Portrait Painting for Sale
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Die Geschichte mit der Katze (109)
Petra Rattay
Painting - 42 x 56 x 0.2 cm Painting - 16.5 x 22 x 0.1 inch
$1,340
Un été gris-bleu - série Les Dames de la côte
Françoise Lucq
Painting - 60 x 40 x 1 cm Painting - 23.6 x 15.7 x 0.4 inch
$1,094
Racines miraculeuses haïtiennes
Christophe Mert
Painting - 91 x 78 cm Painting - 35.8 x 30.7 inch
$4,465
Autoportrait 1964 Selfportrait, L'idole The idol
Esther Hess
Painting - 56 x 46 x 0.5 cm Painting - 22 x 18.1 x 0.2 inch
$1,953
Draw Us Into Love
Afeez Aregbede
Painting - 108 x 73.9 x 2.5 cm Painting - 42.5 x 29.1 x 1 inch
$2,000
Solving Conflicts
Marc Andre
Painting - 182.9 x 152.4 x 3.8 cm Painting - 72 x 60 x 1.5 inch
$10,000
The new way fairer
Atilola Afeez Olanrewaju
Painting - 91.4 x 61 x 2.5 cm Painting - 36 x 24 x 1 inch
$2,000
Joie de musique I
Emily Helstroffer
Painting - 55 x 46 x 1.5 cm Painting - 21.7 x 18.1 x 0.6 inch
$1,674
American Comic Girl in Blue
Roco Studio
Painting - 74 x 56 x 0.1 cm Painting - 29.1 x 22 x 0 inch
$334
1970 Hommage à MODIGLIANI Tribute
E. Neuman
Painting - 55 x 46 cm Painting - 21.7 x 18.1 inch
$1,284
Le portrait familial
Henry Meylan
Painting - 84 x 112 x 2 cm Painting - 33.1 x 44.1 x 0.8 inch
$1,464
Blond in Mirror
Anyck Alvarez Kerloch
Painting - 69.9 x 54.9 x 2.5 cm Painting - 27.5 x 21.6 x 1 inch
$1,535
Up and down
Pablo Santibéñez Servat
Painting - 175.3 x 146.1 x 5.1 cm Painting - 69 x 57.5 x 2 inch
$15,000
Envy _ Ultra Violet version
Johan Chaaz
Painting - 40 x 30 x 1 cm Painting - 15.7 x 11.8 x 0.4 inch
$279
Hôtel joyeux, Amboise
Eliane Diverly
Painting - 32 x 23 x 0.3 cm Painting - 12.6 x 9.1 x 0.1 inch
$572
Sans titre - série Caraïbes
Jean-Michel Loutoby
Painting - 80 x 80 x 2 cm Painting - 31.5 x 31.5 x 0.8 inch
$1,273
Marthe en Train de Peindre
Claudine Loquen
Painting - 60 x 50 x 3 cm Painting - 23.6 x 19.7 x 1.2 inch
$1,563
Le jeune homme
Giuseppe Piermatteo
Painting - 81 x 54 x 2 cm Painting - 31.9 x 21.3 x 0.8 inch
$2,054
“- ¿Ya viste el cielo? - ¿Ya viste el suelo?”
Soy Roy
Painting - 100 x 80 x 3 cm Painting - 39.4 x 31.5 x 1.2 inch
$2,980
Girl with a Cat
David Popiashvili
Painting - 43 x 30.5 x 4 cm Painting - 16.9 x 12 x 1.6 inch
$1,600
Georgia In Her Desert
Jo Beer
Painting - 59.9 x 59.9 x 3.8 cm Painting - 23.6 x 23.6 x 1.5 inch
$1,624
Stepping Out, Painting, Acrylic on canvas
Anthony Dunphy
Painting - 50.8 x 40.6 x 0.8 cm Painting - 20 x 16 x 0.3 inch
$836
Generations of Love, The Joy Series: A Journey to Inner Happiness original artwork
Tetiana Pchelnykova
Painting - 90 x 90 x 2 cm Painting - 35.4 x 35.4 x 0.8 inch
$1,585
Portrait Continental Elvis - French school
Bazévian Delacapucinière
Painting - 70 x 50 x 3.8 cm Painting - 27.6 x 19.7 x 1.5 inch
$2,009
Summer in La Baule VI - Sun Bathing LA french school artist basel
Bazévian Delacapucinière
Painting - 30 x 30 x 3.5 cm Painting - 11.8 x 11.8 x 1.4 inch
$502
Summer in La Baule V - LA french school artist basel
Bazévian Delacapucinière
Painting - 30 x 30 x 3.5 cm Painting - 11.8 x 11.8 x 1.4 inch
$502
French School Blue Kurt Cobain
Bazévian Delacapucinière
Painting - 55 x 55 x 3.5 cm Painting - 21.7 x 21.7 x 1.4 inch
$1,898
The Venus of Paradise
Delyafruz Bagirova
Painting - 95 x 75 x 2 cm Painting - 37.4 x 29.5 x 0.8 inch
Sold
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Discover the selection of our experts
Serie Terra Retrato en fondo beige
Enrique Pichardo
Painting - 70 x 70 x 1 cm Painting - 27.6 x 27.6 x 0.4 inch
$964
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
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.