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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Family portrait
Daniel De polignac
Painting - 73 x 100 x 2.5 cm Painting - 28.7 x 39.4 x 1 inch
$789
La femme aux hortensias
Fannie Iribarnegaray
Painting - 100 x 81 x 2 cm Painting - 39.4 x 31.9 x 0.8 inch
$1,466
Souffle d'émeraude
Inkanan Artist
Painting - 80 x 60 x 4 cm Painting - 31.5 x 23.6 x 1.6 inch
$2,142
The Seedsof the Heart Blossom
Miyuki Takanashi
Painting - 27.3 x 32 x 2 cm Painting - 10.7 x 12.6 x 0.8 inch
$564
Le regard maya - série abstraction graphique
Francia Craineguy dite Mona
Painting - 40 x 80 x 4 cm Painting - 15.7 x 31.5 x 1.6 inch
$1,071
Sans-titre
Gérard Zlotykamien
Painting - 65 x 49.5 x 0.2 cm Painting - 25.6 x 19.5 x 0.1 inch
$2,931
Mask geometric - Geometric art
Tarek
Painting - 73 x 54 x 2 cm Painting - 28.7 x 21.3 x 0.8 inch
$2,593
Words have no state of mind. Neither their counterparts II
Djénina Hagenburger
Painting - 122 x 110 x 1 cm Painting - 48 x 43.3 x 0.4 inch
$4,510
Lost in Thoughts
Tigran Araqelyan
Painting - 90 x 90 x 2 cm Painting - 35.4 x 35.4 x 0.8 inch
$1,500
N° 1270 Massada. Le scribe.
R. Cavalié
Painting - 41 x 27 x 2 cm Painting - 16.1 x 10.6 x 0.8 inch
$564
Dinner with bestie, Romanticization series
Olha Vlasova
Painting - 60 x 60 x 2 cm Painting - 23.6 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
$676
L’accordéonist
Jean Christophe Stauder
Painting - 52 x 31 x 1 cm Painting - 20.5 x 12.2 x 0.4 inch
$902
Innocence in the Fields
Armen Vahramyan
Painting - 30 x 30 x 2 cm Painting - 11.8 x 11.8 x 0.8 inch
$600 $510
Transformation
Victoria Kagalovska
Painting - 150 x 100 x 2 cm Painting - 59.1 x 39.4 x 0.8 inch
$11,275
The girl with the lost pearl earring
Nef
Painting - 45 x 33 x 0.1 cm Painting - 17.7 x 13 x 0 inch
$1,578
Nul ne se connait - Portrait imaginaire
Jacques Alary
Painting - 81 x 60 x 2 cm Painting - 31.9 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
$1,409
Situation bancale sous latitude 45'3
Nicolas Monjo
Painting - 65 x 54 x 2 cm Painting - 25.6 x 21.3 x 0.8 inch
$2,480
Énigme en or
Alexandre Moore Rockefeller
Painting - 43.5 x 36.5 x 2 cm Painting - 17.1 x 14.4 x 0.8 inch
$789
Equilibrium part 1
Konovalov Igor
Painting - 90 x 120 x 2 cm Painting - 35.4 x 47.2 x 0.8 inch
$2,819
Fragments of a Performance
Arman Hayrapetyan
Painting - 100 x 80 x 2 cm Painting - 39.4 x 31.5 x 0.8 inch
$1,800
Focus (Bold Face) - 21st Century Contemporary, Figurative Portrait, Woman
Kehinde Mayowa
Painting - 61 x 61 x 2.5 cm Painting - 24 x 24 x 1 inch
$1,700 $1,530
Rose, à perte de vue
Marta Grassi
Painting - 92 x 73 x 2 cm Painting - 36.2 x 28.7 x 0.8 inch
$2,255
Falling in love with her
Marleen Suvi
Painting - 135 x 100 x 4 cm Painting - 53.1 x 39.4 x 1.6 inch
$3,608
The Village Musician
Alexander Ishchenko
Painting - 80 x 60 x 2.5 cm Painting - 31.5 x 23.6 x 1 inch
$2,000
The colors of my mind
Alessandro Casetti
Painting - 120 x 140 x 3 cm Painting - 47.2 x 55.1 x 1.2 inch
$5,750
The Enchanted Trio
Anahit Mirijanyan
Painting - 70 x 50 x 2 cm Painting - 27.6 x 19.7 x 0.8 inch
$600
Délia Fille de la Mer
Laurent Chimento
Painting - 50 x 50 x 2 cm Painting - 19.7 x 19.7 x 0.8 inch
$710
Portrait de femme
Romain SUZZONI
Painting - 55 x 46.5 x 1.5 cm Painting - 21.7 x 18.3 x 0.6 inch
$676
As Flores que plantei I
Ritchelly Oliveira
Painting - 150 x 120 x 3 cm Painting - 59.1 x 47.2 x 1.2 inch
$15,221
Gently transformation
Trendafila Trendafilova
Painting - 30 x 24.5 x 2 cm Painting - 11.8 x 9.6 x 0.8 inch
$941
Matka Bozia, The Purification of Our Lady
Marcelina Amelia
Painting - 130 x 100 x 2 cm Painting - 51.2 x 39.4 x 0.8 inch
$6,765
Fix The Sky (Blue)
Snik
Painting - 214.6 x 120 x 2.5 cm Painting - 84.5 x 47.25 x 1 inch
$19,500 $14,625
Other Side 7 - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative Portrait, Women, Colours
Damola Ayegbayo
Painting - 121.9 x 91.4 x 2.5 cm Painting - 48 x 36 x 1 inch
$3,250 $2,925
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.