Portrait Photography for Sale
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Zoë (Paris)
Stefanie Schneider
Photography - 60 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 19.7 x 0 inch
€2,000
Don de soi III
Feng Kaixuan
Photography - 60 x 90 x 2 cm Photography - 23.6 x 35.4 x 0.8 inch
€3,600
Stories Scheherazade Certified XIV
Grzegorz Sikorski
Photography - 45 x 60 x 0.1 cm Photography - 17.7 x 23.6 x 0 inch
€190
Maxime Medard
Clément Poitrenaud
Photography - 30 x 30 x 4 cm Photography - 11.8 x 11.8 x 1.6 inch
€1,300
Cinematography inspired session #26
Grzegorz Sikorski
Photography - 60 x 45 x 0.1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 17.7 x 0 inch
€190
Cinematography inspired session #18
Grzegorz Sikorski
Photography - 60 x 45 x 0.1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 17.7 x 0 inch
€190
Cinematography inspired session #15
Grzegorz Sikorski
Photography - 60 x 60 x 0.1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 23.6 x 0 inch
€190
Matador III
Grzegorz Sikorski
Photography - 60 x 45 x 0.1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 17.7 x 0 inch
€190
El Color Grana VII
Grzegorz Sikorski
Photography - 35 x 60 x 0.1 cm Photography - 13.8 x 23.6 x 0 inch
€190
Japanese Life 08
Yasuo Kiyonaga
Photography - 25 x 120 x 3.8 cm Photography - 9.8 x 47.2 x 1.5 inch
€300
Japanese Life 03
Yasuo Kiyonaga
Photography - 25 x 120 x 3.8 cm Photography - 9.8 x 47.2 x 1.5 inch
€300
Japanese Life 02
Yasuo Kiyonaga
Photography - 25 x 120 x 3.8 cm Photography - 9.8 x 47.2 x 1.5 inch
€300
#10. From "La Piedra Sustituta II" Series
José Sierra
Photography - 101.6 x 58.5 x 0.3 cm Photography - 40 x 23.02 x 0.1 inch
€1,918
Deseo Insular IV
José Sierra
Photography - 69.9 x 45 x 0.3 cm Photography - 27.5 x 17.7 x 0.1 inch
€1,918
Deseo Insular XII
José Sierra
Photography - 69.9 x 50 x 0.3 cm Photography - 27.5 x 19.7 x 0.1 inch
€1,918
Noel Coward's Eye, #2257
Natasha Zupan
Photography - 152.4 x 135.9 x 0.3 cm Photography - 60 x 53.5 x 0.1 inch
€4,794
Destruyendo Metáforas #2
Léa Bon
Photography - 50 x 30 x 0.3 cm Photography - 19.69 x 11.81 x 0.1 inch
€959
Destruyendo Metáforas
Léa Bon
Photography - 50 x 30 x 0.3 cm Photography - 19.69 x 11.81 x 0.1 inch
€959
Occult Games #4
Léa Bon
Photography - 75 x 50 x 0.3 cm Photography - 29.53 x 19.68 x 0.1 inch
€1,438
Elvis Presley from the Castelloland series.
