Portrait Photography for Sale
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Portrait of Francis Picabia
Man Ray
Photography - 27 x 21 x 0.2 cm Photography - 10.6 x 8.3 x 0.1 inch
€32,000
Portrait of a Silverback
Drew Doggett
Photography - 91.4 x 68.6 x 0.3 cm Photography - 36 x 27 x 0.1 inch
€2,414
Waiting for the drums
James Sparshatt
Photography - 40 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 19.7 x 0 inch
€721
Photographie de Marilyn par Bert Stern
Bert Stern
Photography - 69 x 65 x 1 cm Photography - 27.2 x 25.6 x 0.4 inch
€4,900
Mujer de Santiago
James Sparshatt
Photography - 35 x 35 x 1 cm Photography - 13.8 x 13.8 x 0.4 inch
€721
La dama de la plaza
James Sparshatt
Photography - 35 x 35 x 1 cm Photography - 13.8 x 13.8 x 0.4 inch
€843
Pow wow. Amérique du nord
Dominique Leroy
Photography - 70 x 90 x 2 cm Photography - 27.6 x 35.4 x 0.8 inch
€1,400
Mon beau miroir. Femme Mursi. Ethiopie
Dominique Leroy
Photography - 70 x 90 x 2 cm Photography - 27.6 x 35.4 x 0.8 inch
€1,400
Dans mes bras, 'Souvenirs rêvés'
Jean-Robert Franco
Photography - 70 x 100 cm Photography - 27.6 x 39.4 inch
€1,500
Sans titre 51
Bruno Fournier
Photography - 46 x 30 x 1 cm Photography - 18.1 x 11.8 x 0.4 inch
€1,100
Sans titre 49
Bruno Fournier
Photography - 46 x 30 x 1 cm Photography - 18.1 x 11.8 x 0.4 inch
€1,100
Femme masquée 7
Bruno Fournier
Photography - 80 x 80 x 1 cm Photography - 31.5 x 31.5 x 0.4 inch
€1,600
Femme masquée 6
Bruno Fournier
Photography - 80 x 80 x 1 cm Photography - 31.5 x 31.5 x 0.4 inch
€1,600
Femme masquée 5
Bruno Fournier
Photography - 80 x 80 x 1 cm Photography - 31.5 x 31.5 x 0.4 inch
€1,600
Femme masquée 4
Bruno Fournier
Photography - 80 x 80 x 1 cm Photography - 31.5 x 31.5 x 0.4 inch
€1,700
Femme masquée 3
Bruno Fournier
Photography - 80 x 80 x 1 cm Photography - 31.5 x 31.5 x 0.4 inch
€1,600
Sans titre 3
Bruno Fournier
Photography - 60 x 90 x 3 cm Photography - 23.6 x 35.4 x 1.2 inch
€1,200
Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, MSG, NYC 1972
Bob Gruen
Photography - 50.8 x 61 x 5.1 cm Photography - 20 x 24 x 2 inch
€2,414
Mick Jagger, MSG, NYC 1972
Bob Gruen
Photography - 50.8 x 61 x 5.1 cm Photography - 20 x 24 x 2 inch
€2,414
Mick Jagger, NYC 1972
Bob Gruen
Photography - 61 x 50.8 x 5.1 cm Photography - 24 x 20 x 2 inch
€2,414
Sid Vicious, Memphis, 1978
Bob Gruen
Photography - 50.8 x 61 x 5.1 cm Photography - 20 x 24 x 2 inch
€2,414
Prince, Rio De Janeiro 1991
Bob Gruen
Photography - 61 x 50.8 x 5.1 cm Photography - 24 x 20 x 2 inch
€2,897
Sid Vicious, I'm a Mess, San Antonio 1978
Bob Gruen
Photography - 61 x 50.8 x 5.1 cm Photography - 24 x 20 x 2 inch
€2,897
John Lennon, Mick Jagger and Yoko Ono, Record Plant, NYC 1972
Bob Gruen
Photography - 50.8 x 61 x 5.1 cm Photography - 20 x 24 x 2 inch
€2,414
Johnny Rotten & Sid Vicious, Europe, 1977
Bob Gruen
Photography - 50.8 x 61 x 5.1 cm Photography - 20 x 24 x 2 inch
€2,414
Jon Bon Jovi, Moscow 1989
Bob Gruen
Photography - 61 x 50.8 x 5.1 cm Photography - 24 x 20 x 2 inch
€2,414
Joe Strummer and Gaby, NYC, 1981
Bob Gruen
Photography - 50.8 x 61 x 5.1 cm Photography - 20 x 24 x 2 inch
€2,414
Bernie Taupin and Elton John, NYC 1971
Bob Gruen
Photography - 50.8 x 61 x 5.1 cm Photography - 20 x 24 x 2 inch
€2,414
Bob Gruen, NYC, 1980
Bob Gruen
Photography - 50.8 x 61 x 5.1 cm Photography - 20 x 24 x 2 inch
€2,414
Clash & Bo Diddley, Agora Ballroom, Cleveland OH, 1979
Bob Gruen
Photography - 50.8 x 61 x 5.1 cm Photography - 20 x 24 x 2 inch
€2,414
