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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Femme à la ceinture
Marie Thuillier
Painting - 43 x 30 x 0.1 cm Painting - 16.9 x 11.8 x 0 inch
$894
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
$376
I kissed a frog
Christian Granwehr
Painting - 100 x 100 x 3 cm Painting - 39.4 x 39.4 x 1.2 inch
$5,245
En tiempo y Espacio
Griselda Alcazar
Painting - 120 x 85 x 3 cm Painting - 47.2 x 33.5 x 1.2 inch
$5,424
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
$7,749
The dark side of the beauty
Walter Geraci
Painting - 60 x 50 x 0.1 cm Painting - 23.6 x 19.7 x 0 inch
$453
Retrato de cuerpo entero - Prometeo y el fuego
Pere Bennàssar Obrador
Painting - 190 x 97 x 2.5 cm Painting - 74.8 x 38.2 x 1 inch
$10,729
Echelons of empowerment : purple panorama
Jimmy Yoshimura
Painting - 40 x 160 x 5 cm Painting - 15.7 x 63 x 2 inch
$4,769
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
$536
Portrait de sa Majesté Baudouin 1er
Pierre Piget
Painting - 61 x 50 x 1 cm Painting - 24 x 19.7 x 0.4 inch
$298
Memories take a nap in between
Djénina Hagenburger
Painting - 122 x 149 x 1 cm Painting - 48 x 58.7 x 0.4 inch
$5,365
Abstract portrait blue
Benjamin Carrivick
Painting - 15 x 9.9 x 0.3 cm Painting - 5.9 x 3.9 x 0.1 inch
$212
The True North
Roldán Lauzán Eiras
Painting - 170 x 145 x 3 cm Painting - 66.9 x 57.1 x 1.2 inch
$11,564
EQUILIBRIUM : BRIDGES OF SERENITY
Ryoko Watanabe
Painting - 170 x 167 x 5 cm Painting - 66.9 x 65.7 x 2 inch
$8,464
Les souris
Dominique Albertelli
Painting - 146 x 114 x 2.5 cm Painting - 57.5 x 44.9 x 1 inch
$6,914
Solving Conflicts
Marc Andre
Painting - 182.9 x 152.4 x 3.8 cm Painting - 72 x 60 x 1.5 inch
$10,000
Bavière Pervers
Sorrel Mocchia di Coggiola
Painting - 100 x 100 x 3 cm Painting - 39.4 x 39.4 x 1.2 inch
$6,199
Marilyn Monroe II
Maria Trattner
Painting - 100 x 100 x 3 cm Painting - 39.4 x 39.4 x 1.2 inch
$3,994
Woman at the pool
Heinz Rabbow
Painting - 110 x 120 x 3 cm Painting - 43.3 x 47.2 x 1.2 inch
$17,405
My granny Polli
Zurab Kurchishvili
Painting - 100 x 60 x 2 cm Painting - 39.4 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
$5,931
In the Desert, Pink Sky
Mickey Bond
Painting - 20.3 x 20.3 x 1.3 cm Painting - 8 x 8 x 0.5 inch
$200
Dialogue entre voisins 1
Lila Maroun Frem
Painting - 36 x 36 x 1.5 cm Painting - 14.2 x 14.2 x 0.6 inch
$2,384
Serge Gainsbourg
Gwendal Lemercier
Painting - 29.7 x 21 x 0.2 cm Painting - 11.7 x 8.3 x 0.1 inch
$334
The blue shadow
Hildegarde Handsaeme
Painting - 140 x 50 x 4 cm Painting - 55.1 x 19.7 x 1.6 inch
$3,338
La sagesse dans les branches
Amor de Agua
Painting - 120 x 108 cm Painting - 47.2 x 42.5 inch
$1,311
Henriette Northam
Grandgrandgrand
Painting - 100 x 100 x 2 cm Painting - 39.4 x 39.4 x 0.8 inch
$1,013
With a blue cat. At the pink table
Sasha Katinauskiene
Painting - 70 x 50 x 3 cm Painting - 27.6 x 19.7 x 1.2 inch
$1,192 $1,013
Les risques du métier
Pascal Chôve
Painting - 195 x 114 x 3 cm Painting - 76.8 x 44.9 x 1.2 inch
$15,498
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
Incognito Jazz
Antonio "Anton" Ribeiro
Painting - 50 x 61 x 3 cm Painting - 19.7 x 24 x 1.2 inch
$775
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L'esprit Déchaîné (hand-painted)
tizlu
Painting - 50 x 35 x 2.2 cm Painting - 19.7 x 13.8 x 0.9 inch
$1,764
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Shepard Fairey (Obey)
Print - 61 x 46 x 0.2 cm Print - 24 x 18.1 x 0.1 inch
$656
Degas Danseur de Ballet
Martín Duque
Sculpture - 44 x 16 x 20 cm Sculpture - 17.3 x 6.3 x 7.9 inch
$1,168
Maiko in Springtime Kyoto
Takashi Murakami
Print - 50 x 50 x 0.1 cm Print - 19.7 x 19.7 x 0 inch
$2,896
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
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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.