Portrait Painting for Sale
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Untitled (From People Series)
Elene Melikidze
Painting - 19 x 23.5 x 3 cm Painting - 7.5 x 9.3 x 1.2 inch
$391
Rare Lichtenstein Street Art Girl 2
Freda People Art
Painting - 105 x 105 x 0.3 cm Painting - 41.3 x 41.3 x 0.1 inch
$1,340
Dreams by the window
Tetiana Pchelnykova
Painting - 90 x 90 x 2.5 cm Painting - 35.4 x 35.4 x 1 inch
$1,585
I'm sowing seeds
Tetiana Pchelnykova
Painting - 90 x 90 x 2.5 cm Painting - 35.4 x 35.4 x 1 inch
$1,139
Impermanence 03-2021
Françoise Utrel
Painting - 70 x 50 x 2 cm Painting - 27.6 x 19.7 x 0.8 inch
$2,233
Red Building with Trees on Violet Background
Michael Gutteridge
Painting - 48.3 x 38.1 x 0.3 cm Painting - 19 x 15 x 0.1 inch
$1,309
De guerre lasse
Sylvie Julkowski-Egard
Painting - 80 x 80 x 2 cm Painting - 31.5 x 31.5 x 0.8 inch
$1,674
Masquerade of emotions
Aram Sevoyan
Painting - 90 x 80 x 2 cm Painting - 35.4 x 31.5 x 0.8 inch
$2,000
The First One Always Sticks
Zena Blackwell
Painting - 25 x 25 x 3 cm Painting - 9.8 x 9.8 x 1.2 inch
$720
Les règles de la cohabitation sociale.
Noah Borger
Painting - 50 x 61 x 2 cm Painting - 19.7 x 24 x 0.8 inch
$335
Self Portrait of a Southern Man
Grégoire Devin
Painting - 72.9 x 59.9 x 4.6 cm Painting - 28.7 x 23.6 x 1.8 inch
$5,400
Waiting for the Sun
Grégoire Devin
Painting - 72.9 x 59.9 x 4.6 cm Painting - 28.7 x 23.6 x 1.8 inch
$5,400
The Blind Men and The Elephant
Carl White
Painting - 36 x 30 x 2 cm Painting - 14.2 x 11.8 x 0.8 inch
$1,211
From the series Ecology of soul and nature IV
Mykola Mamchur
Painting - 50 x 60 x 0.5 cm Painting - 19.7 x 23.6 x 0.2 inch
$1,674
Regarde moi
Francis L'Huillier
Painting - 128 x 75 x 1.5 cm Painting - 50.4 x 29.5 x 0.6 inch
$2,009
She wants Bitcoin X10
Kseniya Rai
Painting - 70 x 68 x 2 cm Painting - 27.6 x 26.8 x 0.8 inch
$1,563
_Princesse de la mer
Léonid Sergueiev
Painting - 68 x 48 x 3.5 cm Painting - 26.8 x 18.9 x 1.4 inch
$2,221
Eclipse (2) Forbidden production (7)
Julien Delagrange
Painting - 40 x 30 x 0.1 cm Painting - 15.7 x 11.8 x 0 inch
$2,009
Fill your eyes
Isabelle Scheltjens
Painting - 150 x 112 x 4 cm Painting - 59.1 x 44.1 x 1.6 inch
$21,767
Break the silence
Isabelle Scheltjens
Painting - 144 x 112 x 4.5 cm Painting - 56.7 x 44.1 x 1.8 inch
$21,767
Degrees of separation
Vikki Drummond
Painting - 102 x 76 x 4 cm Painting - 40.2 x 29.9 x 1.6 inch
$1,183
Les Vénitiennes
Martine Fauve Dechavanne
Painting - 50 x 150 x 2 cm Painting - 19.7 x 59.1 x 0.8 inch
$2,456
Zahara with green dress
Salustiano
Painting - 80 x 80 x 3 cm Painting - 31.5 x 31.5 x 1.2 inch
