Portrait Drawing for Sale
Portraiture has existed for many centuries. The Greeks produced portraits for funeral and religious rituals; they aimed to “bring back to life those who have passed away." In the Roman era, portraits were often reserved for the ruling figures of society; for example, a warrior would have his portrait painted to illustrate his bravery during a battle. In Europe, it is only during the late Middle Ages and Renaissance that Italian and Flemish painters started to practice the art of portraiture.
In the 14th and 15th centuries, painters created works commissioned by wealthy patrons. Painters sketched out preliminary freehand drawings, which were often then approved by the patron, before beginning to work on their oil paint or, later, watercolor. Facial features were sometimes improved to the detriment of realism, although some painters were known for their ability to reproduce their models' expressions. Some artists worked in great detail while others focussed more heavily on trying to capture the real personality of their model.
For much of its history, portrait not only told a story but it also conveyed a message of power, promoting a well-controlled image to the wider population and establishing the sitter's authority through its circulation. For example, Florentine elites would use paintings and drawings as a mean of controlling their image and establishing their authority. Portraits were a way for someone to live on long after their death. Today we find the faces of aristocracies and the European bourgeoisie in many museums, immortalized by artists such as Leonardo da Vinci or Rembrandt.
The results obtained through drawing depended largely on the tools and materials used. Red chalk was very popular (especially at the beginning of the 16th century) to represent the facial features and the warmth of the skin, while charcoal produced harder lines and pastel created a softer, colorful touch. Artists adapted their technique depending on the subject and the emotion they wanted to convey. The commercialisation of pencils in the nineteenth century made it a popular medium for artists and amateurs alike. Pencil art became more popular and the tool was often used for sketching portraits.
One thing is certain; capturing facial expressions is a demanding art form and the art of portraiture requires a lot of practice. Drawing a face down to its finest details may take hours to obtain the desired result: a protruding jaw, the shape of a skull, thick brows, smiling eyes, dilated pupils… Even more difficult, are children's portraits? It can be difficult to get them to stay still for long. The artist has to be skilled enough to immortalise these men, women and children full of life.
Gradually, sketched portraits became less and less realistic but increasingly daring and experimental in terms of colour. On Artsper, discover drawings by Jean Cocteau, Julien Calot, Alice de Miramon, Philippe Pasqua, Sabine Danzé, Bahareh Navabi and Stéphanie Stindel.
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Every day is indigenous peoples day
Michael Alan
Fine Art Drawings - 295.9 x 58.2 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 116.5 x 22.9 x 0.04 inch
€1,100
Queen J
Alexandre Granger
Fine Art Drawings - 40 x 30 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 15.7 x 11.8 x 0 inch
€1,900
Untitled 2
Wang Fei
