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Portrait Paintings For Sale
Period: 19th Century
Period: 18th Century
19th Century Oil - Portrait of An English Gentleman
Located in Corsham, GB
An accomplished portrait depicting an English gentleman in his finery. Unsigned. Well presented in a gilt frame with lambs tongue running pattern and ornate acanthus detailing to the...
Category
19th Century Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil
Mid 19th Century English Oil Painting Portrait of a Lady in Lace Bonnet
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Portrait of a Country Lady
English artist, mid 19th century
oil on canvas, unframed
canvas: 30 x 25 inches
provenance: private collection, UK
condition: some former restoration and s...
Category
Mid-19th Century Victorian Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil
The Poet Sappho - 19th Century Pre-Raphaelite Oil Painting Beauty Ancient Greece
Located in Gerrards Cross, GB
‘Melancholic Sappho’ by Arthur Hill RBA (1841-1908).
The painting – which depicts the celebrated poet of Ancient Greece appealing to the Goddess Aphrodite, with the Parthenon on the...
Category
1870s Pre-Raphaelite Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil
19th Century French Realist Oil Profile Portrait of Lady Beautiful Quality
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
French realist artist of the 19th century
oil painting on board, unframed
board: 12.5 x 10.5 inches
provenance: private collection, France
condition: ...
Category
Mid-19th Century Academic Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil
King Charles Cavalier Spaniel, 19th century English portrait of a dogs head
By George Earl
Located in Woodbury, CT
!9th century English portrait of a King Charles Cavalier Spaniel
Wonderful portrait study of this very popular breed of dog.
Dating from the middle of the 19th century this piece...
Category
1860s Victorian Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Portrait of Mrs James Hoste - British 18th century art portrait oil painting
By John Vanderbank
Located in London, GB
This superb large three quarter length British Old Master portrait in a landscape oil painting is attributed to circle of John Vanderbank the Younger. Painted circa 1738 the sitter is Mrs James Hoste of South Wootton and Sandringham, nee Hammond. She was the daughter of Anthony Hamond and Susan Walpole, daughter of Robert Walpole, and was sister to Robert, 1st Earl of Oxford. She married Major James Hoste of Sandringham, Norfolk, and they had two daughters. The sheen of her blue satin dress against her gold cloak is stunning. A really lovely 18th century portrait with excellent provenance.
Inscribed with sitter details lower left.
Provenance. By descent within the family of the sitter at West Acre High House, Norfolk;
Cheffins, Cambridge, 'West Acre High House' sale, 24 November 2010, Lot 519; Wood Hall, Arkesden, Essex.
Literature: 'Portraits in Norfolk Houses', Prince Duleep Singh, 1927, No. 36.
Sitter's details on two labels verso.
Condition. Oil on canvas, image size is 50 inches by 40 inches and in good condition.
Frame. Housed in an ornate gilt frame, 58 inches by 48 inches framed and in good condition.
John Vanderbank (1694-1739) was an English portraitist and book illustrator, who enjoyed a high reputation for a short while during the reign of King George...
Category
18th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil
Helen Of Troy, 19th Century by ARMAND POINT (1860-1930)
By Armand Point
Located in Blackwater, GB
Helen Of Troy, 19th Century
by ARMAND POINT (1860-1930) sales to $190,000
Large 19th Century French Classical portrait of Helen Of Troy, oil/mixed media on canvas by Armand Point. ...
Category
19th Century Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil, Mixed Media
Antique Dog Portrait of "Mignonne" dated 1876 by Louis Eugène Bourgeois
Located in SANTA FE, NM
Antique Dog Painting of "Mignonne" dated 1876
Louis Eugène Bourgeois (French 1831-1878)
Pastel on cardboard
Signed lower left "E. Bourgeois"
Inscribed upper right "Mignonne."
Rever...
Category
1870s Realist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Pastel, Cardboard
Anton Ebert Portrait of a Woman Oil on Canvas
Located in Astoria, NY
Anton Ebert (Austrian, 1845-1896), Portrait of a Woman, Oil on Oval Canvas laid on Board, 19th century, signed "A. Ebert / Wien" to mid right, original ova...
