Portrait Painting for Sale
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The wisdom of time
Lilly Sotirova
Painting - 85 x 75 x 2 cm Painting - 33.5 x 29.5 x 0.8 inch
$1,910
The Space Between - Viridian V1
Sophie Derrick
Painting - 150 x 100 x 5 cm Painting - 59.1 x 39.4 x 2 inch
$8,501
Loneliness is not an act
Jacques Tange
Painting - 30 x 25 x 1 cm Painting - 11.8 x 9.8 x 0.4 inch
$989
Motorcyclist Aka Cruising
Jose Gomez Navarro
Painting - 51 x 41 x 2 cm Painting - 20.1 x 16.1 x 0.8 inch
$1,764
Le Temps Passe, Tu te Questionnes
Clement Garnung
Painting - 110 x 140 x 5 cm Painting - 43.3 x 55.1 x 2 inch
$3,371
Zelf Portret (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
Chuli Herrera
Painting - 90 x 60 x 2 cm Painting - 35.4 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
$8,090
Confident
Raphaël Laventure
Painting - 100 x 100 x 3.5 cm Painting - 39.4 x 39.4 x 1.4 inch
$7,304 $6,573
Portrait of a Sojourner
Charles Osaro
Painting - 121.9 x 91.4 x 2.5 cm Painting - 48 x 36 x 1 inch
$3,400
Portrait de femme au foulard valaisan
Albert Chavaz
Painting - 44.7 x 37 x 0.5 cm Painting - 17.6 x 14.6 x 0.2 inch
$1,262
Love in the time of forest fires
Niki Singleton
Painting - 40.64 x 30.48 x 2 cm Painting - 16 x 12 x 0.8 inch
$2,152
Hommage to Lichtenstein
Craig Alan
Painting - 91.5 x 91.5 x 4 cm Painting - 36 x 36 x 1.6 inch
$18,541
T'as eu ce que t'as eu
Petrus Von Tricht
Painting - 100 x 100 x 2 cm Painting - 39.4 x 39.4 x 0.8 inch
$2,247
You lose control
Lucile Callegari
Painting - 100 x 100 x 2 cm Painting - 39.4 x 39.4 x 0.8 inch
$3,259
Une vie d'homme...
Javier Navarro Avilés
Painting - 50 x 65 x 1 cm Painting - 19.7 x 25.6 x 0.4 inch
$843
La plus belle pour aller danser
Stojan Milanov
Painting - 50 x 40 x 2 cm Painting - 19.7 x 15.7 x 0.8 inch
$1,450
La nef des fous
Cédric Marachian
Painting - 97 x 146 x 2 cm Painting - 38.2 x 57.5 x 0.8 inch
$2,809
R E C Y C L É - ZB-021019
Arseneca
Painting - 146 x 110 x 0.5 cm Painting - 57.5 x 43.3 x 0.2 inch
$1,000
Alice au pays des merveilles
Barbara Petit Lisy
Painting - 33 x 24 x 2 cm Painting - 13 x 9.4 x 0.8 inch
$661
Serge Gainsbourg
Nicolas Nostra
Painting - 180 x 140 x 4 cm Painting - 70.9 x 55.1 x 1.6 inch
$14,046
La boule de cristal
Claude Sauzet
Painting - 65 x 50 x 2 cm Painting - 25.6 x 19.7 x 0.8 inch
$4,326
Together for a better world
Papytsho Mafolo
Painting - 70 x 50 cm Painting - 27.6 x 19.7 inch
$1,844
The thing about this place
Ngahina Belton-Bodsworth
Painting - 64 x 53 x 3 cm Painting - 25.2 x 20.9 x 1.2 inch
$2,337
The Centre Cannot Hold
Syndi Kahn
Painting - 90 x 81 x 3.5 cm Painting - 35.4 x 31.9 x 1.4 inch
$4,452
Angel shades
Stephen and Lorna Kirin
Painting - 59 x 53 x 0.1 cm Painting - 23.2 x 20.9 x 0 inch
$1,177
Portrait of a personality
Alexander Lazarkov
Painting - 60 x 50 x 2.3 cm Painting - 23.6 x 19.7 x 0.9 inch
$1,382
Young woman with earrings
Claudia Talavera
Painting - 145 x 110 x 2.5 cm Painting - 57.1 x 43.3 x 1 inch
$4,866
Fire in my soul
Nolwenn Samson
Painting - 180 x 180 x 6 cm Painting - 70.9 x 70.9 x 2.4 inch
$14,046
This is Tinuola
Adeniyi Joshua Adetayo
Painting - 101.6 x 80 x 2.5 cm Painting - 40 x 31.5 x 1 inch
$2,560
La sagesse dans les branches
Amor de Agua
Painting - 120 x 108 cm Painting - 47.2 x 42.5 inch
$1,236
Boucle et lys
Meriame Louattani
Painting - 65 x 50 x 1.5 cm Painting - 25.6 x 19.7 x 0.6 inch
$1,405
Förhållandet i en dröm
Mathias Szabo
Painting - 63 x 63 x 2 cm Painting - 24.8 x 24.8 x 0.8 inch
$630
Désintégration (La princesse aux petits pois)
Céline Achour
Painting - 100 x 73 x 2 cm Painting - 39.4 x 28.7 x 0.8 inch
$1,798
Waiting
Oniosun Victoria Erioluwa
Painting - 91.4 x 76.2 x 2.5 cm Painting - 36 x 30 x 1 inch
$2,160
Oris 4 (série de 40 têtes)
Kevin-Ademola Sangosanya
Painting - 49 x 33 cm Painting - 19.3 x 13 inch
$1,686
Silent Scream
Mihai Alexandru Haita
Painting - 80 x 60 x 3 cm Painting - 31.5 x 23.6 x 1.2 inch
$2,169
Discover the styles & movements
Discover the selection of our experts
Diamant Noir
Sinden Collier
Photography - 51 x 41 x 0.1 cm Photography - 20.1 x 16.1 x 0 inch
$1,798
The tree of life
Seyran Gasparyan
Painting - 50 x 60 x 2 cm Painting - 19.7 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
$1,200
Passeur de brise
Pascal Billard
Sculpture - 78 x 45 x 30 cm Sculpture - 30.7 x 17.7 x 11.8 inch
$1,663
