Personae – Pictures of Personalities

Personae presents portraits from Åbo Akademi University Foundation’s art collection, as well as works from Casa Haartman, Museum Ett Hem, and the collections of Pro Artibus Foundation.

The exhibition features around 60 works from 40 artists, spanning from 1840s to 2010s. The selection of works covers the entire spectrum of portraits from medals to video portraits and busts to photographs – not to mention paintings and caricatures. The works include official portraits as well as artists’ self-portraits. The exhibition honours the tradition of the university portrait as one of the oldest forms of art collections.

Personality is defined as a complex whole made up of thoughts, feelings, and behaviours. It is seen as being more or less permanent, but can also change. In our age worshipping individuality and pictures of oneself have become the path of self-expression for all. An exhibition depicting the history of the portrait adds understanding of our own time.

Official portraiture is considered the most traditional genre in portrait making and regrettably frequently the least interesting one. For many people, official portraits are only a forced way of keeping a tradition alive, and not a living art at all. But it can still be said that there is life in tradition, too, and a portrait is still both proof that a person lived and a depiction of them. This is the basis for the attraction exerted by old portraits: it is as if the person there were alive, even though they are dead and gone. A portrait muddles our concept of time, because the past comes concretely into the present moment and situation.

Portraits can show the person themselves, or some object or place associated with them. A group portrait can reflect the dynamics of its members or present them to the outside world. Sometimes, a portrait is propagandistic, while at other times it is like saying: They were here. In front of you is a personality, but what is the personality like?

Personae offers encounters with our contemporaries, but also acquaints you with historical personalities. Welcome to witness a human comedy the length of past centuries.

Text: PhD Juha-Heikki Tihinen

The exhibition has been produced by Åbo Akademi University Foundation and Pro Artibus Foundation.