Category
Late 19th Century Realist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Large 19th Century French Portrait of Lady with Roses & Smart Dress oil painting
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Portrait of a Lady
French School, 19th century
oil on canvas, framed
framed: 34 x 29 inches
canvas: 30 x 25 inches
provenance: private collection, France
condition: very good and sou...
Category
19th Century Victorian Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil, Canvas
"Portrait of a Lady" - 19th-Century French Framed Antique Woman Oil Painting
Located in New Orleans, LA
A lovely portrait of a turn-of-the-century elegant woman, perhaps commissioned by a devoted husband (she has a ring on her right hand, which is more common as a wedding ring in north...
Category
Late 19th Century Victorian Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil
Portrait of Mercer Beasley
Located in Greenwich, CT
Provenance: Private Collection, Newton, Connecticut
H. V. Allison & Co.
This painting has been seen by Mary Ann Goley and is in her records.
Signed Center Right
Canvas size inside fr...
Category
1880s Tonalist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Fine Antique British Portrait of Elegant Lady with Flower Framed Oil Painting
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Portrait of an Elegant Lady
British School, late 19th/ early 20th century - circa 1900
oil on canvas, framed in oak wood frame
framed: 30 x 26 inches
canvas : 24 x 20 inches
provenan...
Category
Late 19th Century Impressionist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil, Canvas
Scottish School 19th Century Oil - Lady of The House
Located in Corsham, GB
A charming 19th-century portrait depicting a woman wearing a silk gown lined with lace. In her hand, she holds a small wildflower up to her face as she turns her head to look at the ...
Category
19th Century Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil
Portraits King Louis XV Queen Gobert Paint Oil on canvas old master 18th Century
Located in Riva del Garda, IT
Pierre Gobert (Fontainebleau 1662 - Paris 1744) Atelier of
Pair of fine portraits
Louis XV, King of France and his wife, Maria Leszczyńska
oils on canvas (2), 41 x 32 cm., in frame 53 x 44 cm.
It is easy to identify the sitters of this charming pair of portraits in the rulers of France, namely Louis XV of Bourbon, who ascended the throne in 1715 at the age of just thirteen and was nicknamed the 'Beloved', and Maria Leszczyńska, Queen Consort of France and Navarre and daughter of the King of Poland Stanislaus I.
The queen is depicted in a three-quarter-length figure, her face smiling and turned towards the spectator. She wears a wig in shades of grey with her hair gathered around the nape of her neck and a diadem on her head, and pendants on her ears. She wears a dress with a wide neckline made of red velvet, brocaded with gold threads, with rich lace sleeves, and a bodice adorned with a jewelled bodice of diamonds and pearls. On the shoulders rests a blue velvet mantle embroidered with the heraldic...
Category
18th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil
19th century English Antique oil portrait of a white Terrier Dog
Located in Woodbury, CT
19th century English Antique oil portrait of a Terrier dog in an interior
Earl was the brother of George Earl and the uncle of Maud Earl and Percy Earl. H...
Category
1870s Victorian Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Fine 19th Century French Symbolist Oil Painting Portrait of Mythological Queen
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
The Queen
by Diogène Ulysse Napoléon Maillart (French, 1840 – 1926) *see notes below
oil painting on canvas, framed
canvas: 42 x 30 inches
framed: 45 x 33 inches
condition: overall v...
Category
Late 19th Century Symbolist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Mary & Jesus, 18th Century French Old Master oil painting on canvas
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Artist/ School: French School, 18th century
Title: Mary and Jesus
Medium: oil on canvas, framed
Framed: 17 x 14.5 inches
Canvas: 16 x 12.75 inches
Provenance: private collection...
Category
18th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil
Portrait of Girls with a Cat - British Victorian Genre animal art oil painting
Located in London, GB
This charming British Victorian genre oil painting is by noted exhibited artist John Morgan. Painted circa 1870 the composition is two young girls, one dark haired one blonde, who ar...
