Portrait Painting for Sale
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Talking Things Out
Debbie Pacheco
Painting - 91.4 x 61 x 3.8 cm Painting - 36 x 24 x 1.5 inch
$1,750
Lovers - Red - The colour of love 2
Carmen Tyrrell
Painting - 59.9 x 80 x 1.5 cm Painting - 23.6 x 31.5 x 0.6 inch
$1,179
Lovers - Red - The colour of love 3
Carmen Tyrrell
Painting - 59.9 x 80 x 1.5 cm Painting - 23.6 x 31.5 x 0.6 inch
$1,179
Lovers - Kiss in orange and blue
Carmen Tyrrell
Painting - 80 x 102.1 x 1.5 cm Painting - 31.5 x 40.2 x 0.6 inch
$1,899
Sheep With Flower
Maia Kvatchadze
Painting - 80 x 60 x 1.5 cm Painting - 31.5 x 23.6 x 0.6 inch
$2,247
Portrait with hand on chin
Barbara Kroll
Painting - 48.3 x 38.1 x 2.5 cm Painting - 19 x 15 x 1 inch
$900
To be or not to be
David Ferreira
Painting - 100 x 100 x 2 cm Painting - 39.4 x 39.4 x 0.8 inch
$3,034
L’invitation au voyage
Yohan Storti
Painting - 185 x 140 x 3.5 cm Painting - 72.8 x 55.1 x 1.4 inch
$6,180
Leonardo da Vinci's Portrait of Mona Lisa
Tony Rubino
Painting - 61 x 40.6 x 5.1 cm Painting - 24 x 16 x 2 inch
$1,948
Sleeper Carriage
John Popkess
Painting - 39.9 x 39.9 x 2 cm Painting - 15.7 x 15.7 x 0.8 inch
$1,242
A fleeting distraction
John Popkess
Painting - 39.9 x 39.9 x 2 cm Painting - 15.7 x 15.7 x 0.8 inch
$1,352
NY City Lights #17
Irina Alexandrina
Painting - 101.6 x 76.2 x 2.5 cm Painting - 40 x 30 x 1 inch
$1,940
Paris. City Lights #22
Irina Alexandrina
Painting - 61 x 61 x 2.5 cm Painting - 24 x 24 x 1 inch
$1,000
Eros et Thanatos au bistro
Yohan Storti
Painting - 130 x 95 x 2.5 cm Painting - 51.2 x 37.4 x 1 inch
$3,371
Déesse lune
Isabelle Schenckbecher-Quint
Painting - 100 x 50 x 2 cm Painting - 39.4 x 19.7 x 0.8 inch
$1,348
L'empire des sens
Gérard Pamboujian
Painting - 61 x 50 x 2 cm Painting - 24 x 19.7 x 0.8 inch
$3,371
I used to think that love was forever
Nolwenn Samson
Painting - 80 x 80 x 2 cm Painting - 31.5 x 31.5 x 0.8 inch
$3,596
Geisha con banda verde
Eva Prieto
Painting - 70 x 50 x 2 cm Painting - 27.6 x 19.7 x 0.8 inch
$2,247
Smoke on the water
Marie-Ange Daudé
Painting - 87 x 87 x 4 cm Painting - 34.3 x 34.3 x 1.6 inch
$2,247
Pollen and Snow
Anastasia Kurakina
Painting - 70 x 90 x 1 cm Painting - 27.6 x 35.4 x 0.4 inch
$1,686
La danse des cygnes
Marcela Zemanova
Painting - 65 x 50 x 0.3 cm Painting - 25.6 x 19.7 x 0.1 inch
$618
On the Bow Bridge at Central Park
Ruslana Levandovska
Painting - 50.8 x 40.6 x 1.9 cm Painting - 20 x 16 x 0.75 inch
$1,500
Rouge est la couleur du mystère 20
Jean-Charles Taillandier
Painting - 50 x 34.5 cm Painting - 19.7 x 13.6 inch
$494
Rostros sin rostro 3-18
José Manuel Chamorro Chamorro
Painting - 65 x 46 cm Painting - 25.6 x 18.1 inch
$820
Rostros sin rostro 11-5
José Manuel Chamorro Chamorro
Painting - 73 x 60 cm Painting - 28.7 x 23.6 inch
$1,096
Miniatuur Marilyn Monroe
Peter Donkersloot
Painting - 53 x 47 x 3 cm Painting - 20.9 x 18.5 x 1.2 inch
$730
Miniatuur Kate Moss
Peter Donkersloot
Painting - 57 x 43 x 4 cm Painting - 22.4 x 16.9 x 1.6 inch
$730
Miniatuur Sophia Loren II
Peter Donkersloot
Painting - 53 x 47 x 4 cm Painting - 20.9 x 18.5 x 1.6 inch
$730
Santo (serie Omaggio a Giusto de' Menabuoi)
Alexander Daniloff
Painting - 48 x 29 x 0.2 cm Painting - 18.9 x 11.4 x 0.1 inch
$292 $248
Lovers, I’ll put a spell on you. (I was listening to Nina Simone)
Suthamma (Ta) Byrne
Painting - 130 x 180 x 4 cm Painting - 51.2 x 70.9 x 1.6 inch
$6,618
Attore I. Teatro Kabuki
Alexander Daniloff
Painting - 43 x 38 x 1 cm Painting - 16.9 x 15 x 0.4 inch
$438 $373
Contemporary portrait "Black ang Gold"
Nataliya Bagatskaya
Painting - 80 x 60 x 1.5 cm Painting - 31.5 x 23.6 x 0.6 inch
$1,461
Contemporary portrait "Holiday dress"
Nataliya Bagatskaya
Painting - 80 x 70 x 1.5 cm Painting - 31.5 x 27.6 x 0.6 inch
$1,461
Contemporary portrait "It's Cold..."
Nataliya Bagatskaya
Painting - 80 x 50 x 1.5 cm Painting - 31.5 x 19.7 x 0.6 inch
$1,461
To The Stars Pop Art Portrait
Dane Shue
Painting - 76.2 x 61 x 3.8 cm Painting - 30 x 24 x 1.5 inch
$1,500
Queen Elizabeth II Portrait
Dane Shue
Painting - 61 x 61 x 3.8 cm Painting - 24 x 24 x 1.5 inch
$1,400
007 Ursula Andress Painting
Dane Shue
Painting - 76.2 x 61 x 3.8 cm Painting - 30 x 24 x 1.5 inch
$1,500
La famille du mois d'octobre
Zafi
Painting - 100 x 100 x 3 cm Painting - 39.4 x 39.4 x 1.2 inch
$7,866
Cool chilling 2
Oshorenoya David Francis
Painting - 114.3 x 114.3 x 2.5 cm Painting - 45 x 45 x 1 inch
$1,200
Contemporary portrait "Barbie"
Nataliya Bagatskaya
Painting - 80 x 55 x 1.5 cm Painting - 31.5 x 21.7 x 0.6 inch
$1,461
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
Diamant Noir
Sinden Collier
Photography - 51 x 41 x 0.1 cm Photography - 20.1 x 16.1 x 0 inch
$1,798
Passeur de brise
Pascal Billard
Sculpture - 78 x 45 x 30 cm Sculpture - 30.7 x 17.7 x 11.8 inch
$1,663
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
Enchanting Elegance
Samson Adetunji
Painting - 76.2 x 76.2 x 2.5 cm Painting - 30 x 30 x 1 inch
$2,250
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.