What has been the impact of photography on portrait painting?

Answer 1

The relationship of science/technology and art is woefully underemphasized in popular understanding. From Da Vinci's interest in pre-natal anatomy to Van Gogh's study of astronomy, to the post-structuralist roots of John Baldessari, scientific curiosity and technological advancement have sent the volleyball over the net uncountable times. Before the drum machine, drummers sought metronomic perfection, but when the radio was full of mechanized synth-pop, we began to prize the gritty slop of drums obviously beaten by human beings.

Painted portraiture, like most painting, strove to give us the most convincing, detailed representation of naturalism. When the camera appeared on the scene, the Impressionists basically said, Hey, the machine has that covered, we want to say (see) what the machine can't. That's when bold and loose strokes of alla prima painting let loose. Currently, there is a split. We are both tech-fetishists and nostalgists, craving a return to the handmade. Today's portraits are equally likely to be pure painting, pure digital medium or the mixed-media offspring of both.