Portrait Painting for Sale
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Desert - 4 Personnages
Arancha Tejedor
Painting - 116 x 89 x 2 cm Painting - 45.7 x 35 x 0.8 inch
$1,131
French School PS 236 All Eyez on you
Bazévian Delacapucinière
Painting - 40 x 40 x 3.5 cm Painting - 15.7 x 15.7 x 1.4 inch
$1,244
Portrait PS 126 Kiev - De guerre lasse - French school
Bazévian Delacapucinière
Painting - 70 x 50 x 3.8 cm Painting - 27.6 x 19.7 x 1.5 inch
$1,809
Scènes de vie
Claire Bonnet-Masimbert
Painting - 80 x 80 x 4 cm Painting - 31.5 x 31.5 x 1.6 inch
$1,809
Portrait PS232 La Damocha (Large) French School oil painting Basel
Bazévian Delacapucinière
Painting - 55 x 55 x 3.5 cm Painting - 21.7 x 21.7 x 1.4 inch
$1,923
Portrait PS223 Tsunami (Large) French School oil painting Basel
Bazévian Delacapucinière
Painting - 55 x 55 x 3.5 cm Painting - 21.7 x 21.7 x 1.4 inch
$1,923
En kærlig følgesvend / A loving companion
Kathrine Iversen
Painting - 40.5 x 29.5 x 3 cm Painting - 15.9 x 11.6 x 1.2 inch
$2,262
Senteur florale au rouge baiser
Christy
Painting - 55 x 46 x 2 cm Painting - 21.7 x 18.1 x 0.8 inch
$1,583
Portrait PS 231 La Dormante - French School oil painting Basel
Bazévian Delacapucinière
Painting - 55 x 55 x 3.5 cm Painting - 21.7 x 21.7 x 1.4 inch
$2,036
Papillon fleuri au regard délicat
Christy
Painting - 45 x 31 x 1 cm Painting - 17.7 x 12.2 x 0.4 inch
$1,187
Aux délices incandescents
Christy
Painting - 40 x 30 x 2 cm Painting - 15.7 x 11.8 x 0.8 inch
$1,120
Somnium No. 3, Series VII
Mario Henrique
Painting - 120 x 100 x 3 cm Painting - 47.2 x 39.4 x 1.2 inch
$6,220
Le décor n'a pas changé...
Javier Navarro Avilés
Painting - 80 x 60 x 2 cm Painting - 31.5 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
$1,074
Vous, vous aussi...
Javier Navarro Avilés
Painting - 80 x 60 x 2 cm Painting - 31.5 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
$1,074
La route qui mène au fond de soi...
Javier Navarro Avilés
Painting - 60 x 80 x 2 cm Painting - 23.6 x 31.5 x 0.8 inch
$1,074
Mon bilan est sans mélancolie...
Javier Navarro Avilés
Painting - 80 x 60 x 2 cm Painting - 31.5 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
$1,074
Le bonheur simplement...
Javier Navarro Avilés
Painting - 80 x 60 x 2 cm Painting - 31.5 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
$1,074
Le monde est une question...
Javier Navarro Avilés
Painting - 80 x 60 cm Painting - 31.5 x 23.6 inch
$1,074
Voilà les mots, les gestes...
Javier Navarro Avilés
Painting - 80 x 60 x 2 cm Painting - 31.5 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
$1,074
Friend Lighting a Cigarette
Wang Dianyu
Painting - 70 x 50 x 3 cm Painting - 27.6 x 19.7 x 1.2 inch
$1,583
Velouté aux couleurs groseille
Christy
Painting - 55 x 46 x 2 cm Painting - 21.7 x 18.1 x 0.8 inch
$1,753
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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.
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.
A portrait can be created in various different art styles and forms, including sculpture, painting and drawing.
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.