Portrait Painting for Sale
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The Atacama Desert
Adam Norgaard
Painting - 53 x 65.2 x 2 cm Painting - 20.9 x 25.7 x 0.8 inch
€1,497
Volcanic Prophecies
Adam Norgaard
Painting - 72.7 x 60.6 x 2 cm Painting - 28.6 x 23.9 x 0.8 inch
€1,265
Moon Shadows II, Painting, Oil on Canvas
Jo Moore
Painting - 76.2 x 38.1 x 3.8 cm Painting - 30 x 15 x 1.5 inch
€1,159
Shouting in Silence Hearing as a Deaf
Claudie Baran
Painting - 100 x 85 x 2 cm Painting - 39.4 x 33.5 x 0.8 inch
€1,900
Figura 61 (serie I 21 61)
Esteve Prat Paz
Painting - 32.5 x 100 cm Painting - 12.8 x 39.4 inch
€1,500
1996 Portrait
Bernard Di Sciullo
Painting - 70 x 50 x 0.75 cm Painting - 27.6 x 19.7 x 0.3 inch
€1,150
L'Infante IV
Cécile Duchêne-Malissin
Painting - 65 x 45 x 4.5 cm Painting - 25.6 x 17.7 x 1.8 inch
€930
Douceur féminine
Martine Fauve Dechavanne
Painting - 90 x 90 x 2 cm Painting - 35.4 x 35.4 x 0.8 inch
€2,400
La dame en jaune
Françoise Dugourd-Caput
Painting - 65 x 50 x 3 cm Painting - 25.6 x 19.7 x 1.2 inch
€790
Prestige
Martine Fauve Dechavanne
Painting - 73 x 100 x 2 cm Painting - 28.7 x 39.4 x 0.8 inch
€2,150
Letter Dancers 200
Mehdi Mirbagheri
Painting - 120 x 120 x 1 cm Painting - 47.2 x 47.2 x 0.4 inch
€6,000
12
Jérôme Mesnager & Artiste Ouvrier
Painting - 144.5 x 53 x 2 cm Painting - 56.9 x 20.9 x 0.8 inch
€1,800
Le collectionneur au fauteuil rouge
Zafi
Painting - 150 x 150 x 2 cm Painting - 59.1 x 59.1 x 0.8 inch
€18,000
1298 Seduction Series
Roger König
Painting - 110 x 110 x 2 cm Painting - 43.3 x 43.3 x 0.8 inch
€12,100
Revenue de tout j'y suis retournée
Miss.Tic
Painting - 38 x 46 x 1 cm Painting - 15 x 18.1 x 0.4 inch
€8,000
Femme à la cigarette
Sylvie Julkowski-Egard
Painting - 73 x 60 x 2 cm Painting - 28.7 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
€1,000
That Uncomfortable But Fabulous Chair
Evelyn Morgan
Painting - 90 x 75 x 2 cm Painting - 35.4 x 29.5 x 0.8 inch
€1,819
A kiss, a kiss, still another kiss
Salvatore Travascio
Painting - 200 x 200 x 1 cm Painting - 78.7 x 78.7 x 0.4 inch
€1,500
Seduction Series ADZ1
Roger König
Painting - 130 x 100 x 2 cm Painting - 51.2 x 39.4 x 0.8 inch
€13,000
Autoportrait 4
Ghislaine Ferreira
Painting - 92 x 73 x 2 cm Painting - 36.2 x 28.7 x 0.8 inch
€2,000
Bébé de Kangourou
Ghislaine Ferreira
Painting - 40 x 30 x 1 cm Painting - 15.7 x 11.8 x 0.4 inch
€500
Self Portrait… aka Yella v2.6 Dream Within A Dream
LosOtros Mj Tom
Painting - 100 x 280 x 1 cm Painting - 39.4 x 110.2 x 0.4 inch
€3,200
Discover the styles & movements
Discover the selection of our experts
Diamant Noir
Sinden Collier
Photography - 51 x 41 x 0.1 cm Photography - 20.1 x 16.1 x 0 inch
€1,600
The tree of life
Seyran Gasparyan
Painting - 50 x 60 x 2 cm Painting - 19.7 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
€1,159
Passeur de brise
Pascal Billard
Sculpture - 78 x 45 x 30 cm Sculpture - 30.7 x 17.7 x 11.8 inch
€1,480
Circus Acrobats
Joanna Zakrzewska-Cholewa
Sculpture - 49 x 15 x 6 cm Sculpture - 19.3 x 5.9 x 2.4 inch
€1,599 €1,440
Enchanting Elegance
Samson Adetunji
Painting - 76.2 x 76.2 x 2.5 cm Painting - 30 x 30 x 1 inch
€2,173
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.