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
$1,122
The evening breeze blows
Wei-Hong Ma
Painting - 80 x 80 x 4 cm Painting - 31.5 x 31.5 x 1.6 inch
$1,907
Citoyen du monde
Enfant Précoce / Francis Essoua Kalu
Painting - 200 x 230 x 3 cm Painting - 78.7 x 90.6 x 1.2 inch
$22,775
Avis de passage
Francis L'Huillier
Painting - 65 x 80 x 2 cm Painting - 25.6 x 31.5 x 0.8 inch
$785 $707
La niña de la ventana
Maritza Bernal
Painting - 61 x 76 x 2 cm Painting - 24 x 29.9 x 0.8 inch
$2,019
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
$1,234
Liberté mon amour
Cécile Desserle
Painting - 70 x 50 x 3 cm Painting - 27.6 x 19.7 x 1.2 inch
$2,019
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
$1,795
Cosmic synergy in red
Vakhtang Khelashvili
Painting - 80 x 120 x 2.2 cm Painting - 31.5 x 47.2 x 0.9 inch
$2,244
Freedom of shining
Vakhtang Khelashvili
Painting - 39.5 x 30 x 0.1 cm Painting - 15.6 x 11.8 x 0 inch
$1,346
The Tenderness Of Shulamite
Kirill Postovit
Painting - 180 x 120 x 2 cm Painting - 70.9 x 47.2 x 0.8 inch
$4,712
Scènes de vie
Claire Bonnet-Masimbert
Painting - 80 x 80 x 4 cm Painting - 31.5 x 31.5 x 1.6 inch
$1,795
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
$1,907
Beth Harmon II (The Queen’s Gambit)
Josie McCoy
Painting - 15 x 20 x 3 cm Painting - 5.9 x 7.9 x 1.2 inch
$1,111
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
$1,907
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
$2,244
Senteur florale au rouge baiser
Christy
Painting - 55 x 46 x 2 cm Painting - 21.7 x 18.1 x 0.8 inch
$1,571
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
$2,019
Papillon fleuri au regard délicat
Christy
Painting - 45 x 31 x 1 cm Painting - 17.7 x 12.2 x 0.4 inch
$1,178
Aux délices incandescents
Christy
Painting - 40 x 30 x 2 cm Painting - 15.7 x 11.8 x 0.8 inch
$1,111
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
$1,066
Vous, vous aussi...
Javier Navarro Avilés
Painting - 80 x 60 x 2 cm Painting - 31.5 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
$1,066
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
$1,066
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
$1,066
Le bonheur simplement...
Javier Navarro Avilés
Painting - 80 x 60 x 2 cm Painting - 31.5 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
$1,066
Le monde est une question...
Javier Navarro Avilés
Painting - 80 x 60 cm Painting - 31.5 x 23.6 inch
$1,066
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
$1,066
Velouté aux couleurs groseille
Christy
Painting - 55 x 46 x 2 cm Painting - 21.7 x 18.1 x 0.8 inch
$1,739
Abstract Portrait
Mihai Alexandru Haita
Painting - 90 x 80 x 3 cm Painting - 35.4 x 31.5 x 1.2 inch
$2,883
Cœur de châtaignier (ça pique)
Ben
Painting - 86 x 46 x 8.5 cm Painting - 33.9 x 18.1 x 3.3 inch
$15,707
Insolente beauté aux fleurs oranges
Christy
Painting - 59 x 39 x 0.5 cm Painting - 23.2 x 15.4 x 0.2 inch
$1,907
Une certaine délicatesse
Christy
Painting - 59 x 39 x 0.5 cm Painting - 23.2 x 15.4 x 0.2 inch
$1,907
Fraîcheur exotique en couleur
Christy
Painting - 59 x 39 x 0.5 cm Painting - 23.2 x 15.4 x 0.2 inch
$1,907
Charme et Délice bleuté
Christy
Painting - 59 x 39 x 0.5 cm Painting - 23.2 x 15.4 x 0.2 inch
$1,907
La guerrière aux fleurs
Christy
Painting - 59 x 39 x 0.5 cm Painting - 23.2 x 15.4 x 0.2 inch
$1,907
Dalila is thinking and thinking where is hidden the strength of Samson
Tom Kuran
Painting - 100 x 80 x 2.5 cm Painting - 39.4 x 31.5 x 1 inch
$5,037
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
$969
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 $1,020
Circus Acrobats
Joanna Zakrzewska-Cholewa
Sculpture - 49 x 15 x 6 cm Sculpture - 19.3 x 5.9 x 2.4 inch
$1,794
Her Softness
Kirill Postovit
Painting - 100 x 70 x 2 cm Painting - 39.4 x 27.6 x 0.8 inch
$1,683 $1,027
Inventoriage biométrique
Gopal Dagnogo
Fine Art Drawings - 220 x 220 x 0.3 cm Fine Art Drawings - 86.6 x 86.6 x 0.1 inch
$1,111
Mickey Mouse Soldier
Belart Collective
Painting - 120 x 80 x 4 cm Painting - 47.2 x 31.5 x 1.6 inch
$2,233
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.