Category
19th Century Realist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil
18th century Dutch portrait of a family group in an interior
Located in Bath, Somerset
An 18th century painting of a family group (otherwise known as a ‘conversation piece’) gathered around a table, an open door to the garden beyond. The father seated, with his son standing by his side, the mother seated, playing with a child on her lap, with another lady, possibly a maid standing behind, a Culpeper microscope...
Category
18th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Italian men portrait
By Giovanni Maria delle Piane dit Mulinaretto (Genoa 1670 - Monticelli d´Ongina 1745)
Located in BELEYMAS, FR
Giovanni Maria DELLE PIANE, known as IL MULINARETTO
(Genoa, 1660 – Monticelli d'Ongina, 1745)
Portrait of a man
Oil on oval canvas
H. 108 cm; L. 83 cm
Provenance: Nino Ferrari Colle...
Category
1740s Italian School Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
18th century Portrait of a young girl, Miss Cator in a landscape, white dress
By John Russell
Located in Woodbury, CT
Portrait of a young British Girl, in her white dress with Pink Sash.
Choosing to acquire an 18th-century portrait of a young girl by English artist John Russell is an opportunity to...
Category
1780s Old Masters Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
!8th century Irish or English portrait of a woman with Ermin, blue dressing lace
Located in Woodbury, CT
Wonderful 18th century Irish or English portrait, attributed to the Irish painter Nathaniel Hone.
Nathaniel Hone was born in Dublin but by 1748 had set...
Category
1780s Old Masters Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil
Grey stallion held by groom in Duke of Grosvenor’s colours British 18C
Located in London, GB
Richard Roper (British, c. 1730-c. 1775)
Grey stallion held by groom in the Duke of
Grosvenor’s colours
Oil on canvas
Old chalk inscription '22 Mar 74' verso
Property of a gentleman...
Category
18th Century English School Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil
Anton Benno Zottmayr, Portrait Of A Gentleman With A Letter
Located in Cheltenham, GB
This charming mid-19th-century oil painting by German artist Anton Benno Zottmayr (1795-1865) depicts a gentleman holding a letter. Zottmayr was an accomplished painter of portraits,...
Category
1850s Folk Art Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Antique Italian Realist Oil Painting Portrait of Two Children in a Landscape
Located in Buffalo, NY
A rare antique Italian portrait of two children posed inside a villa against a landscape.
This unsigned but beautiful work comes house in contemporary frame added to the work to e...
Category
1890s Realist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Portraits of two sisters
Located in BELEYMAS, FR
Bernard GAILLOT
(Versailles 1780 – Paris, 1847)
Portraits of two sisters
Pair of oil on canvas
H. 92 cm; L. 73 cm
One signed
Student of David, he presented his first works at the Sa...
Category
1810s French School Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Man with Pipe - 19th Century French Impressionist Smoking Portrait Oil Painting
Located in Sevenoaks, GB
A superb late 19th century French impressionist oil on board portrait of a man with a pipe. Painted with short and fast brush strokes by a highly competent artist.
A striking period...
Category
1890s Impressionist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil
The Bloody Shouldered Arabian Horse Oil on canvas 18th Century
By John Wootton
Located in London, GB
John Wootton (1686 - 1764)
The Bloody-Shouldered Arabian
Oil on canvas
Inscribed below, 'Bred by Lord Oxford in 1755 & Sire of many famous Racers, including the Duke of Bolton's 'Swe...
Category
Early 18th Century English School Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil
Portrait of a Sculptor
By Andrea Del Sarto
Located in Douglas, Isle of Man
After Andrea Del Sarto 1486 - 1530, who was an Italian Renaissance painter and draughtsman. Del Sarto worked in Fresco decorating, portrait painting and as a painter of alter pieces,...
Category
Mid-19th Century Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Fine 1800's English Georgian Oil Painting Portrait of Young Girl with Dove
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Portrait of a Young Child
English artist, circa 1800's period
oil on canvas, framed
framed: 31.5 x 27 inches
provenance: private collection, England
condition: very good and sound co...
