Portrait Painting for Sale
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Femme au fume-cigarette
Martine Fauve Dechavanne
Painting - 19 x 19 x 1.5 cm Painting - 7.5 x 7.5 x 0.6 inch
$310
Une Touche de Moi
Aimée De Courtozé
Painting - 65 x 50 x 2 cm Painting - 25.6 x 19.7 x 0.8 inch
$2,213
Portrait PS 126 Kiev - De guerre lasse - French school
Bazévian Delacapucinière
Painting - 70 x 50 x 3.8 cm Painting - 27.6 x 19.7 x 1.5 inch
$1,770
La fille aux Chupa Chups
Aimée De Courtozé
Painting - 55 x 46 x 2 cm Painting - 21.7 x 18.1 x 0.8 inch
$1,018
Portrait PS232 La Damocha (Large) French School oil painting Basel
Bazévian Delacapucinière
Painting - 55 x 55 x 3.5 cm Painting - 21.7 x 21.7 x 1.4 inch
$1,881
Portrait PS223 Tsunami (Large) French School oil painting Basel
Bazévian Delacapucinière
Painting - 55 x 55 x 3.5 cm Painting - 21.7 x 21.7 x 1.4 inch
$1,881
Winter. Portrait of a Woman
Ihar Barkhatkou
Painting - 73 x 60 x 3 cm Painting - 28.7 x 23.6 x 1.2 inch
$1,770
USA Code Barre Marilyn, BB et Audrey Hepburn (2) (1)
Elmago
Painting - 150 x 50 x 4 cm Painting - 59.1 x 19.7 x 1.6 inch
$7,192
Sisterhood of Lunch: Laguna Cafe
Grace Diehl
Painting - 35.6 x 27.9 x 1.8 cm Painting - 14 x 11 x 0.7 inch
$1,028
Laguna Farmers Market
Grace Diehl
Painting - 27.9 x 35.6 x 1.8 cm Painting - 11 x 14 x 0.7 inch
$1,028
Le Sacre du Printemps
Liubov Juravliova
Painting - 100 x 80 x 3 cm Painting - 39.4 x 31.5 x 1.2 inch
$1,881
Portrait PS 231 La Dormante - French School oil painting Basel
Bazévian Delacapucinière
Painting - 55 x 55 x 3.5 cm Painting - 21.7 x 21.7 x 1.4 inch
$1,992
Le manteau rouge
Victorine Follana
Painting - 70 x 50 x 4 cm Painting - 27.6 x 19.7 x 1.6 inch
$1,217
Portrait in Geometric Symphony
Zakhar Shevchuk
Painting - 114 x 82 x 2 cm Painting - 44.9 x 32.3 x 0.8 inch
$2,711
To be or not to be
David Ferreira
Painting - 100 x 100 x 2 cm Painting - 39.4 x 39.4 x 0.8 inch
$2,987
Persona YB2302
Alex Senchenko
Painting - 100 x 100 x 1.5 cm Painting - 39.4 x 39.4 x 0.6 inch
$1,555 $1,089
Temptation (Seated woman with one bare breast)
Zakhar Shevchuk
Painting - 115 x 90 x 2 cm Painting - 45.3 x 35.4 x 0.8 inch
$3,319
Shannon in Profile
Maxwell Stevens
Painting - 14 x 21.2 x 1.5 cm Painting - 5.5 x 8.3 x 0.6 inch
$1,992
Extrasensory perceptions
Salvatore Travascio
Painting - 116 x 90 x 1 cm Painting - 45.7 x 35.4 x 0.4 inch
$1,549
God of Thunderclouds Tormi
Shin Seung-Hun
Painting - 78 x 65 x 3 cm Painting - 30.7 x 25.6 x 1.2 inch
$2,102
Mother and child
Zakhar Shevchuk
Painting - 105 x 70 x 2 cm Painting - 41.3 x 27.6 x 0.8 inch
$2,379
Somnium No. 3, Series VII
Mario Henrique
Painting - 120 x 100 x 3 cm Painting - 47.2 x 39.4 x 1.2 inch
$6,086
Discover the styles & movements
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Serie Terra Retrato en fondo beige
Enrique Pichardo
Painting - 70 x 70 x 1 cm Painting - 27.6 x 27.6 x 0.4 inch
$956
The tree of life
Seyran Gasparyan
Painting - 50 x 60 x 2 cm Painting - 19.7 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
$1,200
Inventoriage biométrique
Gopal Dagnogo
Fine Art Drawings - 220 x 220 x 0.3 cm Fine Art Drawings - 86.6 x 86.6 x 0.1 inch
$1,095
Circus Acrobats
Joanna Zakrzewska-Cholewa
Sculpture - 49 x 15 x 6 cm Sculpture - 19.3 x 5.9 x 2.4 inch
$1,769 $1,593
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.
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.