whole picture of the people. Scarfe said, “I tried to ignore the skill and flattery of the artists and find the person behind the image.” The exhibition was shown at Sheffield’s Millennium Galleries in 2005.

 

More details of Heroes and Villains >>

 

 

 

 

 

 

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