Category
Early 19th Century English School Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil
Judith With The head Of Holofernes, 17th Century CARLO MARATTA (1625-1713)
Located in Blackwater, GB
Judith With The head Of Holofernes, 17th Century
School of CARLO MARATTA (1625-1713)
Large 17th Century Italian Old Master oval depiction of Judith With The Head Of Holofernes, oil...
Category
18th Century Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Portrait Beautiful Woman SALOMAN Gouache Danish Swedish painter 19th
Located in PARIS, FR
Geskel SALOMAN
Tonder (Denmark) 1821 – Bastad (Sweden), 1902
Portrait of a woman with a book
Gouache on bone
8.8 x 8.5 cm (16.5 x 15.5 cm with the frame)
Signed lower right “G. Salom...
Category
Mid-19th Century Academic Portrait Paintings
Materials
Gouache
Rare french art by Francois Grenier - Empire, woman at a spring, oil on canvas.
Located in PARIS, FR
Free US CONTINENTAL Shipping, incl Europe and Asia.
Admire the exquisite beauty of this rare French art piece by Francois Grenier, formed by Jacques Louis David. Painted in the Empir...
Category
Early 19th Century Realist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil
Portrait King Henry 8th VIII Antique English Painting Famous Monarch
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
King Henry VIII
English artist, circa 1840's
oil on paper laid on board, framed
framed: 10.5 x 10inches
board: 8 x 7.5 inches
inscribed verso
provenance: private collection, UK
cond...
Category
Early 19th Century English School Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil
Boy with Guinea Pig - British Victorian animal art male portrait oil painting
By Henry Turner Munns
Located in London, GB
This charming British Victorian genre oil painting is by noted exhibited artist Henry Tuner Munns. It was painted in 1865 in realist palette with superb detail in the young boy's fac...
Category
19th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil
Sir Beauchamp, 1880-90 - oil paint, 73x62 cm, framed
Located in Nice, FR
Oil on canvas with its original frame.
Category
1880s Academic Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil
Women portrait
Located in BELEYMAS, FR
Philippe PARROT
(Saint Martin d'Excideuil 1831 – Paris 1894)
Portrait of Yvonne Mattoy
Oil on canvas
H. 46 cm; L. 38 cm
Signed and dedicated at the top...
Category
1880s French School Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
18th century oil painting English portrait of a gent in armor, wearing a wig
By studio of Sir Godfrey Kneller
Located in Woodbury, CT
Outstanding early 18th century English portrait of James Bellevue.
The portrait was always believed to be the work of Sir Godfrey Kneller who was known to have painted James Bellevu...
Category
Early 1700s Old Masters Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Portrait of Gentleman with Cigar Large 19th Century British Oil Painting
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Portrait of a Gentleman with a Cigar
English artist, mid 19th century
oil on canvas, unframed
canvas: 30 x 25 inches
provenance: private collection, England
condition: overall good a...
Category
Mid-19th Century Victorian Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil, Canvas
Allegory Of Europe Solimena 18th Century Paint Oil on canvas Old master Italy
Located in Riva del Garda, IT
Francesco Solimena (Canale di Serino 1657 - Barra 1747)
workshop/circle
The Allegory of Europe
oil on canvas
102 x 76 cm. - with frame: 119 x 92 cm.
The work, which can be placed ...
Category
18th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil
Guinevere - 19th Century Pre-Raphaelite Oil Painting of King Arthur's Queen
Located in Gerrards Cross, GB
‘Guinevere’ by Norman Prescott-Davies R.B.A, R.C.A. (1861-1915). The painting – which depicts an English mediaeval portrait of Queen Guinevere at Amesbury Priory contemplating her lo...
Category
Late 19th Century Pre-Raphaelite Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil
19th century French Portrait of Gentleman on horseback with top hat
Located in Woodbury, CT
This late 19th-century French portrait depicts a distinguished gentleman on horseback, elegantly dressed in a green riding coat, gray trousers, and a black top hat, exuding aristocra...
