Face and Mask

This ground breaking interdisciplinary study is the first cultural history and anthropology of the face across the centuries, between cultures and in the media. It begins with an analysis of the relationship between face and mask (one is reminded of masks in Greek theatre as persona - sounding through) as well as roles as masks, whether in theatre or real life. The mask appears to have originated in cults, while the portrait conveys the face as representation, so that, in a sense, the portrait itself is a mask. In this respect, the author's discussion of van Eyck, Rembrandt and Francis Bacon is fascinating. More recently, faces are used as icons, for example Mao, Marilyn Monroe and Einstein. Once again, there is an element of mask, while the face cannot finally be portrayed in its dynamic movement.