Portrait Painting for Sale
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The girl in feather canyons
Ritchelly Oliveira
Painting - 78 x 65 x 3 cm Painting - 30.7 x 25.6 x 1.2 inch
$9,439
Shadow Boxer
Nicholas Robertson
Painting - 39.9 x 30 x 0.5 cm Painting - 15.7 x 11.8 x 0.2 inch
$661
Delhi Schoolgirl,
Nicholas Robertson
Painting - 50 x 39.9 x 0.5 cm Painting - 19.7 x 15.7 x 0.2 inch
$826
Startled Bather
Nicholas Robertson
Painting - 30 x 24.9 x 0.5 cm Painting - 11.8 x 9.8 x 0.2 inch
$641
Lucia Bose, Cronaca di un amore
Fabio Purino
Painting - 80 x 80 x 2 cm Painting - 31.5 x 31.5 x 0.8 inch
$843
Destruction, The End of the of the Earth! Stay Calm serie
Olha Vlasova
Painting - 100 x 60 x 2 cm Painting - 39.4 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
$1,011
J’ai retrouvé ma boucle d’oreille
Pascale Taurua
Painting - 100 x 100 x 2 cm Painting - 39.4 x 39.4 x 0.8 inch
$3,820
Will see you when I fall asleep II
Rahma Lhoussig
Painting - 130 x 150 x 5 cm Painting - 51.2 x 59.1 x 2 inch
$5,618
Waiting for the World to be big enough
Rahma Lhoussig
Painting - 100 x 80 x 5 cm Painting - 39.4 x 31.5 x 2 inch
$4,045
While time is passing by
Rahma Lhoussig
Painting - 130 x 150 x 5 cm Painting - 51.2 x 59.1 x 2 inch
$5,618
Pastis 41 - série portrait onirique et surréalisme
Samuel Boudaud
Painting - 73 x 60 x 2 cm Painting - 28.7 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
$2,669
Des espoirs - série portrait onirique et surréalisme
Samuel Boudaud
Painting - 65 x 54 x 2 cm Painting - 25.6 x 21.3 x 0.8 inch
$2,388
En attendant Charon - série portrait onirique et surréalisme
Samuel Boudaud
Painting - 73 x 60 x 2 cm Painting - 28.7 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
$2,669
Inéluctable crépuscule - série portrait onirique et surréalisme
Samuel Boudaud
Painting - 65 x 54 x 2 cm Painting - 25.6 x 21.3 x 0.8 inch
$2,388
Restez sur sa faim - série portrait onirique et surréalisme
Samuel Boudaud
Painting - 73 x 60 x 2 cm Painting - 28.7 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
$2,669
Ça mord ou c'est mort - série portrait onirique et surréalisme
Samuel Boudaud
Painting - 81 x 54 x 2 cm Painting - 31.9 x 21.3 x 0.8 inch
$2,669
La faim est proche - série portrait onirique et surréalisme
Samuel Boudaud
Painting - 73 x 50 x 2 cm Painting - 28.7 x 19.7 x 0.8 inch
$2,388
Two Black Cats on the Sofa - Painting with Mona Lisa
Nataliya Bagatskaya
Painting - 90 x 65 x 2 cm Painting - 35.4 x 25.6 x 0.8 inch
$2,247
New Hat - Narrative painting with Mona Lisa
Nataliya Bagatskaya
Painting - 90 x 65 x 2 cm Painting - 35.4 x 25.6 x 0.8 inch
$2,247
Iding-Towards-Happiness-III
Sophia Oshodin
Painting - 91 x 91 x 5 cm Painting - 35.8 x 35.8 x 2 inch
$3,933
A-Farewell-to-My-Problem-Days
Sophia Oshodin
Painting - 91 x 91 x 5 cm Painting - 35.8 x 35.8 x 2 inch
$3,933
Riding-Towards-Happiness-III
Sophia Oshodin
Painting - 100 x 100 x 5 cm Painting - 39.4 x 39.4 x 2 inch
$4,719
Prune Pauchet
Rafael Sliks
Painting - 100 x 100 x 3 cm Painting - 39.4 x 39.4 x 1.2 inch
$6,742 $6,068
Prune Pauchet
Rafael Sliks
Painting - 100 x 100 x 3 cm Painting - 39.4 x 39.4 x 1.2 inch
$6,742 $6,068
Eyes That Sees
Olaniyi Timothy
Painting - 121.9 x 91.4 x 2.5 cm Painting - 48 x 36 x 1 inch
$2,400 $2,160
Paradise's Guardian: A Journey of Protection and Maternal Strength
Tetiana Pchelnykova
Painting - 80 x 80 x 2 cm Painting - 31.5 x 31.5 x 0.8 inch
$1,697
Supra Energeti, -te, -tos Emerging 1701
Silke Wolff
Painting - 45 x 30 x 3 cm Painting - 17.7 x 11.8 x 1.2 inch
$1,011
Para Conjure Car 2035 (7)
Silke Wolff
Painting - 45 x 30 x 3 cm Painting - 17.7 x 11.8 x 1.2 inch
$1,011
Para todos el tiempo es frágil
Marcelo Suaznabar
Painting - 79 x 58 x 4 cm Painting - 31.1 x 22.8 x 1.6 inch
$3,511
Unique (African Allure) 4
Oluwafemi Akanmu
Painting - 81.3 x 61 x 2.5 cm Painting - 32 x 24 x 1 inch
$2,100 $1,890
Who Are These Angels CXLIII
Naoko Paluszak
Painting - 40.6 x 30.5 x 3.8 cm Painting - 16 x 12 x 1.5 inch
$850
Citoyen du monde
Enfant Précoce / Francis Essoua Kalu
Painting - 200 x 230 x 2 cm Painting - 78.7 x 90.6 x 0.8 inch
$22,811
Paul Enfant
Enfant Précoce / Francis Essoua Kalu
Painting - 220 x 200 x 2 cm Painting - 86.6 x 78.7 x 0.8 inch
$22,811
In The Garden Of a Moonlight
Delyafruz Bagirova
Painting - 90 x 90 x 2 cm Painting - 35.4 x 35.4 x 0.8 inch
$2,236
A place called Amour
Frédéric Batard
Painting - 80 x 80 x 3.5 cm Painting - 31.5 x 31.5 x 1.4 inch
$1,416
Come and talk to me
Mariusz Makula
Painting - 87.4 x 100.1 x 2.5 cm Painting - 34.4 x 39.4 x 1 inch
$700
If Honesty Is Truth
Justice Mukheli
Painting - 90 x 100 cm Painting - 35.4 x 39.4 inch
$4,900 $4,165
La danse d'un fou et d'un roi
Timothy Archer
Painting - 65 x 50 cm Painting - 25.6 x 19.7 inch
$3,933
The Dreaming Muse
Anahit Mirijanyan
Painting - 50 x 50 x 2 cm Painting - 19.7 x 19.7 x 0.8 inch
$450
Two Figures in Sunglasses
Noah Becker
Painting - 122 x 91 x 4 cm Painting - 48 x 35.8 x 1.6 inch
$4,961
Two People in Sunglasses
Noah Becker
Painting - 122 x 91 x 4 cm Painting - 48 x 35.8 x 1.6 inch
$4,961
Discover the styles & movements
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
$971
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
$1,797 $1,618
Mickey Mouse Soldier
Belart Collective
Painting - 120 x 80 x 4 cm Painting - 47.2 x 31.5 x 1.6 inch
$2,236
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.