Category
1880s Impressionist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Oil Painting by George Romney "Portraits of a Lady and Gentleman"
Located in Mere, GB
Oil Painting Pair circle of by George Romney "Portraits of a Lady and Gentleman" 1734 - 1802 Romney was a leadway society portrait painter of the Georgian ear...
Category
1780s Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil
Spanish School 19th century, Santa Justa and Santa Rufina, oil on canvas
Located in Paris, FR
Spanish School of the 19th Century
Santa Justa and Santa Rufina
Oil on canvas
40 x 27 cm
In quite good condition, the paint surface presents numerous crack...
Category
1840s Old Masters Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil
19th century Irish portrait of a man, smoking a Pipe, seated in a barn interior.
Located in Woodbury, CT
late 19th-century Irish school portrait of a seated man smoking a pipe in a barn interior.
A very well-painted and skillfully composed portrait of a wor...
Category
1890s Victorian Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil, Board
Interior with Five Children - Oil Painting on Canvas - 19th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Interior with Five Children is an original oil painting on canvas applied on panel.
This painting has been realized between the end of the 19th century ...
Category
19th Century Modern Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Fine Antique French Oil Painting Sirens and Cupid Dancing along the Seashore
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Artist/ School: Adolphe Lalyre (French, 1848-1933) signed
Title: Sirens and Cupid dancing along the seashore
Medium: signed oil on canvas, unframed.
canvas: 22.75 x 28 inches
Pr...
Category
19th Century Symbolist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil
Portrait of Major General James Hanson Salmond - British 18thC art oil painting
By Sir Thomas Lawrence
Located in London, GB
This superb British Old Master oil painting is attributed to circle of Sir Thomas Lawrence. Painted circa 1795, the sitter is Major-General James Hanson Salmond (1766–1837) an office...
Category
1790s Old Masters Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil
Portrait of 19th Century Philadelphia Merchant, Quintin Campbell
Located in Doylestown, PA
19th Century portrait of Quintin Campbell in the style of Thomas Sully. The 30 x 25 inches oil on canvas is framed in an ornate frame. Provenance: Private collection, Bucks County, P...
Category
19th Century American Realist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Tête d’expression portrait study of a gentleman
Located in Maidenhead, GB
French Academic School, 18th century
A tête d’expression study of a gentleman, c. 1780-90
Oil on canvas
46.1 x 35 cm.; (within frame) 57.5 x 46.6. cm.
Provenance:
Private Collectio...
Category
1780s French School Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil
Signed French Impressionist Antique Oil Portrait of Man with Beard Paris Stamped
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Artist/ School: signed French School, Bouchet (19th-20th Century)
Title: Portrait of a bearded man
Medium: oil on board
Size: 11 x 8.5 inches
Provenance: private collection, Fran...
Category
1890s Impressionist Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil
A Magnificent Pair of French Royal Paintings "Aurora and Diana" "Night and Day"
Located in New York, NY
Jacques-Francois Delyen (1684-1761), Court Painter of King Louis XV.
A Magnificent Pair of Palatial "French Royal" Allegorical Paintings "Aurora and Diana" "Night and Day"
A truly ...
Category
18th Century Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil
Portrait of Berthe Thorwaldsen with bust of Horace Vernet - 1833
Located in Roma, IT
Portrait of Berthe Thorwaldsen with Bust of Horace Vernet is an original modern artwork realized by the Circle of Horace Vernet (30 June 1789 – 17 Januar...
Category
1830s Modern Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Presumed portrait of Marie-Anne de Bourbon
Located in BELEYMAS, FR
Nicolas de LARGILLIERRE
(Paris 1656 – 1746)
Portrait of a woman, presumed to be Marie-Anne de Bourbon, Princess of Conti (1666-1739)
Oil on oval canvas
H. 8...
Category
Early 1700s French School Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Woman nestled in an armchair
Located in Paris, IDF
Joseph-Désiré COURT
(Rouen, 1797 – Paris, 1865)
Woman nestled in an armchair
Oil on canvas
Signed and dated lower left
81 x 65 cm
1834
Exhibition: in all likelihood, number 50 of ...
