Portrait Painting for Sale
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François-Xavier de Boissoudy
Painting - 57 x 42 x 3 cm Painting - 22.4 x 16.5 x 1.2 inch
$1,357
Les sœurs complices
Pascha Pascha
Painting - 100 x 100 x 5 cm Painting - 39.4 x 39.4 x 2 inch
$1,470
La vierge à l'enfant
Pascha Pascha
Painting - 100 x 100 x 5 cm Painting - 39.4 x 39.4 x 2 inch
$1,470
Femme assise et souriante
Albert Chavaz
Painting - 24 x 17.5 x 0.3 cm Painting - 9.4 x 6.9 x 0.1 inch
$1,064
Christ Descente de Croix par les âmes COLLECTION LUBJANA MUSEUM COLLECTION
Joze Ciuha
Painting - 213 x 273 cm Painting - 83.9 x 107.5 inch
$66,723
Barack Obama and a comic who has ice cream on his head
Jose Ricardo Contreras Gonzalez
Painting - 50 x 40 x 0.3 cm Painting - 19.7 x 15.7 x 0.1 inch
$1,000
George W. Bush gifts Jay Leno a portrait of Jay Leno
Jose Ricardo Contreras Gonzalez
Painting - 50 x 40 x 0.3 cm Painting - 19.7 x 15.7 x 0.1 inch
$1,000
La femme au coucher du soleil
Eveline Weil
Painting - 46 x 38 x 2 cm Painting - 18.1 x 15 x 0.8 inch
$961
Sans titre (Trainspoting X Shoot The Bank, 2011)
JP Malot
Painting - 60 x 120 x 3 cm Painting - 23.6 x 47.2 x 1.2 inch
$2,262
Contemporary man
Saverio Filioli Uranio
Painting - 48 x 33 x 0.1 cm Painting - 18.9 x 13 x 0 inch
$124
One Dozen Dreams (Framed)
Roberto Fonfria
Painting - 38.1 x 27.9 x 0.3 cm Painting - 15 x 11 x 0.1 inch
$1,500
In Every Dream Home a Heartache (Framed)
Roberto Fonfria
Painting - 38.1 x 27.9 x 0.3 cm Painting - 15 x 11 x 0.1 inch
$1,500
A Better Life or Your Money Back (Framed)
Roberto Fonfria
Painting - 38.1 x 27.9 x 0.3 cm Painting - 15 x 11 x 0.1 inch
$1,500
Don't Forget to Breathe Again (Framed)
Roberto Fonfria
Painting - 38.1 x 27.9 x 0.3 cm Painting - 15 x 11 x 0.1 inch
$1,500
Correct Focus (Framed)
Roberto Fonfria
Painting - 76.2 x 55.9 x 0.3 cm Painting - 30 x 22 x 0.1 inch
$2,000
Dreams and Telepathy (Framed)
Roberto Fonfria
Painting - 76.2 x 55.9 x 0.3 cm Painting - 30 x 22 x 0.1 inch
$2,000
1000 Miligrams (Framed)
Roberto Fonfria
Painting - 66 x 45.7 x 0.3 cm Painting - 26 x 18 x 0.1 inch
$2,000
Close Before Striking I
Roberto Fonfria
Painting - 50.8 x 40.6 x 0.3 cm Painting - 20 x 16 x 0.1 inch
$980
Close Before Striking II
Roberto Fonfria
Painting - 50.8 x 40.6 x 0.3 cm Painting - 20 x 16 x 0.1 inch
$980
Close Before Striking III
Roberto Fonfria
Painting - 50.8 x 40.6 x 0.3 cm Painting - 20 x 16 x 0.1 inch
$980
Close Before Striking IV
Roberto Fonfria
Painting - 50.8 x 40.6 x 0.3 cm Painting - 20 x 16 x 0.1 inch
$980
Close Before Striking V
Roberto Fonfria
Painting - 50.8 x 40.6 x 0.3 cm Painting - 20 x 16 x 0.1 inch
$980
