"Every picture tells a story. But not, invariably, a flattering one. Hence the furore in Australia this week over renowned Aboriginal artist Vincent Namatjira‘s portrait of mining heiress and billionaire Gina Rinehart. Rinehart, said to be Australia’s richest woman, has reportedly asked for the picture to be removed from display in Australia’s National Gallery.
"Freed from the need to render a precise likeness, portraiture allows the artist to probe the subject’s character. Vincent Van Gogh’s haunting image of himself with a bandage wrapped over one ear, eloquently captures the tortured state of his mind during the last period of his life. Caravaggio does something similar in his depiction of the beheading of John the Baptist, using his own features for both executioner and severed head.
"Artists typically sign their work, a reminder that it reflects their personal take, not some dispassionate, objective view. The truth a portrait like Namatjira’s tells us may indeed be as much about its creator as its subject. But acknowledging that does not prevent the artwork proving uncomfortable viewing for the one whose image it portrays.
"Up on the second floor of the House of Lords, where my fellow bishops and I have an office, one of our staff has assembled a collection of caricatures of clergy, drawn from the pages of nineteenth century magazines. They make me smile, yet they also remind me that how we imagine ourselves may not entirely reflect how the wider world sees us. We can fail to spot vices and virtues others readily recognise.
"Yet, whilst my Christian faith challenges me to pay attention to how others see me, it also tells me not to let their views become overwhelming. A gifted artist might catch a glimpse beneath my skin, but it is only God who sees the full picture. I need to practise looking kindly, as well as critically, on myself. My friend and colleague Bishop Rachel Treweek of Gloucester, leads a campaign about body image anxiety. The power of both the camera and software embedded in modern smartphones, allows users to present us with enhanced images of themselves. Imagining these to be accurate representations, can lead us to compare our own faces and bodies unfavourably. Evidence shows this to be increasingly a major contributor to poor mental health, especially among the young. Comparing ourselves with manipulated images is to conflate the truth with a lie.
"So instead, I imagine Christ gazing on me, examining me with all the intensity that a painter might focus on their sitter. Doing so, I sense myself being looked on not in judgement or anger but in love and forgiveness. Seen and adored for who I truly am, warts and all."
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