Somber Portrait Painters
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Vanité (crâne aux paillons)
Philippe Pasqua
Sculpture - 25 x 25 x 20 cm Sculpture - 9.8 x 9.8 x 7.9 inch
£22,218
Hommage à Dora Maar 1,2,3,4,5 (Complete suite)
Antonio Saura
Print - 65 x 50 cm Print - 25.6 x 19.7 inch
£10,665
Une chair d'ombre, Melanchton I, II, III, Philippe II, Don (Complete suite)
Antonio Saura
Print - 65 x 50 cm Print - 25.6 x 19.7 inch
£10,665
Advertisement for Tirreno
Mino Maccari
Fine Art Drawings - 24 x 11.5 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 9.4 x 4.5 x 0 inch
£578
Olivier en bronze
Philippe Pasqua
Sculpture - 80 x 30 x 30 cm Sculpture - 31.5 x 11.8 x 11.8 inch
£22,218
Kid
Hom Nguyen
Fine Art Drawings - 80 x 60 x 1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 31.5 x 23.6 x 0.4 inch
£11,464
Woman
Hom Nguyen
Fine Art Drawings - 80 x 60 x 1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 31.5 x 23.6 x 0.4 inch
£8,709
La Paix
Hom Nguyen
Fine Art Drawings - 80 x 60 x 1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 31.5 x 23.6 x 0.4 inch
£11,464
Coupelle de vanités
Philippe Pasqua
Sculpture - 28 x 45 x 35 cm Sculpture - 11 x 17.7 x 13.8 inch
£22,218
Vanité tatouée - rouge
Philippe Pasqua
Photography - 200 x 150 x 2 cm Photography - 78.7 x 59.1 x 0.8 inch
£15,997
Cloth Master in blue - Monochrome
Dzovig Arnelian
Painting - 20.5 x 12 x 0.5 cm Painting - 8.1 x 4.7 x 0.2 inch
£456
Cloth Master in brown - Monochrome
Dzovig Arnelian
Painting - 20.5 x 12 x 0.5 cm Painting - 8.1 x 4.7 x 0.2 inch
£456
Domestic yellows III
Dzovig Arnelian
Painting - 26 x 12 x 0.5 cm Painting - 10.2 x 4.7 x 0.2 inch
£498
Domestic yellows II
Dzovig Arnelian
Painting - 26 x 14 x 0.5 cm Painting - 10.2 x 5.5 x 0.2 inch
£498
Domestic yellows I
Dzovig Arnelian
Painting - 26.5 x 16.5 x 0.5 cm Painting - 10.4 x 6.5 x 0.2 inch
£498
Rimbaud, Boulevard Saint-Michel
Ernest Pignon-Ernest
Print - 80 x 60 cm Print - 31.5 x 23.6 inch
£889
The Couples
Mino Maccari
Fine Art Drawings - 35 x 50 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 13.8 x 19.7 x 0 inch
£755
The ladies are waiting I
Dzovig Arnelian
Painting - 16.5 x 25.5 x 0.5 cm Painting - 6.5 x 10 x 0.2 inch
£498
Couple Reading
Mino Maccari
Fine Art Drawings - 17.7 x 12 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 7 x 4.7 x 0 inch
£533
An elegant breakfast
Dzovig Arnelian
Painting - 110 x 50 x 1 cm Painting - 43.3 x 19.7 x 0.4 inch
£1,824
Coupe Walking
Mino Maccari
Fine Art Drawings - 22.6 x 13.7 x 0.2 cm Fine Art Drawings - 8.9 x 5.4 x 0.1 inch
£489
Wagner
Ernest Pignon-Ernest
Fine Art Drawings - 36 x 40 cm Fine Art Drawings - 14.2 x 15.7 inch
£15,997
The ladies are waiting II
Dzovig Arnelian
Painting - 9.5 x 14 x 0.5 cm Painting - 3.7 x 5.5 x 0.2 inch
£398
Blonde Brune Rousse
Ghislaine Ferreira
Painting - 115 x 89 x 2 cm Painting - 45.3 x 35 x 0.8 inch
£1,093
Liberté de penser
Cécile Desserle
Painting - 70 x 50 x 2 cm Painting - 27.6 x 19.7 x 0.8 inch
£1,600
La tête à l'envers
Ghislaine Ferreira
Painting - 80 x 65 x 2 cm Painting - 31.5 x 25.6 x 0.8 inch
£560
Amour sous Notre-Dame
Lisbeth Buonanno
Painting - 22 x 27 x 1.8 cm Painting - 8.7 x 10.6 x 0.7 inch
£711
Eclats de lune sur des eaux tranquilles
Lisbeth Buonanno
Painting - 56 x 45 x 1.8 cm Painting - 22 x 17.7 x 0.7 inch
£978
Somber Portrait Painters
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…