Portrait Painting for Sale
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La robe bleue d'après "Sainte Anne, la vierge et l'enfant Jésus " de Léonard de Vinci
Catherine Clare
Painting - 100 x 100 x 3 cm Painting - 39.4 x 39.4 x 1.2 inch
£2,246
Pastorale africaine - Complicité, frères et soeurs
Catherine Clare
Painting - 100 x 100 x 3 cm Painting - 39.4 x 39.4 x 1.2 inch
£2,246
Une soirée tous les deux
Martine Fauve Dechavanne
Painting - 54 x 65 x 2 cm Painting - 21.3 x 25.6 x 0.8 inch
£1,303
Persona YB2306
Alex Senchenko
Painting - 100 x 100 x 1.5 cm Painting - 39.4 x 39.4 x 0.6 inch
£1,200
Enigmatic appearance of myself in an other's dream
Vladimir Kolosov
Painting - 121.9 x 91.4 x 2 cm Painting - 48 x 36 x 0.8 inch
£1,501
Northern Girl (La fille du Nord)
Le Closier
Painting - 76 x 76 x 2 cm Painting - 29.9 x 29.9 x 0.8 inch
£1,213
Lady in Red in Paris
Ruslana Levandovska
Painting - 76.2 x 61 x 1.9 cm Painting - 30 x 24 x 0.75 inch
£11,806
Late Night III
Ruslana Levandovska
Painting - 76.2 x 61 x 1.9 cm Painting - 30 x 24 x 0.75 inch
£7,758
Man at the Bar
Ruslana Levandovska
Painting - 61 x 76.2 x 1.9 cm Painting - 24 x 30 x 0.75 inch
£8,011
La vie c’est mieux
Yohan Storti
Painting - 80 x 60 x 4 cm Painting - 31.5 x 23.6 x 1.6 inch
£1,438 £1,078
Ololufe Mi (Love of My Life)
Oladire Araireoluwa
Painting - 121.9 x 91.4 x 2.5 cm Painting - 48 x 36 x 1 inch
£2,075
Je reviens te chercher
Yohan Storti
Painting - 80 x 60 x 2 cm Painting - 31.5 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
£1,078
Miroir « Ombre »
Nicolas Nostra
Painting - 120 x 120 x 4 cm Painting - 47.2 x 47.2 x 1.6 inch
£7,099
Miroir « Lumière »
Nicolas Nostra
Painting - 120 x 360 x 4 cm Painting - 47.2 x 141.7 x 1.6 inch
£12,490
On your tomb, They won't smell nice
Obeka Simon
Painting - 114.3 x 101.6 x 2.5 cm Painting - 45 x 40 x 1 inch
£2,361
Madonna ÿoung
Peter Donkersloot
Painting - 150 x 120 x 3 cm Painting - 59.1 x 47.2 x 1.2 inch
£7,638
Jeu de dames
Martine Fauve Dechavanne
Painting - 100 x 73 x 2 cm Painting - 39.4 x 28.7 x 0.8 inch
£854
Poisson et muscadet
Martine Fauve Dechavanne
Painting - 90 x 30 x 2 cm Painting - 35.4 x 11.8 x 0.8 inch
£809
Tout de bleu vêtue
Martine Fauve Dechavanne
Painting - 90 x 30 x 2 cm Painting - 35.4 x 11.8 x 0.8 inch
£809
Mujer Con Ojos Verdes Y Pelo Negro
Ernest Carneado Ferreri
Painting - 50 x 40 x 2 cm Painting - 19.7 x 15.7 x 0.8 inch
£539 £404
La mère et l'enfant
Martine Fauve Dechavanne
Painting - 116 x 89 x 2 cm Painting - 45.7 x 35 x 0.8 inch
£1,168
Jazz
Martine Fauve Dechavanne
Painting - 116 x 81 x 2 cm Painting - 45.7 x 31.9 x 0.8 inch
£1,168 £1,005
Think of a place we could go
Jana & JS
Painting - 50 x 50 x 5 cm Painting - 19.7 x 19.7 x 2 inch
£2,202
Cirque du Soleil II
Serghei Ghetiu
Painting - 80 x 65 x 2 cm Painting - 31.5 x 25.6 x 0.8 inch
£1,528
Foutan i angrès pa koshon - Ne pas tenir des remarques d’autrui. Parle toujours, tu m’intéresses
Jace
Painting - 90 x 90 x 4.5 cm Painting - 35.4 x 35.4 x 1.8 inch
£3,684
Le soleil et la paix
Sergio Moscona
Painting - 63 x 23 x 2 cm Painting - 24.8 x 9.1 x 0.8 inch
£1,977
Discover the styles & movements
Discover the selection of our experts
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
£776
The tree of life
Seyran Gasparyan
Painting - 50 x 60 x 2 cm Painting - 19.7 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
£1,012
Portrait #2. From the Portraits series
Luigi Christopher Veggetti Kanku
Painting - 30 x 20.8 x 0.3 cm Painting - 11.8 x 8.2 x 0.1 inch
£1,012
Circus Acrobats
Joanna Zakrzewska-Cholewa
Sculpture - 49 x 15 x 6 cm Sculpture - 19.3 x 5.9 x 2.4 inch
£1,437
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.