Portraits give viewers a peek into the lives of their subjects and offer a glimpse of how people wanted to be seen or remembered. By choosing the pose, expression, outfit, and setting, artists help to capture a particular time and place and remind us of the many ways we can present our identity.

_{Right: Gerrit van Honthorst (Dutch 1590–1656), Allegory of Painting, 1648, Oil on canvas. Crocker Art Museum, gift of Suzanne Nady in memory of her parents, Jeanne and Joseph Falk, 1998.10.}