Paloma Castello
Photography - 69.9 x 49.8 x 0.3 cm Photography - 27.5 x 19.6 x 0.1 inch
€1,199
Mata Hari
Paloma Castello
Photography - 119.9 x 83.8 x 0.3 cm Photography - 47.2 x 33 x 0.1 inch
€1,918
Sidney Poitier, from the Castelloland series
Paloma Castello
Photography - 83.8 x 119.9 x 0.3 cm Photography - 33 x 47.2 x 0.1 inch
€1,918
Attente, La Havane 994
Jean-Robert Franco
Photography - 60 x 90 cm Photography - 23.6 x 35.4 inch
€2,500
Homme à la barbe
Eugène Druet
Photography - 54 x 43 x 0.5 cm Photography - 21.3 x 16.9 x 0.2 inch
€1,450
1915 La liseuse The reader
Eugène Druet
Photography - 54 x 43 x 0.5 cm Photography - 21.3 x 16.9 x 0.2 inch
€1,450
1915 Marie en déshabillé de soie
Eugène Druet
Photography - 54 x 43 x 0.5 cm Photography - 21.3 x 16.9 x 0.2 inch
€1,450
Eternel Retour
Yves Bordes Lapeyre
Photography - 60 x 90 x 1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 35.4 x 0.4 inch
€540
Snow Queen #2239
Natasha Zupan
Photography - 152.4 x 135.9 x 0.3 cm Photography - 60 x 53.5 x 0.1 inch
€7,671
1972 Vienna Muse 7
Florian Hunger-Pegof
Photography - 18 x 24 x 0.5 cm Photography - 7.1 x 9.4 x 0.2 inch
€1,950
1972 Vienna Muse 3 Vue du ciel
Florian Hunger-Pegof
Photography - 24 x 18 x 0.5 cm Photography - 9.4 x 7.1 x 0.2 inch
€1,950
1972 Vienna Muse 2 Vue du ciel
Florian Hunger-Pegof
Photography - 24 x 18 x 0.5 cm Photography - 9.4 x 7.1 x 0.2 inch
€1,950
Above the clouds #5
Cody Choi
Photography - 50.8 x 76.2 x 0.1 cm Photography - 20 x 30 x 0 inch
€612
Sans titre #6
Thierry Valencin
Photography - 47 x 39 x 4 cm Photography - 18.5 x 15.4 x 1.6 inch
€1,400
Bouche homme
Emmanuelle Barbaras
Photography - 40 x 50 x 1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 19.7 x 0.4 inch
€700
Bouche femme
Emmanuelle Barbaras
Photography - 40 x 50 x 1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 19.7 x 0.4 inch
€700
Le photographe
Emmanuelle Barbaras
Photography - 50 x 40 x 0.2 cm Photography - 19.7 x 15.7 x 0.1 inch
€700
Enfant école coranique sénégal
Emmanuelle Barbaras
Photography - 50 x 40 x 1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 15.7 x 0.4 inch
€700
Above the clouds #4
Cody Choi
Photography - 50.8 x 76.2 x 0.1 cm Photography - 20 x 30 x 0 inch
€612
Above the clouds #8
Cody Choi
Photography - 50.8 x 76.2 x 0.1 cm Photography - 20 x 30 x 0 inch
€612
Above the clouds #7
Cody Choi
Photography - 50.8 x 76.2 x 0.1 cm Photography - 20 x 30 x 0 inch
€612
Genetic Memomy from series: I am we - The Endless Journey
Antonio Briceño
Photography - 75 x 22.5 cm Photography - 29.5 x 8.9 inch
€800
Sotigui Kouyaté
Bernard Pras
Photography - 106 x 80 x 3 cm Photography - 41.7 x 31.5 x 1.2 inch
€5,000
Michel Desjoyeaux
Christophe Paucelier
Photography - 50 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 15.7 x 0 inch
€770
Cinematography inspired session #27
Grzegorz Sikorski
Photography - 60 x 45 x 0.1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 17.7 x 0 inch
€190
Barbie collection #5
Grzegorz Sikorski
Photography - 70 x 70 x 0.1 cm Photography - 27.6 x 27.6 x 0 inch
€190
Man with Black Sand
Ricky Cohete
Photography - 91.4 x 61 x 0.3 cm Photography - 36 x 24 x 0.1 inch
€2,131
Men & Serpent, One
Ricky Cohete
Photography - 91.4 x 61 x 0.3 cm Photography - 36 x 24 x 0.1 inch
€2,131
Man with Crown One, Black and White archival pigment print, Large
Ricky Cohete
Photography - 152.4 x 101.6 x 0.3 cm Photography - 60 x 40 x 0.1 inch
€3,835
Jeune fille à la perle
Bernard Pras
Photography - 160 x 120 x 4 cm Photography - 63 x 47.2 x 1.6 inch
€11,000
Le vieil homme triste
Bernard Pras
Photography - 160 x 120 x 4 cm Photography - 63 x 47.2 x 1.6 inch
€11,000
Série des Pin Up N°2
Mehdi Mirbagheri
Photography - 80 x 80 x 1 cm Photography - 31.5 x 31.5 x 0.4 inch
€2,500
Kate Moss Venice Beach I
Christoph Martin Schmid
Photography - 44 x 33 cm Photography - 17.3 x 13 inch
€800
Muse 1 and 2. Nude Color photographs intervened by the artists.
