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.
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Marilyn Inconditionnel
Adelia Clavien
Painting - 80 x 80 x 2 cm Painting - 31.5 x 31.5 x 0.8 inch
€2,200
Au bord de la piscine
Marine Walon
Painting - 70 x 60 x 2 cm Painting - 27.6 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
€1,500
Hatted (detras de tu mirada)
Marcelo Novo
Painting - 61 x 61 x 3.8 cm Painting - 24 x 24 x 1.5 inch
€1,530
Marilyn crying (Fire red)
Russell Young
Painting - 66 x 50.8 x 4 cm Painting - 26 x 20 x 1.6 inch
€18,000
Lavandière bretonne
Marguerita Pillini
Painting - 40 x 24.5 x 1 cm Painting - 15.7 x 9.6 x 0.4 inch
€1,710
Cyrano de Bergerac
Hubert Watrigant (De)
Painting - 55 x 41 x 2 cm Painting - 21.7 x 16.1 x 0.8 inch
€4,900
The Queen's Head, Underbank
Michael Gutteridge
Painting - 48.3 x 38.1 x 0.3 cm Painting - 19 x 15 x 0.1 inch
€1,238
Starship moonchild
Dalene Woodward
Painting - 101.6 x 76.2 x 5.1 cm Painting - 40 x 30 x 2 inch
€1,229
The orange stripe dress
Nagui Achamallah
Painting - 50.8 x 40.6 x 1.8 cm Painting - 20 x 16 x 0.7 inch
€1,563
Pompiertruche - Série Portrait Autruche personnifiée
Anita Leray
Painting - 30 x 25 x 1.5 cm Painting - 11.8 x 9.8 x 0.6 inch
€200
Man with a Dog
Maxime Vardanian
Painting - 162 x 114 x 3 cm Painting - 63.8 x 44.9 x 1.2 inch
€30,000
Donne nel mondo Sfumature e contrasti
Ornella de Rosa DRO
Painting - 100 x 100 x 2 cm Painting - 39.4 x 39.4 x 0.8 inch
€6,500
Curious guinea pig - animal
Petro Krykun
Painting - 30 x 30 x 2 cm Painting - 11.8 x 11.8 x 0.8 inch
€1,000
Subconscious
Gaetano Pergamo
Painting - 69.9 x 49.5 x 1.5 cm Painting - 27.5 x 19.5 x 0.6 inch
€1,105
Botox Forbidden Fruit
Ben Frost
Painting - 30.5 x 30.5 x 4.5 cm Painting - 12 x 12 x 1.8 inch
€2,850
Halo of Blooms
Clement Mmaduako Nwafor
Painting - 101.6 x 76.2 x 2.5 cm Painting - 40 x 30 x 1 inch
€4,452
Le Souffle
Céline de Abreu
Painting - 73 x 60 x 3 cm Painting - 28.7 x 23.6 x 1.2 inch
€2,200 €1,980
Between Light and Darkness
Penuel Heber Madeira Heber Madeira
Painting - 84.1 x 60.5 x 2.5 cm Painting - 33.1 x 23.8 x 1 inch
€3,709
La abuela y sus bolillos
M. J. Carmezim
Painting - 73 x 54 x 2 cm Painting - 28.7 x 21.3 x 0.8 inch
€2,052
Through the Fog
Stephanie Blaess
Painting - 120 x 120 x 3.5 cm Painting - 47.2 x 47.2 x 1.4 inch
€3,400
Commission for Melissa 50 lance
Marilyn Kalish
Painting - 40.6 x 30.5 x 0.3 cm Painting - 16 x 12 x 0.1 inch
€292
Cristo
Josep Serra I Santa Serranta
Painting - 140 x 105 x 4 cm Painting - 55.1 x 41.3 x 1.6 inch
€120,000
Quantum Study (Pink Entanglement)
Marina Kappos
Painting - 40.64 x 40.64 x 2 cm Painting - 16 x 16 x 0.8 inch
€4,350
Banksy captured / Girl with balloon
Steve Lazarides
Painting - 50 x 70 x 1 cm Painting - 19.7 x 27.6 x 0.4 inch
€3,500
Community II
Felix Treadwell
Painting - 182.2 x 121.5 x 2.54 cm Painting - 71.7 x 47.8 x 1 inch
€32,460
New-York 85's
Fabienne Rencanzone
Painting - 145 x 105 x 3 cm Painting - 57.1 x 41.3 x 1.2 inch
€4,300
Le moment du petit café
Patricia Simsa
Painting - 60 x 60 x 5 cm Painting - 23.6 x 23.6 x 2 inch
€1,800
En attendant le jour
Xavier Jallais
Painting - 55 x 46 x 5 cm Painting - 21.7 x 18.1 x 2 inch
€1,450
Le Fauteuil Bleu
Jean-Baptiste Valadié
Painting - 46 x 38 x 2 cm Painting - 18.1 x 15 x 0.8 inch
€2,800
The third boat
Moses Nyawanda
Painting - 111.5 x 83.5 x 2 cm Painting - 43.9 x 32.9 x 0.8 inch
€1,600
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tizlu
Fine Art Drawings - 60 x 40 x 1.5 cm Fine Art Drawings - 23.6 x 15.7 x 0.6 inch
€1,600 €1,440
Top Elite Faschions
Shepard Fairey (Obey)
Print - 61 x 46 x 0.2 cm Print - 24 x 18.1 x 0.1 inch
€550
Degas Danseur de Ballet
Martín Duque
Sculpture - 44 x 16 x 20 cm Sculpture - 17.3 x 6.3 x 7.9 inch
€980
Love and Flowers - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative Portrait, Africa, Women
Taiwo Odejinmi
Painting - 91.4 x 61 x 2.5 cm Painting - 36 x 24 x 1 inch
€2,272
The Wrinkles of the city, La Havana, Antonio Cruz Gordillo
JR
Print - 100 x 70 x 0.2 cm Print - 39.4 x 27.6 x 0.1 inch
€1,900
Maiko in Springtime Kyoto
Takashi Murakami
Print - 50 x 50 x 0.1 cm Print - 19.7 x 19.7 x 0 inch
€2,429
Need help with Portrait Painting for Sale ?
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.