Fine Art Drawings - 97 x 235 x 1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 38.2 x 92.5 x 0.4 inch
€34,000
Sans titre #2
Zahra Zeinali
Fine Art Drawings - 50 x 70 cm Fine Art Drawings - 19.7 x 27.6 inch
€2,500
N444
Maria Vanishvili
Fine Art Drawings - 61 x 86 x 0.2 cm Fine Art Drawings - 24 x 33.9 x 0.1 inch
€500
Portraits de mains
Jean Robert (Ipoustéguy)
Fine Art Drawings - 64 x 49 x 0.5 cm Fine Art Drawings - 25.2 x 19.3 x 0.2 inch
€550
Tender Love I
Lilit Soghomonyan
Fine Art Drawings - 57 x 77 cm Fine Art Drawings - 22.4 x 30.3 inch
€1,600
A(A-Un)
Tomo Sakurai
Fine Art Drawings - 30 x 21 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 11.8 x 8.3 x 0 inch
€600
Mickey Mouse
Juliane Hundertmark
Fine Art Drawings - 75 x 57 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 29.5 x 22.4 x 0 inch
€2,300
You look at me sadly, Nevo 1
Nevelin Ivanov
Fine Art Drawings - 28 x 21 x 0.2 cm Fine Art Drawings - 11 x 8.3 x 0.1 inch
€410
Henriette
Raoul Dufy
Fine Art Drawings - 50.5 x 46 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 19.9 x 18.1 x 0 inch
€1,500
Fairy Playing Chinese Lute
Qing-Yan Li
Fine Art Drawings - 68 x 68 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 26.8 x 26.8 x 0 inch
€1,650
Where the fuck did monday go
Marie Boralevi
Fine Art Drawings - 140 x 100 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 55.1 x 39.4 x 0 inch
€6,000
They watch
Edward Zelinsky
Fine Art Drawings - 55.9 x 76.2 x 0.5 cm Fine Art Drawings - 22 x 30 x 0.2 inch
€516
Back to Amy
Monika Nowak
Fine Art Drawings - 100 x 80 x 3 cm Fine Art Drawings - 39.4 x 31.5 x 1.2 inch
€5,600 €4,928
Tallulah Bankhead
Paloma Castello
Fine Art Drawings - 41.9 x 29.5 x 0.3 cm Fine Art Drawings - 16.5 x 11.6 x 0.1 inch
€469
Dusk
Brian Calvin
Fine Art Drawings - 14.9 x 33.2 x 1.25 cm Fine Art Drawings - 5.9 x 13.1 x 0.5 inch
€8,918 €7,134
Untitled XXIX
Julieta Intergalactica
Fine Art Drawings - 21 x 14.8 x 0.2 cm Fine Art Drawings - 8.3 x 5.8 x 0.1 inch
€240
Girls
Erhard Klepper
Fine Art Drawings - 29 x 20 x 0.2 cm Fine Art Drawings - 11.4 x 7.9 x 0.1 inch
€700
Hats-Stah
Alberto Sordi
Fine Art Drawings - 50 x 38 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 19.7 x 15 x 0 inch
€640
Personnages VIII
Arancha Tejedor
Fine Art Drawings - 40 x 30 x 0.5 cm Fine Art Drawings - 15.7 x 11.8 x 0.2 inch
€160
Portrait de jeune fille
Emile-François Chambon
Fine Art Drawings - 34.5 x 24.5 x 0.3 cm Fine Art Drawings - 13.6 x 9.6 x 0.1 inch
€700
Portrait of Benito Mussolini
Alberto Manetti
Fine Art Drawings - 30.7 x 22 x 0.2 cm Fine Art Drawings - 12.1 x 8.7 x 0.1 inch
€600 €480
Figure of Man
Marcel Vertès
Fine Art Drawings - 24 x 22 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 9.4 x 8.7 x 0 inch
€540
Portait 8
Prochore Tchuidjang
Fine Art Drawings - 42 x 30 x 1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 16.5 x 11.8 x 0.4 inch
€800
Diva
Jay Russell
Fine Art Drawings - 35.6 x 27.9 x 5.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 14 x 11 x 2 inch
€2,253
Trois Grâces
Jules Pascin
Fine Art Drawings - 25.4 x 16.5 x 1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 10 x 6.5 x 0.4 inch
€2,500
Menunggu Pelanggan
Imam Sucahyo
Fine Art Drawings - 17 x 11 cm Fine Art Drawings - 6.7 x 4.3 inch
€600
Fafinette et Hmilo
Fafi
Fine Art Drawings - 31 x 23 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 12.2 x 9.1 x 0 inch
€1,200
