VOLKER HERMES Hidden Portraits

An investigation into identity and social representation Hidden Portraits by Volker Hermes invites us on a fascinating journey through the art of portraiture, an exploration of the boundaries between identity and mask social. The German artist created photographic collages from historical portraits, deliberately hiding the faces of the models behind masks, fabrics, or even sophisticated wigs. The intriguing The particularity of these works lies in the exclusive use of elements already present in the original paintings: only a clever remodeling of the existing is done, without addition of any kind. Hermes' intervention makes the image behind the mask disappear, concealing the individuality of the model and redirecting our attention to the status symbols and social conventions of the time. He invites us, this doing so, to reflect on the way in which our contemporary gaze, foreign to dress codes of the past, perceives these images. The mask becomes a metaphor of the difficulty of grasping the essence of beings beyond appearances and social roles. In the final section of the book, Hermes reveals the images original, accompanying them with brief informative captions. The artist's work, far from being limited to simple manipulation aesthetic, offers the reader the opportunity for in-depth reflection on the role of art as an instrument of representation and on the complex relationship between image and identity. Hidden Portraits leads us to revise our view of these ancient portraits and, beyond that, to question their intrinsic meaning and their ability to shape our perception of history and society.