Portrait

Sadness, melancholy and gloom have found an outlet in artists throughout history and in the depiction of figurative art. Through artists, humanity and their emotional and physical states are portrayed to be viewed and related to. The instant recognition of such a grave subject also plagues human history itself, thus carving out its own rightful spot amongst the history of art movements. In Edgar Degas' 1875 painting L'Absinthe, where viewers see a portrait of a young woman solemnly contemplating her situation, disengaged from their gaze, her surroundings, maybe even from herself. 

Dark hues and colors define somber portrait painting and can highlight the cause of such sadness, whether that be the subject's emotional state or a greater rendering of the world's expanse and the human existence within it. Existential or not, the traits of somber artwork can be found in our own collection of portraits on Artsper. The portraiture work of Nicolas Fropo de Habart works the body in all its dimensions to create an absolute feeling of vastness while Antoine Stevens also depicts wandering souls in his dimmed portraiture. But given the nature of humanity, somber depictions of the figure are not entirely unexpected…


Read more
Photography, Rebalance, Ali Buhamad

Ali Buhamad

Photography . 40 x 30 x 5 cm Photography . 15.7 x 11.8 x 2 inch

£886

Print, Square 3, Lantomo

Lantomo

Print . 29.7 x 21 cm Print . 11.7 x 8.3 inch

£97

Painting, Oliver Hartt, Ramonn Vieitez

Ramonn Vieitez

Painting . 39.9 x 30 x 0.3 cm Painting . 15.7 x 11.8 x 0.1 inch

£1,622

Painting, La rascasse, Olivier Daumas

Olivier Daumas

Painting . 81 x 100 x 3 cm Painting . 31.9 x 39.4 x 1.2 inch

£5,314

Painting, Code 2220, Thierry Carrier

Thierry Carrier

Painting . 89 x 130 x 3 cm Painting . 35 x 51.2 x 1.2 inch

£5,137

Print, Jewel, Ger Doornink

Ger Doornink

Print . 87 x 66 cm Print . 34.3 x 26 inch

£868

Painting, Pratensis, Yoann Merienne

Yoann Merienne

Painting . 160 x 120 x 2 cm Painting . 63 x 47.2 x 0.8 inch

£9,299

Painting, Sans titre, Zwy Milshtein

Zwy Milshtein

Painting . 50 x 65 cm Painting . 19.7 x 25.6 inch

£2,214

Painting, Malachite, Lisbeth Buonanno

Lisbeth Buonanno

Painting . 10 x 13 x 0.1 cm Painting . 3.9 x 5.1 x 0 inch

£531

Painting, Untitled, Natia Sapanadze

Natia Sapanadze

Painting . 30 x 24 x 3 cm Painting . 11.8 x 9.4 x 1.2 inch

£514

Painting, Tarongers, Núria Bosch

Núria Bosch

Painting . 105 x 95 x 4 cm Painting . 41.3 x 37.4 x 1.6 inch

£2,790

Photography, Deep soul 80, Laurence Verney

Laurence Verney

Photography . 112 x 80 x 0.5 cm Photography . 44.1 x 31.5 x 0.2 inch

£1,860

Painting, Rony, Nathan Chantob

Nathan Chantob

Painting . 126 x 158 x 3 cm Painting . 49.6 x 62.2 x 1.2 inch

£8,856

Painting, La robe (2), Marta Grassi

Marta Grassi

Painting . 40 x 30 x 0.2 cm Painting . 15.7 x 11.8 x 0.1 inch

£602

Painting, La robe, Marta Grassi

Marta Grassi

Painting . 50 x 40 x 1 cm Painting . 19.7 x 15.7 x 0.4 inch

£602

Photography, El campesino, James Sparshatt

James Sparshatt

Photography . 50 x 50 x 1 cm Photography . 19.7 x 19.7 x 0.4 inch

£855

Painting, Forest, Teona Yamanidze

Teona Yamanidze

Painting . 175 x 155 x 3 cm Painting . 68.9 x 61 x 1.2 inch

£12,576

Painting, Inception, Lisbeth Buonanno

Lisbeth Buonanno

Painting . 130 x 89 x 2 cm Painting . 51.2 x 35 x 0.8 inch

£4,428

Fine Art Drawings, Pensive, Erdna André

Erdna André

Fine Art Drawings . 100 x 70 x 3 cm Fine Art Drawings . 39.4 x 27.6 x 1.2 inch

£443