‘Hidden Faces: Covered Portraits of the Renaissance’ Review: Seeing Both Sides

An exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art reunites the components of several works from the era—which were often double-sided or fitted with movable covers—and thus reveals deeper meanings rich with symbolism and ambiguity.

In their naturalism and immediacy, Renaissance portraits communicate to us across time. But as the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s exhibition “Hidden Faces: Covered Portraits of the Renaissance” demonstrates, there was often more to them than first appearances suggest. Double-sided or fitted with movable covers, many 15th- and 16th-century portraits from Italy, Germany and the Netherlands were designed for dynamic interaction with the viewer. The reverse sides or covers often featured family emblems or more layered allegories—additional meanings that went beyond the appearance of the sitters.