Portrait Photography for Sale
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This Or Nothing
Alexander Benz
Photography - 40 x 40 x 0.2 cm Photography - 15.7 x 15.7 x 0.1 inch
$513
The ballerina
Andreas Sundgren
Photography - 105 x 140 x 0.1 cm Photography - 41.3 x 55.1 x 0 inch
$3,402
The Queen
Andreas Sundgren
Photography - 140 x 105 x 0.1 cm Photography - 55.1 x 41.3 x 0 inch
$3,402
In Bed With Helmut
Alexander Benz
Photography - 40 x 40 x 0.2 cm Photography - 15.7 x 15.7 x 0.1 inch
$513
Woman with a Fish Hat by Picasso
Viktorija Pashuta
Photography - 101.6 x 76.2 x 3.8 cm Photography - 40 x 30 x 1.5 inch
$4,850
Adele Bloch-Bauer by Klimt
Viktorija Pashuta
Photography - 101.6 x 50.8 x 3.8 cm Photography - 40 x 20 x 1.5 inch
$4,850
Jour de marché
Jean-Guy Nakars
Photography - 40 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$390
Movida Massala
Sarah Caron
Photography - 80 x 120 x 0.1 cm Photography - 31.5 x 47.2 x 0 inch
$2,791
Self Portrait 1964
Anthony Horth
Photography - 30 x 24 x 0.2 cm Photography - 11.8 x 9.4 x 0.1 inch
$400
Doll mouth (infant)
Diana Thorneycroft
Photography - 99.1 x 99.1 x 0.3 cm Photography - 39 x 39 x 0.1 inch
$4,242
Doll mouth (infant)
Diana Thorneycroft
Photography - 68.6 x 68.6 x 0.3 cm Photography - 27 x 27 x 0.1 inch
$2,902
Doll mouth (tongue)
Diana Thorneycroft
Photography - 68.6 x 68.6 x 0.3 cm Photography - 27 x 27 x 0.1 inch
$2,902
Doll mouth (boy with teeth)
Diana Thorneycroft
Photography - 68.6 x 68.6 x 0.3 cm Photography - 27 x 27 x 0.1 inch
$2,902
Doll mouth (open)
Diana Thorneycroft
Photography - 99.1 x 99.1 x 0.3 cm Photography - 39 x 39 x 0.1 inch
$4,242
Doll mouth (open)
Diana Thorneycroft
Photography - 68.6 x 68.6 x 0.3 cm Photography - 27 x 27 x 0.1 inch
$2,902
Doll mouth (cupie)
Diana Thorneycroft
Photography - 99.1 x 99.1 x 0.3 cm Photography - 39 x 39 x 0.1 inch
$4,242
Doll mouth (cupie)
Diana Thorneycroft
Photography - 68.6 x 68.6 x 0.3 cm Photography - 27 x 27 x 0.1 inch
$2,902
A people’s history (Riel)
Diana Thorneycroft
Photography - 53.3 x 73.7 x 0.3 cm Photography - 21 x 29 x 0.1 inch
$3,907
A people’s history (Night, Pine Island)
Diana Thorneycroft
Photography - 53.3 x 73.7 x 0.3 cm Photography - 21 x 29 x 0.1 inch
$3,907
A people's history (Col. Williams)
Diana Thorneycroft
Photography - 53.3 x 73.7 x 0.3 cm Photography - 21 x 29 x 0.1 inch
$3,907
Untitled #15
Leonardo Fernandez Della Pietra (Lolo)
Photography - 7 x 5 cm Photography - 2.8 x 2 inch
$279
Untitled #14
Leonardo Fernandez Della Pietra (Lolo)
Photography - 7 x 5 cm Photography - 2.8 x 2 inch
$279
Untitled #13
Leonardo Fernandez Della Pietra (Lolo)
Photography - 7 x 5 cm Photography - 2.8 x 2 inch
$279
Free Spirit nº3
Pierre Cherix
Photography - 70 x 50 x 0.2 cm Photography - 27.6 x 19.7 x 0.1 inch
$502
Rue Cherche Midi 6ème
Amadou Gaye
Photography - 40 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 11.8 x 0 inch
$447
Tenue Correcte Exigée
Amadou Gaye
Photography - 30 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$447
Autoportrait en Allégorie de la Peinture d’après Artemisia Gentileschi
Iconographia
Photography - 30 x 24 cm Photography - 11.8 x 9.4 inch
$391
Eat my Dust, Autoportrait en Bugatti d’après Tamara de Lempicka
Iconographia
Photography - 42 x 59.4 cm Photography - 16.5 x 23.4 inch
$335
Paris, couple de femmes au Jardin des Tuileries
Olivia Bonnamour
Photography - 30 x 45 cm Photography - 11.8 x 17.7 inch
$502
Paris, couple sur le Pont Neuf
Olivia Bonnamour
Photography - 30 x 45 cm Photography - 11.8 x 17.7 inch
$502
Paris, Les jumelles du quai de l’horloge
Olivia Bonnamour
Photography - 30 x 45 cm Photography - 11.8 x 17.7 inch
$502
New York, Union Square, Metro Gala
Olivia Bonnamour
Photography - 30 x 45 cm Photography - 11.8 x 17.7 inch
$502
Paris, une femme chic dans le 10°
Olivia Bonnamour
Photography - 30 x 45 cm Photography - 11.8 x 17.7 inch
$502
Paris, jeune femme à l'Opera
Olivia Bonnamour
Photography - 30 x 45 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 17.7 x 0 inch
$502
Paris, Beauté et religion dans le Marais
Olivia Bonnamour
Photography - 30 x 45 cm Photography - 11.8 x 17.7 inch
$502
Paris, Jeune homme dans le Marais
Olivia Bonnamour
Photography - 30 x 45 x 1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 17.7 x 0.4 inch
$502
New York, Washington Square
Olivia Bonnamour
Photography - 30 x 45 cm Photography - 11.8 x 17.7 inch
$502
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 $1,020
Scarface - The World is Yours
Belart Collective
Print - 101 x 77 x 4 cm Print - 39.8 x 30.3 x 1.6 inch
$2,780
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
The beauty of dance XII
Serghei Ghetiu
Painting - 80 x 49 x 2 cm Painting - 31.5 x 19.3 x 0.8 inch
$1,898
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 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.