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.
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Soy feliz...Si nada te quita el sueño
Carol Tomàs Alcaine
Painting - 40 x 50 x 1.5 cm Painting - 15.7 x 19.7 x 0.6 inch
$902
Woman in red, triptych
Diana Fuchs
Painting - 80 x 180 x 3 cm Painting - 31.5 x 70.9 x 1.2 inch
$5,000
The Geometry of Consciousness 1
Ramóna Csendes
Painting - 45 x 45 x 3 cm Painting - 17.7 x 17.7 x 1.2 inch
$1,748
Banksy captured / Girl with balloon
Steve Lazarides
Painting - 50 x 70 x 1 cm Painting - 19.7 x 27.6 x 0.4 inch
$3,946
Orlane - série femme de dos
Fabienne Lecras
Painting - 75 x 60 x 1 cm Painting - 29.5 x 23.6 x 0.4 inch
$812
El Bosque De Los Mitos. From The Series Of Revelación,
Daniel Casique
Painting - 75 x 60 x 5.1 cm Painting - 29.52 x 23.62 x 2 inch
$2,500
Pompiertruche - Série Portrait Autruche personnifiée
Anita Leray
Painting - 30 x 25 x 1.5 cm Painting - 11.8 x 9.8 x 0.6 inch
$225
Portrait 3 Dalí Marron & Or
Narôme
Painting - 75 x 115 x 2 cm Painting - 29.5 x 45.3 x 0.8 inch
Sold
Lignée des Saintes
Céline de Abreu
Painting - 80 x 80 x 3 cm Painting - 31.5 x 31.5 x 1.2 inch
$3,833
Sur le tapis du vent
Jeannette Guichard-Bunel
Painting - 80 x 80 x 2 cm Painting - 31.5 x 31.5 x 0.8 inch
$4,510
Retrato de Raquel / Portrait de Raquel
Gabriel del Paso
Painting - 61 x 50 x 2 cm Painting - 24 x 19.7 x 0.8 inch
$620
Portrait - The Game of Life
Guoyi Liu
Painting - 150 x 100 x 4 cm Painting - 59.1 x 39.4 x 1.6 inch
$14,431
Moine bouddhiste avec un jeune novice
The opium smoking white elephant
Painting - 50 x 40 cm Painting - 19.7 x 15.7 inch
$902
Mona Lisa / La Joconde
Florence Fabris
Painting - 133 x 78 x 5 cm Painting - 52.4 x 30.7 x 2 inch
$3,044
We Don't Know How Water Is Blue #2
Tran Trong Vu
Painting - 254 x 101.6 x 2.5 cm Painting - 100 x 40 x 1 inch
$2,300
1989 Motherhood Maternité
Laurent Garcin
Painting - 67 x 50 cm Painting - 26.4 x 19.7 inch
$1,409 $1,268
The sweetest perfection - unique piece
Isabelle Scheltjens
Painting - 152 x 114 x 7 cm Painting - 59.8 x 44.9 x 2.8 inch
$21,309
Portrait de classe 14
Camille Cottier
Painting - 27.5 x 22.5 x 2 cm Painting - 10.8 x 8.9 x 0.8 inch
$902
What we get in return
Adewuyi Theophilus
Painting - 91.4 x 61 x 2.5 cm Painting - 36 x 24 x 1 inch
$2,000
Ventre de Paris
Mikhail Chemiakine
Painting - 30 x 24 x 0.1 cm Painting - 11.8 x 9.4 x 0 inch
$2,480
La guerrière aux fleurs de l'Eden
Jean-Jacques François
Painting - 103 x 103 x 2 cm Painting - 40.6 x 40.6 x 0.8 inch
$5,074
La Reine nach Velasquez
Max Zuber
Painting - 60 x 50 x 3 cm Painting - 23.6 x 19.7 x 1.2 inch
$28,017
El jardín de las hesperides
Almeriane
Painting - 130 x 89 x 3 cm Painting - 51.2 x 35 x 1.2 inch
$11,669
L'amie des bêtes
Alice Jacqueline Jaquet
Painting - 124 x 80 x 1 cm Painting - 48.8 x 31.5 x 0.4 inch
$4,126
I'm in the cabin
Ekaterina Krylova
Painting - 80 x 60 x 2 cm Painting - 31.5 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
$2,000
Dans les champs, en fin d´après-midi.
José Saboia
Painting - 50 x 60 x 2 cm Painting - 19.7 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
$1,804
Daisy Game
Gabrielle Graessle
Painting - 180 x 260 x 2 cm Painting - 70.9 x 102.4 x 0.8 inch
$11,400
Schnappschuss 1706
Baurjan Aralov
Painting - 70 x 50 x 3 cm Painting - 27.6 x 19.7 x 1.2 inch
$1,353
Woman of Integrity
Taiwo Oguntola
Painting - 58.4 x 50.8 x 2.5 cm Painting - 23 x 20 x 1 inch
$1,600
Discover the styles & movements
Discover the selection of our experts
La Cage et la trace du crayon
Sandra Chevrier
Print - 36 x 30.5 x 0.1 cm Print - 14.2 x 12 x 0 inch
$2,255
Commanda Large Format
Shepard Fairey (Obey)
Print - 105 x 77 x 0.1 cm Print - 41.3 x 30.3 x 0 inch
$2,819
Need help with Portrait Painting for Sale ?
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.