Cheap Hidden Faces: Covered Portraits of the Renaissance Coffee Table Books | Met Publications

A Met Museum catalogue is the perfect gift for art lovers.Edited by Alison Manges NogueiraMany small Renaissance portraits were richly adorned with covers or backs bearing allegorical figures, mythological scenes, or emblems that celebrated the sitter and invited the viewer to decipher their meaning. Hidden Faces includes seventy objects, ranging in format from covered paintings to miniature boxes, that illuminate the symbiotic relationship between the portrait and its pair. Texts by thirteen distinguishedscholars vividly illustrate that the other “faces” of these portraits represent some of the most innovative images of the Renaissance, created by masters such as Hans Memling and Titian. Uniting works that have in some cases been separated for centuries, this fascinating volume shows how the multifaceted format unveiled the sitter’s identity, both by physically revealing the portrait and reading the significance behind its cover.Alison Manges Nogueira is curator in the Robert Lehman Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art