Portrait Painting for Sale
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Hommage à Picasso, La Femme au chapeau
Jean-Michel Gnidzaz
Painting - 140 x 120 x 3 cm Painting - 55.1 x 47.2 x 1.2 inch
$7,170
Homme avec coq et poule
Pascal Marlin
Painting - 116 x 89 x 2 cm Painting - 45.7 x 35 x 0.8 inch
$2,766
ORANGE GANJURO : KABUKI LUMINESCENCE, GANJURO’S ORANGE OVERTURE
Jimmy Yoshimura
Painting - 200 x 160 x 5 cm Painting - 78.7 x 63 x 2 inch
$8,852
BLACK CIRCLES : LOLITA’S SYMPHONY FOR OBSIDIAN CHERUB
Saori Nakamishi
Painting - 180 x 135 x 5 cm Painting - 70.9 x 53.1 x 2 inch
$7,967
Une étoile dans la ville
Chantal Bonnevay
Painting - 50 x 40 x 2 cm Painting - 19.7 x 15.7 x 0.8 inch
$304
Nouvelle collection
Chantal Bonnevay
Painting - 40 x 30 x 2 cm Painting - 15.7 x 11.8 x 0.8 inch
$221
Homme dans fauteuil et ballons
Pascal Marlin
Painting - 116 x 89 x 2 cm Painting - 45.7 x 35 x 0.8 inch
$2,766
Je n'ai eu bonheur qu'en peinture d'après Elisabeth Vigée
Kurt Mair
Painting - 80 x 140 x 7 cm Painting - 31.5 x 55.1 x 2.8 inch
$5,532
Cat On My Lap
Mario Henrique
Painting - 148.5 x 148.5 x 4 cm Painting - 58.5 x 58.5 x 1.6 inch
$8,299
Nebula No. 6, Series IV
Mario Henrique
Painting - 120 x 80 x 4 cm Painting - 47.2 x 31.5 x 1.6 inch
$6,528
Hedy Lamarr, Icon Series V
Mario Henrique
Painting - 150 x 120 x 4 cm Painting - 59.1 x 47.2 x 1.6 inch
$8,299
Nebula No. 3, Series II
Mario Henrique
Painting - 120 x 100 x 4 cm Painting - 47.2 x 39.4 x 1.6 inch
$6,528
Love in the garden
Miquel Martorell Bonet
Painting - 177 x 122 x 3 cm Painting - 69.7 x 48 x 1.2 inch
$8,409
El sueno del bacalao
Miquel Martorell Bonet
Painting - 177 x 120 x 4 cm Painting - 69.7 x 47.2 x 1.6 inch
$8,409
El robo de la luna
Miquel Martorell Bonet
Painting - 177 x 120 x 4 cm Painting - 69.7 x 47.2 x 1.6 inch
$8,409
Happy Time
Hildegarde Handsaeme
Painting - 120 x 100 x 2 cm Painting - 47.2 x 39.4 x 0.8 inch
$4,205
La moitié de mon bonheur
Marta Grassi
Painting - 70 x 50 x 2.4 cm Painting - 27.6 x 19.7 x 0.9 inch
$1,549
Hongkong mood light
Lisbeth Buonanno
Painting - 27 x 22 x 2 cm Painting - 10.6 x 8.7 x 0.8 inch
$830
Personnage au lampion
Pascal Marlin
Painting - 116 x 81 x 2 cm Painting - 45.7 x 31.9 x 0.8 inch
$2,766
Femme au fauteuil
Pascal Marlin
Painting - 150 x 100 x 3 cm Painting - 59.1 x 39.4 x 1.2 inch
$4,426
Hommes à la cravate à pois
Pascal Marlin
Painting - 150 x 100 x 3 cm Painting - 59.1 x 39.4 x 1.2 inch
$4,426
Hommes sous les lampions
Pascal Marlin
Painting - 150 x 100 x 3 cm Painting - 59.1 x 39.4 x 1.2 inch
$4,426
Mr M. regarde le ciel
Pascal Marlin
Painting - 195 x 130 x 3 cm Painting - 76.8 x 51.2 x 1.2 inch
$6,639
Major Tom
Benjamin Vitrol Vautier Alvarez
Painting - 35 x 50 x 1.5 cm Painting - 13.8 x 19.7 x 0.6 inch
$465
Colors of the rainbow 6
Yigit Dundar
Painting - 135 x 90 x 2 cm Painting - 53.1 x 35.4 x 0.8 inch
$4,094
Woman-3 (DIV018)
Atom Hovhanesyan
Painting - 121.9 x 61 x 2.5 cm Painting - 48 x 24 x 1 inch
$90,000
Seated Woman (M&R04)
Atom Hovhanesyan
Painting - 86.4 x 45.7 x 1.9 cm Painting - 34 x 18 x 0.75 inch
$42,000
Silent (M&R05)
Atom Hovhanesyan
Painting - 86.4 x 45.7 x 1.9 cm Painting - 34 x 18 x 0.75 inch
$42,000
No Gender Smoking human being
Benjamin Vitrol Vautier Alvarez
Painting - 40 x 30 x 0.5 cm Painting - 15.7 x 11.8 x 0.2 inch
$210
Deux Roses
Benjamin Vitrol Vautier Alvarez
Painting - 70 x 50 x 1 cm Painting - 27.6 x 19.7 x 0.4 inch
$332
La fleur au chapeau
Christiane Bernais
Painting - 30 x 24 x 0.2 cm Painting - 11.8 x 9.4 x 0.1 inch
$531
Discover the styles & movements
Discover the selection of our experts
Serie Terra Retrato en fondo beige
Enrique Pichardo
Painting - 70 x 70 x 1 cm Painting - 27.6 x 27.6 x 0.4 inch
$956
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
The Last Museum Guard at the Last Museum on Earth
Hernan Bas
Print - 49 x 35 cm Print - 19.3 x 13.8 inch
$1,328
The ballet friends
Serghei Ghetiu
Painting - 90 x 70 x 2 cm Painting - 35.4 x 27.6 x 0.8 inch
$2,213
Inventoriage biométrique
Gopal Dagnogo
Fine Art Drawings - 220 x 220 x 0.3 cm Fine Art Drawings - 86.6 x 86.6 x 0.1 inch
$1,095
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.