Portrait Painting for Sale
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J’embrasse la peinture
Marie Rauzy
Painting - 30 x 24 x 2 cm Painting - 11.8 x 9.4 x 0.8 inch
€1,100
J’embrasse la peinture #2
Marie Rauzy
Painting - 30 x 24 x 2 cm Painting - 11.8 x 9.4 x 0.8 inch
€1,100
Girl with bouquet, Spring series
Olha Vlasova
Painting - 60 x 40 x 2 cm Painting - 23.6 x 15.7 x 0.8 inch
€600
Abuanek 2
Sesse Elangwe Ngeseli
Painting - 210.8 x 157.5 x 3 cm Painting - 83 x 62 x 1.2 inch
€13,000
Abuanek 1
Sesse Elangwe Ngeseli
Painting - 210.8 x 157.5 x 3 cm Painting - 83 x 62 x 1.2 inch
€13,000
Portrait of Mercy
Sesse Elangwe Ngeseli
Painting - 91.4 x 91.4 x 3 cm Painting - 36 x 36 x 1.2 inch
Sold
The world has gone blue
Thomas Lesigne
Painting - 23 x 28 x 0.1 cm Painting - 9.1 x 11 x 0 inch
€990
Fill your eyes
Isabelle Scheltjens
Painting - 150 x 112 x 4 cm Painting - 59.1 x 44.1 x 1.6 inch
€19,500
Break the silence
Isabelle Scheltjens
Painting - 144 x 112 x 4.5 cm Painting - 56.7 x 44.1 x 1.8 inch
€19,500
_Princesse de la mer
Léonid Sergueiev
Painting - 68 x 48 x 3.5 cm Painting - 26.8 x 18.9 x 1.4 inch
€1,990
Fairytale flower, Gardens of Resilience series
Tetiana Pchelnykova
Painting - 50 x 50 x 1.8 cm Painting - 19.7 x 19.7 x 0.7 inch
€650
Dreaminess , Gardens of Resilience series
Tetiana Pchelnykova
Painting - 60 x 50 x 1.8 cm Painting - 23.6 x 19.7 x 0.7 inch
€550
My Ray of Hope
Tetiana Pchelnykova
Painting - 80 x 60 x 1.8 cm Painting - 31.5 x 23.6 x 0.7 inch
€750
Let your soul glow
Tanya Aubut
Painting - 121.9 x 101.6 x 3.8 cm Painting - 48 x 40 x 1.5 inch
€2,029
Histoire de Guadeloupe 6
Françoise Sémiramoth
Painting - 130 x 97 x 1 cm Painting - 51.2 x 38.2 x 0.4 inch
€12,000
Framed by Foliage
Desmond Akindoju
Painting - 81.3 x 81.3 x 2.5 cm Painting - 32 x 32 x 1 inch
€2,159
We are all martyrs (3) (after pina bausch) forbidden collage (12)
Julien Delagrange
Painting - 150 x 135 x 0.1 cm Painting - 59.1 x 53.1 x 0 inch
€6,240
Sunset VII
Yoann Bonneville (YBA)
Painting - 100 x 81 x 6 cm Painting - 39.4 x 31.9 x 2.4 inch
€2,300
Collectors of Antique
Vladimir Kolosov
Painting - 121.9 x 152.4 x 2.5 cm Painting - 48 x 60 x 1 inch
€2,092
Shadow Boxer
Nicholas Robertson
Painting - 39.9 x 30 x 0.5 cm Painting - 15.7 x 11.8 x 0.2 inch
€634
Delhi Schoolgirl,
Nicholas Robertson
Painting - 50 x 39.9 x 0.5 cm Painting - 19.7 x 15.7 x 0.2 inch
€793
Startled Bather
Nicholas Robertson
Painting - 30 x 24.9 x 0.5 cm Painting - 11.8 x 9.8 x 0.2 inch
€615
Where the dreamers hide
Etienne Quesnay
Painting - 65 x 54 x 2.5 cm Painting - 25.6 x 21.3 x 1 inch
€1,600
War and Peace
Sebastian Picker
Painting - 100 x 240 x 1 cm Painting - 39.4 x 94.5 x 0.4 inch
€17,000
Woman (a tribute to Picasso)
Dr. Love
Painting - 40 x 30 x 0.2 cm Painting - 15.7 x 11.8 x 0.1 inch
€49
Je ne me sens plus de joie #25
Marie Rauzy
Painting - 73 x 92 x 3 cm Painting - 28.7 x 36.2 x 1.2 inch
€2,800
Je ne me sens plus de joie #10
Marie Rauzy
Painting - 61 x 50 x 3 cm Painting - 24 x 19.7 x 1.2 inch
€3,500
Je ne me sens plus de joie #12
Marie Rauzy
Painting - 61 x 50 x 3 cm Painting - 24 x 19.7 x 1.2 inch
€3,500
Acqua “Free Float”
Gianluca Fascetto
Painting - 90 x 70 x 3 cm Painting - 35.4 x 27.6 x 1.2 inch
€980 €882
Starman’s Indigenous Soul
Jules Holland
Painting - 120 x 90 x 2.2 cm Painting - 47.2 x 35.4 x 0.9 inch
€5,500
Discover the styles & movements
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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.