Category
Mid-19th Century French School Portrait Paintings
Materials
Oil
After Jean-Baptiste Van Loo, Portrait of King Louis XV of France (1710-1774)
Located in New York, NY
After Jean-Baptiste Van Loo, A Portrait of King Louis XV of France (1710-1774)
A magnificent quality three-quarter length portrait of King Louis XV of France and Navarre, painted in the 18th century after Jean-Baptiste Van Loo.
Oil on canvas, in the original carved and gilt wood frame.
Canvas: 40" high x 32" wide
Frame: 46.5" high x 39" wide
Very good condition, ready to hang. No damages noted.
The present composition follows a portrait of Louis XV painted by Jean-Baptiste Van Loo in 1726-1727, today in Versailles. (Oil on canvas. 198.5 by 143 cm. Inv. no. MV 6942.)
There were several full-length portraits painted by Van Loo of the young Louis XV, and all were executed in the years of or after his majority, 1723, when he took full control of government, wresting power from the Régent, his great-uncle Philippe, Duc d'Orléans. A slightly larger version (205 by 171 cm), in which the pose and surrounding paraphernalia mirrors that of the present work, is in the Château de Versailles, while another, in which Louis stands more front-on, his pointing right index-finger now tucked in, and with a different background arrangement, is also in Versailles. Further versions of this latter are in Nice, Musée Chéret and the Musée de Perpignan.
The composition of all of these full-lengths would appear to derive from Van Loo's large equestrian portrait of Louis XV, painted in collaboration with Charles Parrocel, which was commissioned in 1723 by the Surintendance for Charles de Lorraine. Louis is depicted in similar armour and costume, astride his horse, similarly turned three-quarters to the left and his right arm outstretched. Most subsequent depictions of Louis followed this original design, including, for example, Carle Van...
Category
18th Century Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
John Hervey Portrait on occasion of receiving the Title 1st Earl of Bristol
By (Circle of) Godfrey Kneller
Located in Firenze, IT
Portrait of John Hervey, 1st Earl of Bristol (1665-1751).
Early 18th-century near-life-size portrait of a noble man richly dressed in a long wig.
Circle of...
Category
Early 18th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Portrait Paintings for Sale on 1stDibs
An elegant and sophisticated decorative touch in any living space, portrait paintings have remained popular throughout the years and are widely loved pieces of art for display in many homes today.
Portrait paintings are at least as old as ancient Egypt, where realistic, lifelike depictions of the recently deceased — commonly known as “mummy portraits” — were painted on wooden panels and affixed to mummies as part of the burial tradition.
For centuries, painters have used portraiture as a means of expressing a subject’s nobility, societal status and authority. Portraits were given as gifts in Renaissance Europe, and a portrait artist might have been commissioned to help mark a significant occasion such as a wedding or a promotion to high office. Prior to the advent of photography, which eventually replaced painted portraits as a quicker and more efficient way of capturing a person’s essence, the subject of a portrait had to sit for hours until the painter had finished. And during the 18th century in particular, if an artist commissioned for a portrait struggled with how to adequately memorialize and capture a subject’s likeness, sometimes a portrait painting wasn’t completed for up to a year.
Whether it’s part of the gallery-style approach to your living-room or dining-room walls or merely inspiration as you devise an eye-grabbing color scheme in your home, a portrait painting is a timeless decorative object for any interior. A landscape painting or sculpture might give you the kind of insight into a specific region of the world or a different culture that you can ascertain only through art. Similarly, when you take the time to learn about the subject of a portrait painting that you bring into your home — the sitter’s history, the relationship between the sitter and the artist should one exist, the story of how the portrait came to be — that work can become intensely personal in addition to its place as an object for an art-hungry corner of your apartment or house.
On 1stDibs, visit a vast collection of famous portrait paintings or works by emerging artists. Search by medium to find the right portrait paintings for your home in oil paint, synthetic resin paint and more. Find portrait paintings in a variety of styles, too, including contemporary, Impressionist and Pop art, or search by artist to find unique works created by painters such as Mark Beard, Steve Kaufman and Montse Valdés.
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