Black Sabbath NYC 1971
Bob Gruen
Photography - 50.8 x 61 x 5.1 cm Photography - 20 x 24 x 2 inch
€2,414
Renaissance woman 1
Léo Caillard
Photography - 120 x 90 x 1 cm Photography - 47.2 x 35.4 x 0.4 inch
€3,800
Marilyn Relaxes in A Hotel Room
Ed Feingersh
Photography - 76 x 51 x 0.1 cm Photography - 29.9 x 20.1 x 0 inch
€890
Synesthetic Letters - M
Dasha Pears
Photography - 50 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 x 0 inch
€611
Eternal Recurrence #63, Photo collage with intervention by the artist
Natasha Zupan
Photography - 151.1 x 121.9 x 0.3 cm Photography - 59.5 x 48 x 0.1 inch
€5,794
Keith Richards
John Rowlands
Photography - 40.6 x 50.8 x 5.1 cm Photography - 16 x 20 x 2 inch
€1,304
Bilbao 30/09/2010 15:22h. (Identity Promises Series)
Imanol Marrodán
Photography - 30 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 15.7 x 0 inch
€850
Darwin - Gods of Suburbia
Dina Goldstein
Photography - 45 x 65 x 1 cm Photography - 17.7 x 25.6 x 0.4 inch
€1,500
Cheveux d'encre photo
Feng Kaixuan
Photography - 30 x 45 x 1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 17.7 x 0.4 inch
€700
César Mercedes & Tank
Arnaud Baumann
Photography - 60 x 60 x 0.1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 23.6 x 0 inch
€1,400 €1,260
The creation of blood and bones
Brooke Shaden
Photography - 25 x 25 x 0.1 cm Photography - 9.8 x 9.8 x 0 inch
€850
Crâne pour carnaval
Arnaud Baumann
Photography - 45 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography - 17.7 x 11.8 x 0 inch
€950
Frash-a-Dash
Maisha Marshallende
Photography - 60 x 40 x 1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 15.7 x 0.4 inch
€800
Frash-a-Dash
Maisha Marshallende
Photography - 60 x 40 x 1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 15.7 x 0.4 inch
€800
Frash-a-Dash
Maisha Marshallende
Photography - 60 x 40 x 1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 15.7 x 0.4 inch
€800
Annie Lennox - Eurythmics
Pierre Terrasson
Photography - 40 x 50 cm Photography - 15.7 x 19.7 inch
€1,400
Miles Davis le célèbre trompettiste en 1967 en Concert à la Salle Pleyel - série Jazz
Philippe Gras
Photography - 60 x 40 x 0.3 cm Photography - 23.6 x 15.7 x 0.1 inch
€950
La Gourmandise
David Djian
Photography - 120 x 120 x 0.2 cm Photography - 47.2 x 47.2 x 0.1 inch
€1,700
The Chemical Brothers (2001)
Kevin Westenberg
Photography - 101 x 152 cm Photography - 39.8 x 59.8 inch
€13,260
Norah Jones (2006)
Kevin Westenberg
Photography - 101 x 152 cm Photography - 39.8 x 59.8 inch
€13,260
Discover the styles & movements
Discover the selection of our experts
Diamant Noir
Sinden Collier
Photography - 51 x 41 x 0.1 cm Photography - 20.1 x 16.1 x 0 inch
€1,600
The tree of life
Seyran Gasparyan
Painting - 50 x 60 x 2 cm Painting - 19.7 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
€1,159
Passeur de brise
Pascal Billard
Sculpture - 78 x 45 x 30 cm Sculpture - 30.7 x 17.7 x 11.8 inch
€1,480
Circus Acrobats
Joanna Zakrzewska-Cholewa
Sculpture - 49 x 15 x 6 cm Sculpture - 19.3 x 5.9 x 2.4 inch
€1,599 €1,440
Enchanting Elegance
Samson Adetunji
Painting - 76.2 x 76.2 x 2.5 cm Painting - 30 x 30 x 1 inch
€2,173
Portrait Photography for Sale
In the 1830s, Nièpce discovered the process for setting images onto pewter plates. In 1833, upon Nièpce's death, Louis Daguerre and François Arago continued his experiments and invented the daguerreotype, a process which created a printed image on a silver plate that had been exposed to light. Photography was born.