$44,000
Fumatore d'arte
Giorgio A.F. Valentini
Painting - 80 x 80 x 10 cm Painting - 31.5 x 31.5 x 3.9 inch
$781
Marilyn Monroe red
Peter Donkersloot
Painting - 100 x 120 x 4 cm Painting - 39.4 x 47.2 x 1.6 inch
$2,735
Brigitte Bardot Young
Peter Donkersloot
Painting - 100 x 100 x 4 cm Painting - 39.4 x 39.4 x 1.6 inch
$2,512
Tony Montana White
Peter Donkersloot
Painting - 120 x 100 x 4 cm Painting - 47.2 x 39.4 x 1.6 inch
$2,735
Godfather red rose
Peter Donkersloot
Painting - 120 x 100 x 4 cm Painting - 47.2 x 39.4 x 1.6 inch
$2,735
Audrey Hepburn
Peter Donkersloot
Painting - 120 x 148 x 4 cm Painting - 47.2 x 58.3 x 1.6 inch
$3,293
Madonna Young
Peter Donkersloot
Painting - 100 x 100 x 4 cm Painting - 39.4 x 39.4 x 1.6 inch
$2,512
Sophia Loren Young
Peter Donkersloot
Painting - 100 x 100 x 4 cm Painting - 39.4 x 39.4 x 1.6 inch
$2,512
Marilyn Monroe Pizza
Peter Donkersloot
Painting - 120 x 100 x 4 cm Painting - 47.2 x 39.4 x 1.6 inch
$2,735
Max Verstappen
Peter Donkersloot
Painting - 120 x 100 x 4 cm Painting - 47.2 x 39.4 x 1.6 inch
$4,744
Girl with bouquet, Spring series
Olha Vlasova
Painting - 60 x 40 x 2 cm Painting - 23.6 x 15.7 x 0.8 inch
$670
Virtual Reality
Yannick Aaron
Painting - 150 x 150 x 4.5 cm Painting - 59.1 x 59.1 x 1.8 inch
$6,140
Bohemian Native Spirit
Jules Holland
Painting - 120 x 90 x 2.2 cm Painting - 47.2 x 35.4 x 0.9 inch
$6,140
Starman’s Indigenous Soul
Jules Holland
Painting - 120 x 90 x 2.2 cm Painting - 47.2 x 35.4 x 0.9 inch
$6,140
Contemporary portrait As We Wait for the Taxi
Nataliya Bagatskaya
Painting - 100 x 70 x 2.3 cm Painting - 39.4 x 27.6 x 0.9 inch
$2,791
L'homme assis
Xavier Albert Fiala
Painting - 60.6 x 50.6 x 0.5 cm Painting - 23.9 x 19.9 x 0.2 inch
$2,059
Discover the styles & movements
Discover the selection of our experts
The tree of life
Seyran Gasparyan
Painting - 50 x 60 x 2 cm Painting - 19.7 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
$1,200
Circus Acrobats
Joanna Zakrzewska-Cholewa
Sculpture - 49 x 15 x 6 cm Sculpture - 19.3 x 5.9 x 2.4 inch
$1,785
The beauty of dance XII
Serghei Ghetiu
Painting - 80 x 49 x 2 cm Painting - 31.5 x 19.3 x 0.8 inch
$1,898
Abstract Guernica Collection - Tribute to Picasso
Freda People Art
Painting - 105 x 105 x 0.3 cm Painting - 41.3 x 41.3 x 0.1 inch
$1,674
L'envole I - préchauffage
Patricia Dubois
Painting - 93 x 70 x 3.5 cm Painting - 36.6 x 27.6 x 1.4 inch
$2,456
The Last Museum Guard at the Last Museum on Earth
Hernan Bas
Print - 49 x 35 cm Print - 19.3 x 13.8 inch
$1,340
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.