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.
Save your search and find it in your favorites
Save your search to find it quickly
Saved search
Your search is accessible from the favorites tab > My favorite searches
Unsaved search
A problem occurred
Henriette Northam
Grandgrandgrand
Painting - 100 x 100 x 2 cm Painting - 39.4 x 39.4 x 0.8 inch
$1,008
Aunty Mansa and daughter
Emmanuel Adiamah
Painting - 68.6 x 68.6 x 10.2 cm Painting - 27 x 27 x 4 inch
$8,200
Les risques du métier
Pascal Chôve
Painting - 195 x 114 x 3 cm Painting - 76.8 x 44.9 x 1.2 inch
$15,422
The blue shadow
Hildegarde Handsaeme
Painting - 140 x 50 x 4 cm Painting - 55.1 x 19.7 x 1.6 inch
$3,322
Three-quarter-length woman
Milena Sgambato
Painting - 45 x 40 x 2 cm Painting - 17.7 x 15.7 x 0.8 inch
$1,424
Mar de nuestros Ancestros
Delia Montanha
Painting - 30 x 26 x 1 cm Painting - 11.8 x 10.2 x 0.4 inch
$712
Untittle
Elena Naushirvanova
Painting - 78 x 54 x 0.2 cm Painting - 30.7 x 21.3 x 0.1 inch
$1,186 $1,008
Mermaid
Sasha Katinauskiene
Painting - 60 x 40 x 3 cm Painting - 23.6 x 15.7 x 1.2 inch
$1,186 $1,008
Femme au regard au-dessus de son épaule
Sandra Paris
Painting - 51 x 29 x 0.2 cm Painting - 20.1 x 11.4 x 0.1 inch
$427
Disappearance of the queen
Jukka Kettunen
Painting - 70 x 60 x 5 cm Painting - 27.6 x 23.6 x 2 inch
$2,819
It's not you, it's not me either
Rahma Lhoussig
Painting - 90 x 100 x 5 cm Painting - 35.4 x 39.4 x 2 inch
$4,508
A Farewell to My Problem Days II
Sophia Oshodin
Painting - 80 x 80 x 5 cm Painting - 31.5 x 31.5 x 2 inch
$3,322
The decision II
Ricardo Fabián Bertona
Painting - 70 x 60 x 2 cm Painting - 27.6 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
$1,550
Composite portrait - The artist and the artist’s wife
Ron Smits
Painting - 35.6 x 27.9 x 2.5 cm Painting - 14 x 11 x 1 inch
$1,800
Collage on paper Lullaby for a cat.
Ekaterina Shitova
Painting - 21 x 29 x 0.1 cm Painting - 8.3 x 11.4 x 0 inch
$89 $85
Fantasy is a necessary ingredient
Ruby Bat Arnon
Painting - 140 x 100 x 3 cm Painting - 55.1 x 39.4 x 1.2 inch
$11,863
La dame au petard
Salam Moneyang
Painting - 120 x 120 x 3 cm Painting - 47.2 x 47.2 x 1.2 inch
$2,135
les fleurs en harmonie Femme sur le lit
Brito Esteves
Painting - 55 x 65 x 2 cm Painting - 21.7 x 25.6 x 0.8 inch
$1,780
Feel Love
Sara Chelou & Romane Joncoeur
Painting - 60 x 60 x 1 cm Painting - 23.6 x 23.6 x 0.4 inch
$712
It_helped_me_diamond
Axel Jenny
Painting - 125 x 100 x 0.1 cm Painting - 49.2 x 39.4 x 0 inch
$2,373
Citrine (Ava Gardner) Mirror Stone (3)
Carolina Gomez
Painting - 60 x 60 x 4 cm Painting - 23.6 x 23.6 x 1.6 inch
$4,152
Le vieux Korodouga 1
Amadou Opa Bathily
Painting - 118 x 130 x 5 cm Painting - 46.5 x 51.2 x 2 inch
$4,508
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
$2,135 $1,708
Top Elite Faschions
Shepard Fairey (Obey)
Print - 61 x 46 x 0.2 cm Print - 24 x 18.1 x 0.1 inch
$652
Degas Danseur de Ballet
Martín Duque
Sculpture - 44 x 16 x 20 cm Sculpture - 17.3 x 6.3 x 7.9 inch
$1,163
Maiko in Springtime Kyoto
Takashi Murakami
Print - 50 x 50 x 0.1 cm Print - 19.7 x 19.7 x 0 inch
$2,882
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
$2,450
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.