Portrait of man
Pierre Emile Lelong
Painting - 29 x 27 x 0.1 cm Painting - 11.4 x 10.6 x 0 inch
£420
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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Photo de profil 7
Mimi The Clown
Painting - 20 x 20 x 2 cm Painting - 7.9 x 7.9 x 0.8 inch
£262 £210
Portrait d'Ursula Stauffacher au livre rouge
Alexandre Blanchet
Painting - 91.5 x 75 x 2 cm Painting - 36 x 29.5 x 0.8 inch
£3,341
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Laurence Duc
Painting - 20 x 20 x 2 cm Painting - 7.9 x 7.9 x 0.8 inch
£262
Carnegie Hall (serie Smart Barby)
Isa Sator
Painting - 120 x 60 cm Painting - 47.2 x 23.6 inch
£2,799
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Ellis Zbinden
Painting - 50 x 42 x 0.1 cm Painting - 19.7 x 16.5 x 0 inch
£2,624
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Saori Nakamishi
Painting - 180 x 130 x 5 cm Painting - 70.9 x 51.2 x 2 inch
£6,122
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Edouard Menta
Painting - 46.5 x 38.5 x 0.5 cm Painting - 18.3 x 15.2 x 0.2 inch
£2,508
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Alexandre Cingria
Painting - 110.2 x 78 x 1 cm Painting - 43.4 x 30.7 x 0.4 inch
£3,669
Jeune fille au bord de la fenêtre
Fritz Glarner
Painting - 92 x 80 x 2 cm Painting - 36.2 x 31.5 x 0.8 inch
£2,677
Life can be tough but so are you
Mpumi
Painting - 74 x 60 x 3 cm Painting - 29.1 x 23.6 x 1.2 inch
£2,973
Femme à la ceinture
Marie Thuillier
Painting - 43 x 30 x 0.1 cm Painting - 16.9 x 11.8 x 0 inch
£656
Dance in the glow of the Sun
Ala Ilescu
Painting - 30.5 x 30.5 x 3.8 cm Painting - 12 x 12 x 1.5 inch
£289
I kissed a frog
Christian Granwehr
Painting - 100 x 100 x 3 cm Painting - 39.4 x 39.4 x 1.2 inch
£3,848
En tiempo y Espacio
Griselda Alcazar
Painting - 120 x 85 x 3 cm Painting - 47.2 x 33.5 x 1.2 inch
£3,979
Elegante assisse pres d'une chaise lyre
Paul César Helleu
Painting - 61 x 40 x 1 cm Painting - 24 x 15.7 x 0.4 inch
£5,684
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Walter Geraci
Painting - 60 x 50 x 0.1 cm Painting - 23.6 x 19.7 x 0 inch
£332
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Pere Bennàssar Obrador
Painting - 190 x 97 x 2.5 cm Painting - 74.8 x 38.2 x 1 inch
£7,871
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Jimmy Yoshimura
Painting - 40 x 160 x 5 cm Painting - 15.7 x 63 x 2 inch
£3,498
Amphibologie - série portraits hybrides
Claude Verger dite Claud
Painting - 40 x 40 x 0.5 cm Painting - 15.7 x 15.7 x 0.2 inch
£394
Portrait de sa Majesté Baudouin 1er
Pierre Piget
Painting - 61 x 50 x 1 cm Painting - 24 x 19.7 x 0.4 inch
£219
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Djénina Hagenburger
Painting - 122 x 149 x 1 cm Painting - 48 x 58.7 x 0.4 inch
£3,935
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Benjamin Carrivick
Painting - 15 x 9.9 x 0.3 cm Painting - 5.9 x 3.9 x 0.1 inch
£163
The True North
Roldán Lauzán Eiras
Painting - 170 x 145 x 3 cm Painting - 66.9 x 57.1 x 1.2 inch
£8,483
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Sumomo Kanashiwa
Painting - 140 x 123 x 3 cm Painting - 55.1 x 48.4 x 1.2 inch
£5,247
EQUILIBRIUM : BRIDGES OF SERENITY
Ryoko Watanabe
Painting - 170 x 167 x 5 cm Painting - 66.9 x 65.7 x 2 inch
£6,209
Les souris
Dominique Albertelli
Painting - 146 x 114 x 2.5 cm Painting - 57.5 x 44.9 x 1 inch
£5,072
Bavière Pervers
Sorrel Mocchia di Coggiola
Painting - 100 x 100 x 3 cm Painting - 39.4 x 39.4 x 1.2 inch
£4,548
Marilyn Monroe II
Maria Trattner
Painting - 100 x 100 x 3 cm Painting - 39.4 x 39.4 x 1.2 inch
£2,930
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Heinz Rabbow
Painting - 110 x 120 x 3 cm Painting - 43.3 x 47.2 x 1.2 inch
£12,768
My granny Polli
Zurab Kurchishvili
Painting - 100 x 60 x 2 cm Painting - 39.4 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
£4,352
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Mickey Bond
Painting - 20.3 x 20.3 x 1.3 cm Painting - 8 x 8 x 0.5 inch
£154
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Lila Maroun Frem
Painting - 36 x 36 x 1.5 cm Painting - 14.2 x 14.2 x 0.6 inch
£1,749
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Gwendal Lemercier
Painting - 29.7 x 21 x 0.2 cm Painting - 11.7 x 8.3 x 0.1 inch
£245
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tizlu
Painting - 50 x 35 x 2.2 cm Painting - 19.7 x 13.8 x 0.9 inch
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Sculpture - 44 x 16 x 20 cm Sculpture - 17.3 x 6.3 x 7.9 inch
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Print - 50 x 50 x 0.1 cm Print - 19.7 x 19.7 x 0 inch
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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.