Abstract
The proposed paper is dealing with the issue of terminology related to portraiture in the 14th century, namely in Central Europe. How is a "portrait" from this period different from what we understand as it today? Another relevant question is the need for identification: what did shape its "re-invention"? Who were the intended recipients of the portraits and what could possibly be their use? Representation relying on characteristic features of the sitter is usually understood as a "typical identification" of the most distinguished dignitaries of both the State and the Church which was accessible and readable for the intended audiences.
A more specific and exact language is needed in this area of research since it deeply determines within which limitations the contemporary scholars think about the issue. The paper is not only inquiring in the needed terminology, but it also looks into the question of sketchbooks and modelbooks of the era. If their usage was a norm how did this aspect of contemporary artistic practice influenced the outcome in the form of a portrait?