This project is a piece of information design which depicts how emotions have been communicated throughout the history of portrait painting. Considering the expression of the faces in the portraits as data I have translated these into five different simple emojis - :), :|, :(, :’( and :o. The timeline illustrates the work of twelve great masters of portraiture from the 15th century to the present such as Rembrandt, Goya or Lucian Freud.
The main intention of this project is firstly, to create a new method of engagement between people and portraiture. Secondly, to allow people to see the history of portraiture as a whole, in one go, rather than as series of individual works removed from one another. And finally to create a simple language for interpreting the mood of each painting and sitter by using the contemporary semiotic device of emo
