Portraits make the absent present and remind us of those whom we wish to commemorate when they are no longer with us. Those have been the two main functions of portraits since classical times. This was perpetuated when portraiture entered on its first great flowering around 1500, both north and south of the Alps. Be it those dear to us, a celebrity or a donor venerating a saint, the sitter is speaking to the viewer with the words ‘Do not forget me’.

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