Portrait Painting for Sale
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The Blind Men and The Elephant
Carl White
Painting - 36 x 30 x 2 cm Painting - 14.2 x 11.8 x 0.8 inch
€1,085
Paradise's Guardian: A Journey of Protection and Maternal Strength
Tetiana Pchelnykova
Painting - 80 x 80 x 2 cm Painting - 31.5 x 31.5 x 0.8 inch
€1,510
Supra Energeti, -te, -tos Emerging 1701
Silke Wolff
Painting - 45 x 30 x 3 cm Painting - 17.7 x 11.8 x 1.2 inch
€900
Para Conjure Car 2035 (7)
Silke Wolff
Painting - 45 x 30 x 3 cm Painting - 17.7 x 11.8 x 1.2 inch
€900
Black Man Stereotype 2 (Mandingo)
Akinboye Akinola Peter
Painting - 119.9 x 99.8 x 2.5 cm Painting - 47.2 x 39.3 x 1 inch
€2,704
Who Are These Angels CXLIII
Naoko Paluszak
Painting - 40.6 x 30.5 x 3.8 cm Painting - 16 x 12 x 1.5 inch
€821
Château Rouge
Enfant Précoce / Francis Essoua Kalu
Painting - 97 x 146 x 2 cm Painting - 38.2 x 57.5 x 0.8 inch
€10,000
Citoyen du monde
Enfant Précoce / Francis Essoua Kalu
Painting - 200 x 230 x 2 cm Painting - 78.7 x 90.6 x 0.8 inch
€20,300
Paul Enfant
Enfant Précoce / Francis Essoua Kalu
Painting - 220 x 200 x 2 cm Painting - 86.6 x 78.7 x 0.8 inch
€20,300
In The Garden Of a Moonlight
Delyafruz Bagirova
Painting - 90 x 90 x 2 cm Painting - 35.4 x 35.4 x 0.8 inch
€1,990
A place called Amour
Frédéric Batard
Painting - 80 x 80 x 3.5 cm Painting - 31.5 x 31.5 x 1.4 inch
€1,260
La danse d'un fou et d'un roi
Timothy Archer
Painting - 65 x 50 cm Painting - 25.6 x 19.7 inch
€3,500
Two Figures in Sunglasses
Noah Becker
Painting - 122 x 91 x 4 cm Painting - 48 x 35.8 x 1.6 inch
€4,415
Two People in Sunglasses
Noah Becker
Painting - 122 x 91 x 4 cm Painting - 48 x 35.8 x 1.6 inch
€4,415
La cage où le silence fût brisé par la voix d'un homme au bord des larmes
Sandra Chevrier
Painting - 80 x 60 x 2 cm Painting - 31.5 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
€10,500
Come and talk to me
Mariusz Makula
Painting - 87.4 x 100.1 x 2.5 cm Painting - 34.4 x 39.4 x 1 inch
€676
Peace and Tranquility 1
Joshua Salami
Painting - 91.4 x 91.4 x 2.5 cm Painting - 36 x 36 x 1 inch
€2,414
An Autumn Song Of Love
Kirill Postovit
Painting - 100 x 90 x 2 cm Painting - 39.4 x 35.4 x 0.8 inch
€2,300
Lucia Bose, Cronaca di un amore
Fabio Purino
Painting - 80 x 80 x 2 cm Painting - 31.5 x 31.5 x 0.8 inch
€1,200
Baby Doll n146 Hermes
Rachel Bergeret
Painting - 72 x 42 x 2 cm Painting - 28.3 x 16.5 x 0.8 inch
€3,450 €3,105
Khokhloma (Le Garçon Doré)
Svetlana Maksimenko
Painting - 40 x 30 cm Painting - 15.7 x 11.8 inch
€515
The mood of the night
Nadezda Stupina
Painting - 81 x 100 x 2 cm Painting - 31.9 x 39.4 x 0.8 inch
€1,300
Contemporary portrait Between You and Me
Nataliya Bagatskaya
Painting - 80 x 55 x 1.5 cm Painting - 31.5 x 21.7 x 0.6 inch
€1,300
When We Were Young
Olaosun Oluwapelumi
Painting - 63.5 x 50.8 x 2.5 cm Painting - 25 x 20 x 1 inch
€1,400
La vaillante à l'épine dans le pied
Léa Dedieu
Painting - 100 x 80 x 2 cm Painting - 39.4 x 31.5 x 0.8 inch
€1,800
Endless World War
Baptiste Laurent
Painting - 250 x 180 x 3 cm Painting - 98.4 x 70.9 x 1.2 inch
€4,750
Fumatore d'arte
Giorgio A.F. Valentini
Painting - 80 x 80 x 10 cm Painting - 31.5 x 31.5 x 3.9 inch
€700
Baby Doll, Chanel Tribute
Rachel Bergeret
Painting - 70 x 40 x 1 cm Painting - 27.6 x 15.7 x 0.4 inch
€3,450
Roots of Identity 2
Iyiola Odunayo
Painting - 121.9 x 121.9 x 2.5 cm Painting - 48 x 48 x 1 inch
€2,752
Olajumoke (Child of Wealth that Everyone Cherishes)
Ayanwale Joseph Oluwafemi
Painting - 66 x 55.9 x 2.5 cm Painting - 26 x 22 x 1 inch
€1,448
The space between two seconds
Ritchelly Oliveira
Painting - 243 x 192 x 3 cm Painting - 95.7 x 75.6 x 1.2 inch
€24,500
This may come as surprise but I miss you
Ritchelly Oliveira
Painting - 186 x 146 x 3 cm Painting - 73.2 x 57.5 x 1.2 inch
€18,340
The blue in your love
Ritchelly Oliveira
Painting - 186 x 146 x 3 cm Painting - 73.2 x 57.5 x 1.2 inch
€18,340
Wounded Birds
Ritchelly Oliveira
Painting - 186 x 141 x 3 cm Painting - 73.2 x 55.5 x 1.2 inch
€18,340
Poisson à l'honneur
Martine Fauve Dechavanne
Painting - 27 x 22 x 2 cm Painting - 10.6 x 8.7 x 0.8 inch
€290
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
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
Babolex Snoop Dogg
Vincent Faudemer
Sculpture - 30 x 20 x 15 cm Sculpture - 11.8 x 7.9 x 5.9 inch
€1,900
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.