Family portraits, from posed and formal to natural and relaxed.
From the first rigid portrayals in the15th century of patrons surrounded by their children, to the hospitable portrait compositions of the 18th century, the family picture was subject to a great many changes in the way it was depicted. In the 18th century, with the aristocracy; the private inner circle and the intimacy of the family became subjects to be explored by artists, thus lending respectability to an intimate regard and to the cult of sensitivity. It was also at this time that childhood began to be looked upon differently, helping to bring a vitality and sense of freedom to its portrayal.
The 19th century saw the emergence of portraits of bourgeois families, anxious to leave an image of economic success to posterity, and celebrating the family home, the cornerstone of this new model, to do so.
