Hanging the Head: Portraiture and Social Formation in Eighteenth-Century England

by Marcia Pointon

This handsomely illustrated book discusses portraiture as a cultural and political phenomenon in eighteenth-century England. Marcia Pointon offers detailed historical analyses of portraits by Gainsborough, Reynolds, Hogarth, and others, showing how portraiture of the period provided mechanisms for constructing and accessing a national past and for controlling a present that appeared increasingly unruly.

Genres: Art History, 18th Century

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 27, 1993

About the author

Marcia R. Pointon