What is real? What is true? Picturing Figures and Faces collects theoretical essays and artists' studies, published between 1988 and 2019, devoted to the artistic representation of the human figure. They deal with the portrait and the death mask, the body and suffering, and with Egon Schiele, Rene Magritte, Balthus, On Kawara, Paul De Vylder, Jan Vercruysse, Bill Viola, Anthony Gormley, Jan Fabre, Berlinde De Bruyckere, Dirk Braeckman and Elly Strik. The texts are richly illustrated, the book is designed by Antoon De Vylder.