Dessin / Sans titre
Kevin-Ademola Sangosanya
Fine Art Drawings - 60 x 80 cm Fine Art Drawings - 23.6 x 31.5 inch
€800
Collage - 10
Lisbeth Delisle
Fine Art Drawings - 29.7 x 21 cm Fine Art Drawings - 11.7 x 8.3 inch
€1,200
Les Belles Canapéennes 9
Mylène Vignon
Fine Art Drawings - 27 x 21 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 10.6 x 8.3 x 0 inch
€420
Lisboa
Alexandre Monteiro (Hopare)
Fine Art Drawings - 18 x 13 cm Fine Art Drawings - 7.1 x 5.1 inch
€3,000
Portrait
François Chapuis
Fine Art Drawings - 49 x 35 x 0.2 cm Fine Art Drawings - 19.3 x 13.8 x 0.1 inch
€580
AWD XL Black
Ashley Wood
Fine Art Drawings - 42.5 x 30.5 x 2 cm Fine Art Drawings - 16.7 x 12 x 0.8 inch
€1,800
Medusa 2
Lucio Forte
Fine Art Drawings - 18 x 17 x 0.2 cm Fine Art Drawings - 7.1 x 6.7 x 0.1 inch
€120
Portrait in Blue
Zakhar Shevchuk
Fine Art Drawings - 78 x 58 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 30.7 x 22.8 x 0 inch
€1,200
Llanto Piramidal
Sandra Vásquez de la Horra
Fine Art Drawings - 39 x 27 x 0.2 cm Fine Art Drawings - 15.4 x 10.6 x 0.1 inch
€5,800
Sans-titre
Marcel Chirnoaga
Fine Art Drawings - 28.5 x 24.5 cm Fine Art Drawings - 11.2 x 9.6 inch
€750
Madame
Léa Vandeveld
Fine Art Drawings - 31 x 21 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 12.2 x 8.3 x 0 inch
€725
Journal d'un confiné - 4
André Cervera
Fine Art Drawings - 29.7 x 21 cm Fine Art Drawings - 11.7 x 8.3 inch
€280
Family 2
Ivan Afronskiy
Fine Art Drawings - 20 x 28 x 1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 7.9 x 11 x 0.4 inch
€1,290
The Sphere
Konstantinos Papaioannou
Fine Art Drawings - 100 x 70 x 0.2 cm Fine Art Drawings - 39.4 x 27.6 x 0.1 inch
€1,300
Frédérica
Luigi Corbellini
Fine Art Drawings - 38 x 29 x 0.3 cm Fine Art Drawings - 15 x 11.4 x 0.1 inch
€889
9 mois
Jean-Louis Toutain
Fine Art Drawings - 33 x 25 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 13 x 9.8 x 0 inch
€1,700
Amy Winehouse
Stikki Peaches
Fine Art Drawings - 135 x 95 x 0.05 cm Fine Art Drawings - 53.1 x 37.4 x 0 inch
€4,800
Jeune femme allongée sur le sofa
Maurice Barraud
Fine Art Drawings - 13 x 18.5 x 0.3 cm Fine Art Drawings - 5.1 x 7.3 x 0.1 inch
€778
Edith
Gaelle Beyaert
Fine Art Drawings - 30 x 30 x 2 cm Fine Art Drawings - 11.8 x 11.8 x 0.8 inch
€560
Portrait of Man
Paul Ascan Demmé
Fine Art Drawings - 27 x 37 x 0.2 cm Fine Art Drawings - 10.6 x 14.6 x 0.1 inch
€1,100
The last call
Karim Benchebra
Fine Art Drawings - 30 x 40 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 11.8 x 15.7 x 0 inch
€1,700
Amazone
André Ferrand
Fine Art Drawings - 64 x 51 x 1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 25.2 x 20.1 x 0.4 inch
€690
Sans titre
Samaneh Atef
Fine Art Drawings - 42 x 29.7 cm Fine Art Drawings - 16.5 x 11.7 inch
€1,900
Untitled
Ossip Zadkine
Fine Art Drawings - 62 x 45 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 24.4 x 17.7 x 0 inch
€12,000 €9,600
Le danseur de kabuki
Claude Weisbuch
Fine Art Drawings - 36 x 32 x 3 cm Fine Art Drawings - 14.2 x 12.6 x 1.2 inch
€2,200
Achilles assailed Hector - Troy - Epic - Mytology
Artemisia Fine Art
Fine Art Drawings - 54.9 x 54.9 x 5.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 21.6 x 21.6 x 2 inch
€1,108
02-Untitled
Aditi Lago
Fine Art Drawings - 29.5 x 39.5 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 11.6 x 15.6 x 0 inch
€1,200
Sisters
Sayeed Momoh
