This thesis examines a selection of eight photographs in the History Portraits series by American photographer, Cindy Sherman, produced from 1989 to 1990. The photographs are based on Renaissance paintings of biblical and secular women painted by old master artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Sandro Botticelli, and Raphael. Sherman focused on the female types of Biblical mother and femme fatale, as well as wives and models. These types are defined in their relation to men and are depicted by men. In Sherman’s reinterpretations of their portraits, she retells the stories of these women in ways that reaffirm their independence and power that have been shrouded in a history told and controlled by men. With herself as her model, she altered aspects of the images, using the technique of caricature for humor as well as critique. Sherman subverts the idealization of the Renaissance portraits of women by exaggerating features and eliminating aspects of the original portraits to reassert the women’s individuality.

Thesis (MPhil (Visual Arts. Illustration))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / The aim of this thesis is to decode my autobiographic graphic novel, Portrait in Pieces (a narrative of a mother / daughter relationship), utilising a genealogical mode of analysis. This takes place, firstly, through a discussion of the themes of photography, memory and repetition which occur in the graphic novel; secondly, through a consideration of the role of language and difference within a specific mother / daughter relationship; and thirdly, through the study of autobiography and the self as performative entities. In this thesis I interrogate the autobiographic genre in a manner that questions internalised notions of femininity and (patriarchal) cultural constructs, which precede and influence the performance of our ‘life scripts’. I posit Portrait in Pieces as a transitional object between my mother and myself, and language as a medium which can both Otherise and close the distance between us. Translation is the medium by which one reads this distance, turning miscommunication into communication, and misunderstanding into understanding. The illustrations and text constituting the graphic novel have been produced through creative play, representing the ‘post talking’ required for the process of healing, empathising, and taking ownership of one’s ‘life script’.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal. / Pour respecter les droits d'auteur, la version électronique de cette thèse ou ce mémoire a été dépouillée, le cas échéant, de ses documents visuels et audio-visuels. La version intégrale de la thèse ou du mémoire a été déposée au Service de la gestion des documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal.

L’autoportrait de Paul-Émile Borduas, unique expérience de ce genre artistique dans sa carrière, s’avère représenter une étape charnière dans sa construction personnelle et artistique. Notre étude s’amorce par la description formelle du tableau, l’identification du processus de création, l’analyse du problème de datation et la réflexion sur les influences et assimilations stylistiques. Les nombreux indices détectés sont exploités pour mettre en évidence la mutation des statuts intime et professionnel. À partir d’une introspection et d’un itinéraire spirituel, Borduas tente d’extérioriser sur la toile la complexité de sa personnalité et sa quête d’identité. Le tableau est révélateur de l’établissement d’un Moi accompagné d’un code d’expression personnel du peintre. Par ailleurs, il s’inscrit au démarrage d’une œuvre qui va participer à l’émergence progressive de la modernité artistique et sociale du Québec à partir des années 1930. L’artiste semble affirmer son statut professionnel en développant des stratégies qui allient, d’une part, tradition et modernité, et, d’autre part, incertitudes et volonté d’émancipation. En choisissant de se représenter lui-même dans son propre langage pictural et son code d’expression personnel, Borduas pose les jalons de son identité et s’impose comme artiste-peintre dans une société québécoise en voie de modernisation. / The self-portrait of Paul-Émile Borduas, unique experience in this artistic genre in his carrier, represents a milestone in his personal and artistic career. This work begins by the formal description and the study about stylistic influences and assimilations. Many key points are detected and exploited to bring out the mutations of intimate and professional status. From introspection and spiritual itinerary, Borduas tries to externalize on canvas the complexity of his personality and his quest for identity. The canvas is indicative of the establishment of an “ego” accompanied by a personal code of expression as a painter. Moreover, he built a canvas that will participate in the gradual emergence of the artistic and social modernity of Quebec from 1930. The artist seems to assert its professional status by developing strategies that combine on the one hand, tradition and modernity, and, on the other hand, uncertainty and desire for emancipation. By choosing to represent himself in his own pictorial language and his personal code of expression , Borduas lays the foundation of his identity and stands out as a painter in Quebec society in the progress of modernization.

