Portrait Painting for Sale
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The Great Flood, The End of the of the Earth! Stay Calm serie
Olha Vlasova
Painting - 90 x 50 x 2 cm Painting - 35.4 x 19.7 x 0.8 inch
£798
The Star, tarot painting
Olha Vlasova
Painting - 100 x 60 x 2 cm Painting - 39.4 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
£1,331
Dream - figurative neon painting
Olha Vlasova
Painting - 100 x 60 x 2 cm Painting - 39.4 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
£1,331
Three of Swords, tarot neon painting
Olha Vlasova
Painting - 70 x 50 x 1.5 cm Painting - 27.6 x 19.7 x 0.6 inch
£1,020
Mavka the spirit of broken love
Olha Vlasova
Painting - 70 x 50 x 2 cm Painting - 27.6 x 19.7 x 0.8 inch
£1,020
Ayinke (Maverick Series)
Taiwo Samuel Olutimileyin
Painting - 91.4 x 76.2 x 2.5 cm Painting - 36 x 30 x 1 inch
£1,219
En kærlig følgesvend / A loving companion
Kathrine Iversen
Painting - 40.5 x 29.5 x 3 cm Painting - 15.9 x 11.6 x 1.2 inch
£1,774
Untitled (Young Damsel)
Ogbonna Francis
Painting - 71.1 x 61 x 2.5 cm Painting - 28 x 24 x 1 inch
£1,260
Guardian Totem
Themanfromthefuture Urano
Painting - 168 x 152 x 0.3 cm Painting - 66.1 x 59.8 x 0.1 inch
£2,484
Busto velato nelle terra laguna
André Laurenti
Painting - 92 x 73 x 3 cm Painting - 36.2 x 28.7 x 1.2 inch
£3,105
Flame of passion
Jumoke Oyetunde
Painting - 101.6 x 83.8 x 2.5 cm Painting - 40 x 33 x 1 inch
£1,382
Abishola (Born to wealth)
Oniosun Victoria Erioluwa
Painting - 71.1 x 50.8 x 2.5 cm Painting - 28 x 20 x 1 inch
£975
Festival d'Avignon
Maurice Douard
Painting - 90 x 60 x 2 cm Painting - 35.4 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
£1,242
Floating on a Kiss - Red & Yellow
Voxx Romana
Painting - 68.5 x 51 x 0.5 cm Painting - 27 x 20.1 x 0.2 inch
£515
1956 Dieu dans la rivière River God
Kam Zin Choon
Painting - 50 x 30 x 0.5 cm Painting - 19.7 x 11.8 x 0.2 inch
£1,730
Will see you when I fall asleep II
Rahma Lhoussig
Painting - 130 x 150 x 5 cm Painting - 51.2 x 59.1 x 2 inch
£4,436
Waiting for the World to be big enough
Rahma Lhoussig
Painting - 100 x 80 x 5 cm Painting - 39.4 x 31.5 x 2 inch
£3,194
While time is passing by
Rahma Lhoussig
Painting - 130 x 150 x 5 cm Painting - 51.2 x 59.1 x 2 inch
£4,436
Portrait of a lady
Natalie Shiporina
Painting - 50 x 40 x 2 cm Painting - 19.7 x 15.7 x 0.8 inch
£1,148
French School PS 236 All Eyez on you
Bazévian Delacapucinière
Painting - 40 x 40 x 3.5 cm Painting - 15.7 x 15.7 x 1.4 inch
£976
Portrait PS 126 Kiev - De guerre lasse - French school
Bazévian Delacapucinière
Painting - 70 x 50 x 3.8 cm Painting - 27.6 x 19.7 x 1.5 inch
£1,419
Ce que j'aime mon chien
AKET
Painting - 73 x 92 x 2 cm Painting - 28.7 x 36.2 x 0.8 inch
£6,032 £4,826
Neon portrait of a partyless night
Anne Dias
Painting - 50 x 40 x 2 cm Painting - 19.7 x 15.7 x 0.8 inch
£2,218
Amoung Suns, moons and stars
Anne Dias
Painting - 50 x 40 x 2 cm Painting - 19.7 x 15.7 x 0.8 inch
£2,218
Cherry Blossom Contours
Anne Dias
Painting - 50 x 40 x 2 cm Painting - 19.7 x 15.7 x 0.8 inch
£2,218
Painting in ancient technique (Magic image)
Natalie Shiporina
Painting - 21.5 x 15 x 1.5 cm Painting - 8.5 x 5.9 x 0.6 inch
£1,198
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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.
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.
A portrait can be created in various different art styles and forms, including sculpture, painting and drawing.
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.