Fine Art Drawings - 61 x 91.4 x 2.5 cm Fine Art Drawings - 24 x 36 x 1 inch
€2,112
Portrait 2
Christophe Hohler
Fine Art Drawings - 30 x 30 x 8 cm Fine Art Drawings - 11.8 x 11.8 x 3.1 inch
€2,000
Dancing Girl
July Kinart (Prykina)
Fine Art Drawings - 40 x 30 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 15.7 x 11.8 x 0 inch
€1,300
Laurie petite fille
Mariette Lydis
Fine Art Drawings - 30.5 x 24.7 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 12 x 9.7 x 0 inch
€600
Romance novel
Nikolai Angelov-Gary
Fine Art Drawings - 60 x 50 x 2 cm Fine Art Drawings - 23.6 x 19.7 x 0.8 inch
€1,750
Face II
Olivier Furter
Fine Art Drawings - 60 x 80 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 23.6 x 31.5 x 0 inch
€1,300
Jour de marché à Bamako
Christiane Bernais
Fine Art Drawings - 41.5 x 31.5 cm Fine Art Drawings - 16.3 x 12.4 inch
€650
Cosmos
Elsa Ohana
Fine Art Drawings - 50 x 40 x 0.2 cm Fine Art Drawings - 19.7 x 15.7 x 0.1 inch
€550
Personnage à la houppe
Georges Bru
Fine Art Drawings - 15 x 20 cm Fine Art Drawings - 5.9 x 7.9 inch
€1,050
Woman
Simon Goldberg
Fine Art Drawings - 12 x 15 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 4.7 x 5.9 x 0 inch
€300
Quiet Time
Damilola Ilori
Fine Art Drawings - 30 x 22.9 x 2.5 cm Fine Art Drawings - 11.8 x 9 x 1 inch
€986
Why are we so alone even in company?
Marc Bodie
Fine Art Drawings - 30 x 21 x 0.3 cm Fine Art Drawings - 11.8 x 8.3 x 0.1 inch
€650
Solution temporaire
Tali Randall
Fine Art Drawings - 23.5 x 19.5 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 9.3 x 7.7 x 0 inch
€850
Double standard 17. From The Series doble sStandard
James Bonachea
Fine Art Drawings - 38.1 x 24.1 x 0.3 cm Fine Art Drawings - 15 x 9.5 x 0.1 inch
€1,408
Sans titre
Davide Cicolani
Fine Art Drawings - 82 x 54 cm Fine Art Drawings - 32.3 x 21.3 inch
€1,200
Mikato
Nino Devdariani
Fine Art Drawings - 61 x 43 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 24 x 16.9 x 0 inch
€2,000
Reclining Woman and Flowers
Charles Levier
Fine Art Drawings - 35.6 x 53.3 cm Fine Art Drawings - 14 x 21 inch
€2,347
Discover the styles & movements
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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
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
€2,300 €1,725
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 Drawing ?
What are some tips for drawing a realistic portrait?
To draw a realistic portrait, start with a good reference photo, pay attention to proportions, use shading to create depth, and focus on capturing the subject's unique features. Practice regularly and don't be afraid to make mistakes.
How do you choose the right materials for portrait drawing?
When choosing materials for portrait drawing, consider the surface texture, color, and weight of the paper, as well as the type and quality of the pencils or charcoal. Opt for high-quality materials that allow for precision and detail, and experiment with different combinations to find what works best for your style and technique.
What are some common mistakes to avoid when drawing a portrait?
When drawing a portrait, it's important to avoid common mistakes such as not paying attention to proportions, neglecting to capture the subject's unique features, and using too much or too little shading. Additionally, it's important to take breaks and step back to assess the overall composition.