This thesis examines Oscar Wilde’s “The Portrait of Mr. W. H.” as the product of Wilde’s long interest in critic Walter Pater’s literature and scholarship. From its first iteration published in 1889, through Wilde’s ongoing revision and expansion into the version commonly anthologized today, “The Portrait of Mr. W. H.” is an evolving work that mirrors Wilde’s enduring relationship with the art and ideas of his former teacher. This relationship is explored in three contexts: Pater’s contribution to Wilde’s understanding of the Renaissance period; the steady influence of Pater’s ideas and persona on Wilde’s other major works from the period that saw the publication and revision of “The Portrait of Mr. W. H.;” and the particular influence of Pater’s Imaginary Portraits on the structure and themes of “The Portrait of Mr. W. H.” Because of Pater’s extensive writings on art, and Wilde’s passionate interest in the subject, many of these intersections occur around the image of the portrait in Wilde’s work.

Master's thesis Photographs of Presidential Candidates in Czech Newspapers ahead of Elections of 2013 compares the visual coverage of nine presidential candidates in the photographs published in three national broadsheet newspapers Lidové noviny, Právo and Hospodářské noviny during the period of four weeks before the first Czech direct presidential elections in January 2013. The theoretical part of the thesis summarizes literature probing the visual framing of politics and the influence of photographic images in media on audiences and their decisions in elections. The quantitative content analysis compares the number of each candidate's pictures in the Czech press in order to determine whether the visual coverage was balanced or not and whether this could have affected the election results. It also verifies the hypothesis that newspapers tend to publish more pictures of the candidates with similar political orientation. Besides that, the thesis also compares how each of the journals uses photography illustration by examining the size, placement, type, caption length and authorship of the pictures.

The thesis deals with the crime of everyday life, i. e. unfair practices committed by individuals who are considered to be "respectable citizens". The aim of the theorical part is to define the phenomenon of everyday crime, to put it into the relevant sociological and criminological context and also to perform quantitative analysis, which will focus on two of the most important factors for prediction of everyday crime - norms and values. The theoretical part, in addition to the basic definitions of the research focuses on the concepts of values (in particular the concept of S. H. Schwartz), and also on the religiosity. Empirical part of the thesis provides the analysis of the everyay crime on the basis of two data files of the Czech population (European Social Survey 2010, Aktér 2011) and verifies the influence of norms and value profiles on the commitment of everyday crime.

The main theme of this thesis is the non-banking- loans- companies and its medial portrait. The thesis formulates the basic hypotheses related to social status and reputation of non-banking companies. As the research method there was chosen the quantitative content analysis. The research sample consists of the daily papers Hospodářské noviny, MF DNES and some selected economic and political magazines. The research period was divided in two parts: March - June 2010 and September - December 2010. The thesis contents two analysis: the first one contents the results of surveys of the company called Provident Financial. The second one is an analysis of advertising in the daily papers MF DNES and Hospodářské noviny. The results of the analysis of advertising didn't confirm one of the main hypotheses assuming that the non-banking -loans- companies have any impact on the content of investigated media. And vice versa, other hypotheses were confirmed by results of the quantitative content analysis. The result of the analysis is that the non-banking-loans- companies are presented as companies working within the standards of law and which are entitled to a place in the financial market.