Mickey Mouse Soldier
Belart Collective
Painting - 120 x 80 x 4 cm Painting - 47.2 x 31.5 x 1.6 inch
$2,236
Circus Acrobats
Joanna Zakrzewska-Cholewa
Sculpture - 49 x 15 x 6 cm Sculpture - 19.3 x 5.9 x 2.4 inch
$1,797 $1,618
Portrait Painting for Sale
Portraiture is one of the most important subjects in painting. The discipline has changed significantly over time and has a fascinating history.
In antiquity, portraits were exclusively reserved for gods and the most influential people in society. Paintings and statues representing the bodies of the deceased were erected to decorate tombs in Egypt. They weren't realistic but rather had a very standardized way of representing each part of the body.
In contrast to the Egyptians, painters and sculptors in Greece, who had a more in depth knowledge of the human anatomy, were more concerned about realism. Many portrait paintings from this period were done on vases and depicted gods and mythological scenes.
In the Middle Ages, most portraits paintings were commissioned and featuring the most important people of the time; they were painted into religious scenes to emphasize their piety and faith, along with their social status. Once these works of art had been painted, they were often donated to churches and monasteries.
The Renaissance marked a renewal for the arts and portrait painting was no exception. At the beginning of this period, artists were unconcerned about lifelike, realistic work. Sitters or the subjects represented were identifiable through the use of symbolic objects and the inclusion of their name.
Giotto revolutionized portraiture by imitating sculpture. He began to paint shadows, the subjects' expressions, effects of depth and began to use foreshortening. His knowledge soon began to spread.
Brunelleschi then introduced the idea of perspective in architecture, a concept which Masaccio adapted to painting. Italy became the center of portrait painting and the most important Italian families (including the Médici family) commissioned artwork by the best painters. Competition between these painters led them to innovate and led them to produce some of the greatest artworks in history. The most famous is undoubtedly the Mona Lisa by Leonardo de Vinci.
In Northern Europe during the 16th century, Flemish art was restricted by iconoclasm during the Reformation, a period during the depiction of religious figures was banned. Artists turned to courtly art which was particularly popular during the following centuries. A century earlier, Flemish art had marked a turning point with Jan Van Eyck, the inventor of oil painting (the preferred painting technique of Renaissance painters) and master of detailed realism, who influenced an entire generation of Flemish painters.
Over the following centuries, portrait painting continued to be an art form for the elite of society, but painters grew increasingly concerned about depicting realistic figures and communicating the sitter's inner world and emotions. The 20th century saw a growing trend: subjects were not painted to look beautiful (sometimes to their great dismay).
At the end of the 19th century, Impressionist painters became less reliant on sculpted models and sculpture's influence. They left their studios and painted portraits outside, “en plein air." They captured the light as they saw it and painted groups of people together rather than in in several stages.
Modern and contemporary art of the 20th century saw anything go when it came to portraits. Artists like Gustav Klimt, Pablo Picasso, Paul Gauguin and Lucien Freud turned traditional techniques and codified rules on their heads and developed their own unique styles.
Discover portraits by Philippe Pasqua, Robert Combas, Guangyu Dai and Erró on Artsper.
What is meant by portrait painting?
A portrait painting is a painted artwork that depicts a person. A portrait painting usually depicts the upper body of a sitter, for example from the shoulders up.
What art style is a portrait?
A portrait can be created in various different art styles and forms, including sculpture, painting and drawing.
What makes a good portrait?
A portrait can be considered a good work of art for a variety of reasons, including its handling of light, tone and color, its likeness to the person it represents, or its expression of emotion.