Hunter & Gatti
Photography - 33 x 96.5 x 2.5 cm Photography - 13 x 38 x 1 inch
€3,835
Hope - Pharrell Williams, Portrait 2. Photograph intervened by the artists.
Hunter & Gatti
Photography - 63.5 x 50.8 x 0.3 cm Photography - 25 x 20 x 0.1 inch
€2,397
Discover the styles & movements
Discover the selection of our experts
Portrait Photography for Sale
In the 1830s, Nièpce discovered the process for setting images onto pewter plates. In 1833, upon Nièpce's death, Louis Daguerre and François Arago continued his experiments and invented the daguerreotype, a process which created a printed image on a silver plate that had been exposed to light. Photography was born.
Similarly to how portrait painting had dominated artistic output in previous centuries, portrait photography was to become the pillar of the Second French Empire's photographic industry. Lenses with a shorter focal length, which enabled reduced exposure times, gradually appear on the market. The required equipment was expensive and difficult to handle. Some photographers, called daguerreotypists, decided to open their own photography studios to make a profit from their endeavours. The daguerreotype process was temperamental, and photographers had to take their pictures with great precision and attention to detail. They welcomed many people into their studios and customers choose how they wished to be photographed from catalogue of poses. Originally only accessible to the bourgeoisie, lower prices resulting from the growing number of studios eventually attracted a wider customer base. This phenomenon infuriated the poet Charles Baudelaire who was frustrated by the sense of narcissism sparked by the daguerreotypists.
Despite his protests, the egotistical trend only grew with the emergence of 'carte de visite' portraits (small photographs, the size of today's business cards). These were the brainchild of Adolphe Eugène Disdéri came up with the idea of producing portraits akin to visiting cards in 1859. He printed eight portraits in a variety of poses onto a single plate and once developed they could be cut up into eight distinct “visiting cards". Very popular with the bourgeoisie, they highlighted the sitters' social status. 'Carte de visite' portraits featuring celebrities were also sold to customers, who could subsequently add them to their albums.
The photographer Nadar was one of the first to demonstrate a conscious artistic approach to producing these portraits. He emphasised facial expressions and ensured the sitter was comfortable and at ease before taking the photograph. He photographed the era's greatest thinkers and artists, including Honoré de Balzac, George Sand, and Victor Hugo. He even managed to reconcile Baudelaire with portraiture.
At the end of the 19th century, the art of photography started to enter the mainstream, with the arrival of the Kodak company. The use of the camera, and the taking of portraits, became everyday occurrences. A century later, it was the invention of the digital camera which challenged the status quo. Whereas before alterations could only be made to photographs when they were being taken or developed, with the digital camera editing became easier, quicker and more convenient. Digital photography has given photographers much more freedom when it comes to editing and new methods and techniques are constantly being explored.
Some of the photographers who have left their mark on the last century include: Cindy Sherman, who excelled in self-portraits, Annie Leibovitz, who captured celebrities, the wacky duo, Pierre and Gilles, as well as Diane Arbus, Irving Penn, Richard Avedon, Helmut Newton and Bettina Rheims.
So, do portraits help us to learn more about each other, to remember, to invent, to act, or to reconnect with ourselves? Find out on Artsper, by exploring the works of Formento & Formento, Naomi Vona, Ahmed Bennani, Chou Ching Hui, Samuel Cueto, Brno del Zou, Ren Hang, Markus + Indrani, Jerome Liebling as well as Annina Roescheisen.
A portrait photograph can be a photograph of a person's head and shoulders, but it can also be of an animal or of a different section of the subject's body such as their feet. Portrait photographs in art often tell or hint something about its subject to the viewer, such as an aspect of their personality, but still contain an element of mystery.
The three major types of portrait photography are posed portraits, candid or anonymous portraits, and conceptual portraits. The last type, conceptual or creative portraits, can be experimental and abstract, and may not represent an image close to a traditional portrait.
The six main types of portrait photography are fine art portraits, traditional portraits (for example posed portraits taken at school), lifestyle portraits, group portraits, street portraits and glamour portraits.