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Portrait

Sadness, melancholy and gloom have found an outlet in artists throughout history and in the depiction of figurative art. Through artists, humanity and their emotional and physical states are portrayed to be viewed and related to. The instant recognition of such a grave subject also plagues human history itself, thus carving out its own rightful spot amongst the history of art movements. In Edgar Degas' 1875 painting L'Absinthe, where viewers see a portrait of a young woman solemnly contemplating her situation, disengaged from their gaze, her surroundings, maybe even from herself. 

Dark hues and colors define somber portrait painting and can highlight the cause of such sadness, whether that be the subject's emotional state or a greater rendering of the world's expanse and the human existence within it. Existential or not, the traits of somber artwork can be found in our own collection of portraits on Artsper. The portraiture work of Nicolas Fropo de Habart works the body in all its dimensions to create an absolute feeling of vastness while Antoine Stevens also depicts wandering souls in his dimmed portraiture. But given the nature of humanity, somber depictions of the figure are not entirely unexpected…


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Painting, Untitled, Guy Ghazanchyan

Guy Ghazanchyan

Painting . 139 x 92 x 2 cm Painting . 54.7 x 36.2 x 0.8 inch

$3,742

Painting, Untitled, Jules Be Kuti

Jules Be Kuti

Painting . 70 x 50 x 3 cm Painting . 27.6 x 19.7 x 1.2 inch

$1,871

Painting, Etude, Philippe Pasqua

Philippe Pasqua

Painting . 190 x 150 x 3 cm Painting . 74.8 x 59.1 x 1.2 inch

$32,624

Painting, Zaltaïne, Yoann Merienne

Yoann Merienne

Painting . 120 x 90 x 3 cm Painting . 47.2 x 35.4 x 1.2 inch

$8,185

Painting, Contentment, Busari Adewale

Busari Adewale

Painting . 121.9 x 106.7 x 2.5 cm Painting . 48 x 42 x 1 inch

$3,169

Painting, The Portrait, Ya-Wei Li

Ya-Wei Li

Painting . 45 x 35 x 4 cm Painting . 17.7 x 13.8 x 1.6 inch

$2,339

Fine Art Drawings, Sans titre, Philippe Pasqua

Philippe Pasqua

Fine Art Drawings . 100 x 80 x 0.2 cm Fine Art Drawings . 39.4 x 31.5 x 0.1 inch

$5,847

Fine Art Drawings, The Mermaid, Mino Maccari

Mino Maccari

Fine Art Drawings . 32 x 21 x 0.2 cm Fine Art Drawings . 12.6 x 8.3 x 0.1 inch

$795

Painting, Pining, Elizabeth Becker

Elizabeth Becker

Painting . 101.6 x 76.2 x 1.9 cm Painting . 40 x 30 x 0.75 inch

$2,822

Painting, l'endormie, Julien Cuny

Julien Cuny

Painting . 110 x 80 x 0.3 cm Painting . 43.3 x 31.5 x 0.1 inch

$2,105

Painting, Vertical red, Carlos Mendez

Carlos Mendez

Painting . 55 x 46 x 2 cm Painting . 21.7 x 18.1 x 0.8 inch

$1,286

Painting, Code 1923, Thierry Carrier

Thierry Carrier

Painting . 27 x 19 x 2 cm Painting . 10.6 x 7.5 x 0.8 inch

$1,169

Painting, Mascarade, Nicolas Monjo

Nicolas Monjo

Painting . 130 x 97 x 2.5 cm Painting . 51.2 x 38.2 x 1 inch

$5,379

Painting, Confession, Nawel Aubert

Nawel Aubert

Painting . 100 x 80 x 2.5 cm Painting . 39.4 x 31.5 x 1 inch

$1,052

Painting, Mademoiselle 47, Kaige Yang

Kaige Yang

Painting . 50 x 30 x 1 cm Painting . 19.7 x 11.8 x 0.4 inch

$1,754

Painting, Iris, Olivier Daumas

Olivier Daumas

Painting . 45 x 32 x 0.2 cm Painting . 17.7 x 12.6 x 0.1 inch

$351

Painting, Menine, Hanna Sidorowicz

Hanna Sidorowicz

Painting . 185 x 96 x 1 cm Painting . 72.8 x 37.8 x 0.4 inch

$8,417

Painting, Portrait, Guy Ghazanchyan

Guy Ghazanchyan

Painting . 30 x 24 x 2 cm Painting . 11.8 x 9.4 x 0.8 inch

$877 $789

Painting, Tigre, Hom Nguyen

Hom Nguyen

Painting . 180 x 140 x 3 cm Painting . 70.9 x 55.1 x 1.2 inch

$26,894

Fine Art Drawings, Confusion, Marta Grassi

Marta Grassi

Fine Art Drawings . 66 x 46 x 2 cm Fine Art Drawings . 26 x 18.1 x 0.8 inch

$702

Painting, Jedidiah, Agboola Oladapo

Agboola Oladapo

Painting . 59.9 x 38.1 x 2.5 cm Painting . 23.6 x 15 x 1 inch

$3,255

Painting, Portrait No.5, Renjie Gao

Renjie Gao

Painting . 60 x 50 x 4 cm Painting . 23.6 x 19.7 x 1.6 inch

$1,169

Sculpture, Tête Montagne, Julien Cuny

Julien Cuny

Sculpture . 60 x 50 x 35 cm Sculpture . 23.6 x 19.7 x 13.8 inch

$1,637

Painting, II, Pascal Girard

II

Pascal Girard

Painting . 92 x 72 x 2 cm Painting . 36.2 x 28.3 x 0.8 inch

$4,093

Painting, Néfeles, Rocio Mazuecos

Rocio Mazuecos

Painting . 162 x 130 x 2.5 cm Painting . 63.8 x 51.2 x 1 inch

$8,770

Painting, Mademoiselle 48, Kaige Yang

Kaige Yang

Painting . 50 x 30 x 1 cm Painting . 19.7 x 11.8 x 0.4 inch

$1,754

Print, Pas de titre, Jaume Plensa

Jaume Plensa

Print . 100 x 70 x 0.04 cm Print . 39.4 x 27.6 x 0 inch

$5,613

Painting, Portrait No.8, Renjie Gao

Renjie Gao

Painting . 60 x 50 x 4 cm Painting . 23.6 x 19.7 x 1.6 inch

$1,169

Painting, Portrait, Guy Ghazanchyan

Guy Ghazanchyan

Painting . 54 x 40 x 2 cm Painting . 21.3 x 15.7 x 0.8 inch

$1,169

Painting, Mademoiselle 32, Kaige Yang

Kaige Yang

Painting . 50 x 30 x 1 cm Painting . 19.7 x 11.8 x 0.4 inch

$1,403

Photography, Autoportrait, Jean Le Gac

Jean Le Gac

Photography . 75 x 50 x 1 cm Photography . 29.5 x 19.7 x 0.4 inch

$819

Painting, Selo-S.V, Ivan Tzonev

Ivan Tzonev

Painting . 100 x 100 x 2 cm Painting . 39.4 x 39.4 x 0.8 inch

$1,169