Close Before Striking VI
Roberto Fonfria
Painting - 50.8 x 40.6 x 0.3 cm Painting - 20 x 16 x 0.1 inch
$980
Close Before Striking VII
Roberto Fonfria
Painting - 50.8 x 40.6 x 0.3 cm Painting - 20 x 16 x 0.1 inch
$980
Close Before Striking VIII
Roberto Fonfria
Painting - 50.8 x 40.6 x 0.3 cm Painting - 20 x 16 x 0.1 inch
$980
Close Before Striking IX
Roberto Fonfria
Painting - 50.8 x 40.6 x 0.3 cm Painting - 20 x 16 x 0.1 inch
$980
Untitled, Mix media
Roberto Fonfria
Painting - 61 x 45.5 x 2.5 cm Painting - 24 x 17.91 x 1 inch
$2,000
Untitled, mix media
Roberto Fonfria
Painting - 61 x 45.5 x 2.5 cm Painting - 24 x 17.91 x 1 inch
$2,000
Untitled, mix media
Roberto Fonfria
Painting - 61 x 45.5 x 2.5 cm Painting - 24 x 17.91 x 1 inch
$2,000
Soñar Que Tiene Las Manos Muy Grandes (Framed)
Roberto Fonfria
Painting - 38.1 x 27.9 x 0.3 cm Painting - 15 x 11 x 0.1 inch
$1,500
She Knew She Would Not Be The Same (Framed)
Roberto Fonfria
Painting - 38.1 x 27.9 x 0.3 cm Painting - 15 x 11 x 0.1 inch
$1,500
He Always Fancied Himself as a Ladies Man (Framed)
Roberto Fonfria
Painting - 38.1 x 27.9 x 0.3 cm Painting - 15 x 11 x 0.1 inch
$1,500
Illusion of Freedom #4
Guy Ghazanchyan
Painting - 140 x 120 x 1 cm Painting - 55.1 x 47.2 x 0.4 inch
$3,958
Écorce, portrait I
Yoann Merienne
Painting - 200 x 150 x 3 cm Painting - 78.7 x 59.1 x 1.2 inch
$13,571
Uncle Josh
Akinboye Akinola Peter
Painting - 95 x 85.9 x 2.5 cm Painting - 37.4 x 33.8 x 1 inch
$2,500
Petrified, Melancholy serie
Olha Vlasova
Painting - 40 x 30 x 1.5 cm Painting - 15.7 x 11.8 x 0.6 inch
$565
Raconte moi toutes tes histoires, en ramassant du bois flotté
Jéko
Painting - 100 x 81 x 2 cm Painting - 39.4 x 31.9 x 0.8 inch
$2,940
St. George
José Ignacio Suarez Solis
Painting - 129.8 x 140 x 0.3 cm Painting - 51.1 x 55.1 x 0.1 inch
$3,640
Orí tamoyo tocando música de luz
José Ignacio Suarez Solis
Painting - 119.9 x 179.8 x 0.3 cm Painting - 47.2 x 70.8 x 0.1 inch
$4,320
Orí guerreiro tamoyo
José Ignacio Suarez Solis
Painting - 110 x 179.8 x 0.3 cm Painting - 43.3 x 70.8 x 0.1 inch
$3,960
Orí guerreiro daniel na cova dos leões
José Ignacio Suarez Solis
Painting - 119.9 x 179.8 x 0.3 cm Painting - 47.2 x 70.8 x 0.1 inch
$4,320
L'accordéoniste
Anouk Tisserand
Painting - 121 x 80.5 x 2 cm Painting - 47.6 x 31.7 x 0.8 inch
$1,357
Discover the styles & movements
Discover the selection of our experts
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.
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.
A portrait can be created in various different art styles and forms, including sculpture, painting and drawing.
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.