Portrait Painting for Sale
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Vanarsky
Agathe Lemaire Thalazac
Painting - 160 x 130 x 2 cm Painting - 63 x 51.2 x 0.8 inch
$17,860
Thomas l'Imposteur
Agathe Lemaire Thalazac
Painting - 180 x 160 x 2 cm Painting - 70.9 x 63 x 0.8 inch
$20,093
Richard Texier
Agathe Lemaire Thalazac
Painting - 160 x 160 x 2 cm Painting - 63 x 63 x 0.8 inch
$17,860
Patricia
Agathe Lemaire Thalazac
Painting - 160 x 130 x 2 cm Painting - 63 x 51.2 x 0.8 inch
$17,860
Métropolis
Agathe Lemaire Thalazac
Painting - 180 x 150 x 2 cm Painting - 70.9 x 59.1 x 0.8 inch
$20,093
Elle était fort déshabillée
Agathe Lemaire Thalazac
Painting - 160 x 130 x 2 cm Painting - 63 x 51.2 x 0.8 inch
$17,860
Chérubin
Agathe Lemaire Thalazac
Painting - 180 x 300 x 3 cm Painting - 70.9 x 118.1 x 1.2 inch
$30,139
Arsène
Agathe Lemaire Thalazac
Painting - 150 x 130 x 2 cm Painting - 59.1 x 51.2 x 0.8 inch
$17,860
La femme à la licorne
Yannick Aaron
Painting - 200 x 200 x 2.7 cm Painting - 78.7 x 78.7 x 1.1 inch
$13,395
Hypnotic Dream
Lena Bera-Pancini
Painting - 90 x 90 x 90 cm Painting - 35.4 x 35.4 x 35.4 inch
$2,121
Shine Your Light
Lena Bera-Pancini
Painting - 90 x 90 x 90 cm Painting - 35.4 x 35.4 x 35.4 inch
$2,121
Samo Jean Michel Basquiat
Eklektik
Painting - 60 x 80 x 1.5 cm Painting - 23.6 x 31.5 x 0.6 inch
$1,563
Sous le soleil exactement/15
Jean-Jacques Venturini
Painting - 50 x 61 x 3 cm Painting - 19.7 x 24 x 1.2 inch
$893
Femme en bleu à la terrasse d'un café.
Jean-Jacques Venturini
Painting - 81 x 65 x 3 cm Painting - 31.9 x 25.6 x 1.2 inch
$1,116
Will you be the one ?
Ayoka Zahir
Painting - 59.4 x 42 x 0.01 cm Painting - 23.4 x 16.5 x 0 inch
$222
Elle aime la couleur rouge.
Jean-Jacques Venturini
Painting - 61 x 50 x 4 cm Painting - 24 x 19.7 x 1.6 inch
$893
Par dessus des fleurs
Mathilde André
Painting - 31 x 40 x 2 cm Painting - 12.2 x 15.7 x 0.8 inch
$447
Business modèle
Jean-Jacques Venturini
Painting - 89 x 116 x 4 cm Painting - 35 x 45.7 x 1.6 inch
$1,786
La chasse à la fleur
Christopher Lecoutre
Painting - 120 x 60 x 3 cm Painting - 47.2 x 23.6 x 1.2 inch
$2,679
L'amour des mauvaises herbes 3
Marie Rauzy
Painting - 38 x 46 x 2 cm Painting - 15 x 18.1 x 0.8 inch
$3,126
L'amour des mauvaises herbes 2
Marie Rauzy
Painting - 38 x 46 x 2 cm Painting - 15 x 18.1 x 0.8 inch
$3,126
L'amour des mauvaises herbes
Marie Rauzy
Painting - 38 x 46 x 2 cm Painting - 15 x 18.1 x 0.8 inch
$3,126
The future is a big kiss
Isabelle Scheltjens
Painting - 138 x 103 x 4.5 cm Painting - 54.3 x 40.6 x 1.8 inch
$19,535
Jimi Hendrix - We want you #3
Mister Marcus
Painting - 120 x 80 x 0.2 cm Painting - 47.2 x 31.5 x 0.1 inch
$5,581
Jimi Hendrix - NGA
Mister Marcus
Painting - 120 x 80 x 0.2 cm Painting - 47.2 x 31.5 x 0.1 inch
$5,581
Jimi Hendrix - Fender Army #3
Mister Marcus
Painting - 120 x 80 x 0.2 cm Painting - 47.2 x 31.5 x 0.1 inch
$5,581
Water Is Everything
Trayko Popov
Painting - 99.1 x 124.5 x 1.3 cm Painting - 39 x 49 x 0.5 inch
$3,300
On the verge of a nervous breakdown
Sebastian Picker
Painting - 60 x 60 x 1 cm Painting - 23.6 x 23.6 x 0.4 inch
$3,907
Peace, Rest in Peace
Sebastian Picker
Painting - 40 x 40 x 1 cm Painting - 15.7 x 15.7 x 0.4 inch
$3,349
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
A boy with a violin
Serghei Ghetiu
Painting - 60 x 50 x 2 cm Painting - 23.6 x 19.7 x 0.8 inch
$1,005 $854
Circus Acrobats
Joanna Zakrzewska-Cholewa
Sculpture - 49 x 15 x 6 cm Sculpture - 19.3 x 5.9 x 2.4 inch
$1,785
Her Softness
Kirill Postovit
Painting - 100 x 70 x 2 cm Painting - 39.4 x 27.6 x 0.8 inch
$1,674 $1,021
Portrait #2. From the Portraits series
Luigi Christopher Veggetti Kanku
Painting - 30 x 20.8 x 0.3 cm Painting - 11.8 x 8.2 x 0.1 inch
$1,200
L'envole I - préchauffage
Patricia Dubois
Painting - 93 x 70 x 3.5 cm Painting - 36.6 x 27.6 x 1.4 inch
$2,456
The Last Museum Guard at the Last Museum on Earth
Hernan Bas
Print - 49 x 35 cm Print - 19.3 x 13.8 inch
$1,340
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.