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.
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La magia dell’intesa
Claudia Salvadori Salvadori
Painting - 60 x 80 x 2 cm Painting - 23.6 x 31.5 x 0.8 inch
€5,300
Portrait of Lady
Carlo Socrate
Painting - 50 x 40 x 0.4 cm Painting - 19.7 x 15.7 x 0.2 inch
€13,500
Jeff Kill my dog for the money !
Florkey
Painting - 70 x 70 x 3 cm Painting - 27.6 x 27.6 x 1.2 inch
€1,500
Belle d'Orchidees
Marie-Claude Bisson
Painting - 91.44 x 91.44 x 3 cm Painting - 36 x 36 x 1.2 inch
€1,500
Rumble in the Jungle
Boris Gobina
Painting - 110 x 90 x 2 cm Painting - 43.3 x 35.4 x 0.8 inch
€2,400
Le sens de la vie
Paul Flickinger
Painting - 62 x 51 x 0.2 cm Painting - 24.4 x 20.1 x 0.1 inch
€1,350
Jerusalem
Ludwig Viktor Krämer
Painting - 76 x 131 x 0.2 cm Painting - 29.9 x 51.6 x 0.1 inch
€9,400
David Hockney enjoying Oysters, Champagne and a Cigar at Glyndbourne Opera House lawn
Bob Marchant
Painting - 122 x 162 x 7 cm Painting - 48 x 63.8 x 2.8 inch
€50,061
Commission for Melissa 50 lance
Marilyn Kalish
Painting - 40.6 x 30.5 x 0.3 cm Painting - 16 x 12 x 0.1 inch
€287
Afternoon Coffee
Nguyen Vinh Trung
Painting - 165.1 x 144.8 x 5.1 cm Painting - 65 x 57 x 2 inch
€6,007
Immediate Family
Dang Xuan Hoa
Painting - 67.3 x 149.9 x 5.1 cm Painting - 26.5 x 59 x 2 inch
€35,498
Autant en emporte le vent
Frédérique Tristant
Painting - 100 x 80 x 2 cm Painting - 39.4 x 31.5 x 0.8 inch
€3,200
L'oubli
Caroline St-Pierre
Painting - 76.2 x 76.2 x 3.8 cm Painting - 30 x 30 x 1.5 inch
€3,311 €2,981
On Met du temps à devenir Jeune. Picasso
Fabrice Prenat
Painting - 100 x 100 x 2.5 cm Painting - 39.4 x 39.4 x 1 inch
€2,990
Angel of sweetness, I miss you
Alexandre Abyla
Painting - 100 x 100 x 3 cm Painting - 39.4 x 39.4 x 1.2 inch
€10,500
Frankestein - Jake in the Box Theme
Mark Carpenter
Painting - 9.2 x 6 cm Painting - 3.6 x 2.4 inch
€80
Old woman living near sea
Vu Nhu Hai
Painting - 88.9 x 94 x 5.1 cm Painting - 35 x 37 x 2 inch
€5,006
La Petite Famille
Thierry Clamens
Painting - 81 x 100 x 2 cm Painting - 31.9 x 39.4 x 0.8 inch
€2,800
Coureurs des bois
Sandy Cunningham
Painting - 142.2 x 91.4 x 3.8 cm Painting - 56 x 36 x 1.5 inch
€2,536
Coupe intellectuelle - Bronze red (XXL)
Daniel Witschkanow
Painting - 100 x 140 x 2 cm Painting - 39.4 x 55.1 x 0.8 inch
€450
The Geometry of Consciousness 1
Ramóna Csendes
Painting - 45 x 45 x 3 cm Painting - 17.7 x 17.7 x 1.2 inch
€1,550
Sa propre dualité révèle son unité
Marie-Josée Roy
Painting - 61 x 121.9 x 2.5 cm Painting - 24 x 48 x 1 inch
€3,896
Lute Player and 9 Little Indians
Serge Lis Eliseev
Painting - 160 x 157 x 3 cm Painting - 63 x 61.8 x 1.2 inch
€14,800
THE ETERNAL FEMININE
SLAVENA BUNNY
Painting - 60 x 40 x 2 cm Painting - 23.6 x 15.7 x 0.8 inch
€2,250
Refracted Visage 1
Niall Pickvance
Painting - 80 x 60 x 3 cm Painting - 31.5 x 23.6 x 1.2 inch
€2,150
Mental Staircase
Gisele Borras
Painting - 170 x 130 x 3 cm Painting - 66.9 x 51.2 x 1.2 inch
€14,000
Fille et voler
Maria Jose Subirachs
Painting - 40 x 30 x 0.05 cm Painting - 15.7 x 11.8 x 0 inch
€400
Graciela #VI- Neo Platinum
Sparshatt Dalzell
Painting - 76 x 55 x 0.2 cm Painting - 29.9 x 21.7 x 0.1 inch
€4,315
Discover the styles & movements
Discover the selection of our experts
L'esprit Déchaîné (hand-painted)
tizlu
Painting - 50 x 35 x 2.2 cm Painting - 19.7 x 13.8 x 0.9 inch
€1,480
Top Elite Faschions
Shepard Fairey (Obey)
Print - 61 x 46 x 0.2 cm Print - 24 x 18.1 x 0.1 inch
€550
Degas Danseur de Ballet
Martín Duque
Sculpture - 44 x 16 x 20 cm Sculpture - 17.3 x 6.3 x 7.9 inch
€980
Maiko in Springtime Kyoto
Takashi Murakami
Print - 50 x 50 x 0.1 cm Print - 19.7 x 19.7 x 0 inch
€2,429
Love and Flowers - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative Portrait, Africa, Women
Taiwo Odejinmi
Painting - 91.4 x 61 x 2.5 cm Painting - 36 x 24 x 1 inch
€2,230
Mask geometric - Geometric art
Tarek
Painting - 73 x 54 x 2 cm Painting - 28.7 x 21.3 x 0.8 inch
€2,300 €1,955
Need help with Portrait Painting for Sale ?
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.