La présente thèse étudie le rapport entre la vie et l’oeuvre d’Eugène Ionesco selon la perspective de l’autoportrait. Dans ses ouvrages fort divers — essai, roman et théâtre — l’écrivain se penche ouvertement sur sa vie et son passé pour y trouver l’essence de son existence. L’autoportrait ainsi dressé revêt constamment de nouvelles formes. Complexe et transgénérique, il embrasse plusieurs enjeux littéraires et métaphysiques que nous tentons d’analyser et de circonscrire dans le cadre d’une réflexion tripartite. Dans un premier temps, nous étudions la nature de « l’écriture de soi » chez Ionesco en regard des notions d’autobiographie et de journal pour en saisir l’originalité. Nous abordons ensuite l’écriture romanesque de l’auteur afin de montrer d’une part comment ce dernier introduit une dimension autobiographique dans une œuvre fictive et afin de révéler d’autre part son objectif sur le plan de l’écriture de soi. Enfin, nous analysons la nature de l’autoportrait dramatique ionescien du point de vue générique et examinons le mode de représentation de soi « hors de soi », c’est-à-dire, sur scène. / This thesis analyzes the relationship of Eugène Ionesco's life and works through a selfportrait lens. In his rich variety of works across multiple genres, e.g. essays, novels and plays, the author openly examines his life and his past to find the essence of his existence. Thus approached, the self-portrait constantly takes on new forms. Complex and cross-genre, it takes up various literary and metaphysical issues which will be analyzed and delineated through a tripartite approach. Firstly, the nature of self-writing in Ionesco's works will be considered in comparison to the concepts of autobiographical and journal writing in order to appreciate his originality more thoroughly. Next, his novelistic writing will be explored to show, on the one hand, how he adds an autobiographical dimension to fiction, and to reveal on the other hand, his goal as far as self-writing is concerned. Finally, the nature of Ionesco’s dramatic selfportrait will be analyzed from a genre standpoint as will his self-representation from “ outside himself”, that is to say, on stage.

O fotógrafo alemão August Sander (1876-1964) foi autor de uma das mais apreciadas obras fotográficas do século passado, Homens do século XX (HHSX), um projeto de fotografia documental de grande envergadura, iniciado na década de 1920, composto basicamente por retratos, por sua vez organizados segundo o critério de classificação de tipos da sociedade elaborado pelo próprio fotógrafo. Alguns dos retratos são descritos neste trabalho pormenorizadamente a fim de encontrar nas suas propriedades visíveis indicações referentes aos esquemas de percepção que Sander empregava em sua visão de mundo. As análises dessas imagens são confrontadas com os critérios de classificação por ele adotados e articuladas a um manancial de informações relacionado ao ambiente fotográfico da época, ao contexto sócio-político da Alemanha e à biografia do fotógrafo. Este procedimento levou à hipótese central da pesquisa: mais do que representações de tipos sociais, como de fato acreditava Sander, HSXX é antes um conjunto de estereótipos no sentido de seus retratos serem realidades construídas que correspondem a um modo de percepção social. Enquanto à percepção do real, a maioria dos retratos corresponde a estereótipos pré-concebidos socialmente. O presente estudo parte do princípio de que Homens do século XX é a narração da interpretação de Sander sobre aquele período histórico da Alemanha. Deste ponto de vista, a análise empreendida não interpreta somente a obra, mas também interpreta a interpretação circunstanciada daquele que a concebeu. Não se trata, portanto, de um estudo sobre os fatos narrados, mas sim sobre a forma como Sander os narrou, sua percepção do mundo inscrita na interpretação que ele faz do real circunstanciada por diversos fatos sociais. / The German photographer August Sander (1876-1964) was the author of one of the most appreciated photographic work from last century, Man in the Twentieth Century, a vast documental photography project, started in the 1920s, basically composed by portraits, organized by the author according to societys kinds of occupations. Some of the portraits are described here in detail in order to find in its visible proprieties, indications related to the aspects of perception which Sander used in his view of the world. The analysis of those images are confronted with the classification criteria adopted by him and articulated with several pieces of information related to the photographic environment from that time, to the German social political context and to the photographers biography. This procedure took us to the researchs central hypothesis: more than representations of social types, as Sander believed, Man in the Twentieth Century is a whole of stereotypes in the sense that his portraits are constructed realities that correspond to a kind of social perception. As for the perception of the real, most of the portraits correspond to the stereotypes that are socially understood. The current study essentially states that Man in the Twentieth Century is the narration of Sanders interpretation about that German historic period. From this point of view, the analysis done not only interprets the art work, but also interprets the circumstanced interpretation from the one who idealized it. Therefore, it is not a study about the narrated facts, but about the way Sander narrated them, his perception of the world enrolled in the interpretation that he does about the real, circumstanced by several social facts.