Similarly to how portrait painting had dominated artistic output in previous centuries, portrait photography was to become the pillar of the Second French Empire's photographic industry. Lenses with a shorter focal length, which enabled reduced exposure times, gradually appear on the market. The required equipment was expensive and difficult to handle. Some photographers, called daguerreotypists, decided to open their own photography studios to make a profit from their endeavours. The daguerreotype process was temperamental, and photographers had to take their pictures with great precision and attention to detail. They welcomed many people into their studios and customers choose how they wished to be photographed from catalogue of poses. Originally only accessible to the bourgeoisie, lower prices resulting from the growing number of studios eventually attracted a wider customer base. This phenomenon infuriated the poet Charles Baudelaire who was frustrated by the sense of narcissism sparked by the daguerreotypists.
Despite his protests, the egotistical trend only grew with the emergence of 'carte de visite' portraits (small photographs, the size of today's business cards). These were the brainchild of Adolphe Eugène Disdéri came up with the idea of producing portraits akin to visiting cards in 1859. He printed eight portraits in a variety of poses onto a single plate and once developed they could be cut up into eight distinct “visiting cards". Very popular with the bourgeoisie, they highlighted the sitters' social status. 'Carte de visite' portraits featuring celebrities were also sold to customers, who could subsequently add them to their albums.
The photographer Nadar was one of the first to demonstrate a conscious artistic approach to producing these portraits. He emphasised facial expressions and ensured the sitter was comfortable and at ease before taking the photograph. He photographed the era's greatest thinkers and artists, including Honoré de Balzac, George Sand, and Victor Hugo. He even managed to reconcile Baudelaire with portraiture.
At the end of the 19th century, the art of photography started to enter the mainstream, with the arrival of the Kodak company. The use of the camera, and the taking of portraits, became everyday occurrences. A century later, it was the invention of the digital camera which challenged the status quo. Whereas before alterations could only be made to photographs when they were being taken or developed, with the digital camera editing became easier, quicker and more convenient. Digital photography has given photographers much more freedom when it comes to editing and new methods and techniques are constantly being explored.
Some of the photographers who have left their mark on the last century include: Cindy Sherman, who excelled in self-portraits, Annie Leibovitz, who captured celebrities, the wacky duo, Pierre and Gilles, as well as Diane Arbus, Irving Penn, Richard Avedon, Helmut Newton and Bettina Rheims.
So, do portraits help us to learn more about each other, to remember, to invent, to act, or to reconnect with ourselves? Find out on Artsper, by exploring the works of Formento & Formento, Naomi Vona, Ahmed Bennani, Chou Ching Hui, Samuel Cueto, Brno del Zou, Ren Hang, Markus + Indrani, Jerome Liebling as well as Annina Roescheisen.
What makes a portrait photograph?
A portrait photograph can be a photograph of a person's head and shoulders, but it can also be of an animal or of a different section of the subject's body such as their feet. Portrait photographs in art often tell or hint something about its subject to the viewer, such as an aspect of their personality, but still contain an element of mystery.
What are the three major types of portrait photography?
The three major types of portrait photography are posed portraits, candid or anonymous portraits, and conceptual portraits. The last type, conceptual or creative portraits, can be experimental and abstract, and may not represent an image close to a traditional portrait.
What are the six styles of portrait photography?
The six main types of portrait photography are fine art portraits, traditional portraits (for example posed portraits taken at school), lifestyle portraits, group portraits, street portraits and glamour portraits.