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Portrait Paintings For Sale
Style: Old Masters
Style: Photorealist
Portrait of Lady Caroline Price
Located in Miami, FL
DESCRIPTION: Perhaps the best Romney in private hands. If Vogue Magazine existed in the late 18th century, this image of Lady Caroline Price would be ...
Category

1970s Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

17th Century by Juan Alfonso Abril Head of St Paul Painting Oil on Canvas
Located in Milano, Lombardia
Juan Alfonso Abril (active in the 17th century in Valladolid) Head of Saint Paul Oil on canvas, cm. 48,5 x 62 - with frame cm. 63 x 76,5 Shaped wooden f...
Category

Early 17th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Portrait Of Thomas Smythe (1514-1577) School of Hans HOLBEIN (1497-1543)
Located in Blackwater, GB
Portrait Of Thomas Smythe (1514-1577), 16th Century School of Hans HOLBEIN (1497-1543) Fine huge 16th Century English Old Master portrait of Sir Thomas...
Category

16th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

18th century English portrait of a lady beside an urn, with a basket of flowers
By Tilly Kettle
Located in Bath, Somerset
Portrait of a lady wearing a white gown with a red cloak, pearls in her hair and draped over one shoullder, standing beside a classical urn with a basket of flowers, c.1765. The portrait is believed to be a companion portrait of a John (1741-1816) or James (1751-1807) Durno which is housed in an identical frame. The sitter is possibly either the wife of John who was Janes Byres of Stonywood or John and James's sister Elizabeth. (James never married). The Durno family were based around the Aberdeen area of Scotland and John was an advocate in the area and then later a customs official in Jamaica. James was a successful timber merchant, spending time in the Baltic before being made His Majesty's Consul in Memel, Prussia. The portrait is likely to have been painted before Tilly travelled to India in 1768, when John, Jane and Elizabeth would have been in their twenties. We are gtrateful to Mark Beattie for sharing his family knowlege and research on the portrait. Provenance: With W. C. Beattie in the mid 19th century, and by descent through the family Private collection, Kent With thanks to Hugh Belsey who has confirmed this to be the work of Tilly Kettle from photographs. Tilly Kettle (1735-1786) was born in London, the third of six children by Henry Kettle (c.1704-c.1773), a coach painter, and his wife Ann. He attended William Shipley...
Category

18th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Portrait of a Man
Located in New York, NY
Provenance: with Leo Blumenreich and Julius Böhler, Munich, 1924 Dr. Frederic Goldstein Oppenheimer (1881-1963), San Antonio, Texas; by whom given to: Abraham M. Adler, New York, un...
Category

16th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

Portrait of Lady Bagot - Niece to the Duke of Wellington
Located in Miami, FL
The sitter is Mary Charlotte Anne Wellesly-Pole, eldest daughter of William, 4th Earl of Mornington and niece to the Duke of Wellington. This is one of Hoppner's best works. The sitt...
Category

1780s Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

A Rich Merchant - Painting by Unknown - 18th Century
Located in Roma, IT
A rich merchant is an original old master artwork realized in the 18th Century. Mixed colored oil painting on canvas depicting a merchant looking at a coin in his left hand. Provena...
Category

18th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Portrait of a Young Man - 17th Century Portrait in Oil
By Pieter Harmensz Verelst
Located in London, GB
Circle of Pieter Harmensz Verelst 1618 - 1678 Portrait of a Young Man Oil on oak panel Image size: 7 ½ x 5 ¾ inches Dutch ripple frame
Category

18th Century and Earlier Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Panel, Oil

Lady Dormore - A 16th Century Portrait of a key member of Shakespeare's England
Located in London, GB
Lady Dormer, Mary Browne c. 1592 oil on panel 35 x 29 inches, unframed; 41 x 34.75 inches, inc. frame Inscribed 'Lady Dormore' Mary married Henry Wriothesley, 2nd Earl of Southampton who gave birth to Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton - one of the great figures in Shakespears"s circle and founder of the Virginia company, developers of Virginia USA. Henry Wriothesley, born 6 October 1573 at Cowdray House, Sussex, was the only son of Henry Wriothesley, 2nd Earl of Southampton, by Mary Browne, the only daughter of Anthony Browne, 1st Viscount Montague, and his first wife, Jane Radcliffe.[5] He had two sisters, Jane, who died before 1573, and Mary (c. 1567 – 1607), who in June 1585 married Thomas Arundell, 1st Baron Arundell of Wardour.[6] After his father's death, Southampton's mother married firstly, on 2 May 1595, as his second wife, Sir Thomas Heneage (d. 17 October 1595), Vice-Chamberlain of the Household, and secondly, between 5 November 1598 and 31 January 1599, Sir William Hervey. She died in November 1607.[7] Early life When his father died on 4 October 1581 Southampton inherited the earldom and landed income valued at £1097 6s per annum. His wardship and marriage were sold by the Queen to her kinsman, Charles, Lord Howard of Effingham, for £1000. According to Akrigg, Howard then "entered into some further agreement, of which no documentation can now be found, which transferred to Lord Burghley personally the custody and marriage of the young Earl, but left Howard holding his lands", and late in 1581 or early in 1582 Southampton, then eight years of age, came to live at Cecil House in the Strand.[8] In October 1585, at age twelve, Southampton entered St John's College, Cambridge,[9] graduating M.A. on 6 June 1589.[10] His name was entered at the Gray's Inn legal society before he left the university, and he was admitted on 29 February 1588.[11] On Southampton's 16th birthday, 6 October 1589, Lord Burghley noted Southampton's age in his diary, and by 1590 Burghley was negotiating with Southampton's grandfather, Anthony Browne, 1st Viscount Montague, and Southampton's mother, Mary, for a marriage between Southampton and Lord Burghley's eldest granddaughter, Elizabeth Vere, daughter of Burghley's daughter, Anne Cecil, and Edward de Vere...
Category

16th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

(Slavic School, 19th Century) A Large Oil Painting "Saints Cyril and Methodius"
Located in New York, NY
(Slavic School, 19th Century) A Large Oil Painting "Saints Cyril and Methodius" Very good quality painting, and subject. Painted by a master, apparently unsigned. Cyril (born Constantine, 826–869) and Methodius (815–885) were two brothers and Byzantine Christian theologians and missionaries. For their work evangelizing the Slavs, they are known as the "Apostles to the Slavs". They are credited with devising the Glagolitic alphabet, the first alphabet used to transcribe Old Church Slavonic. After their deaths, their pupils continued their missionary work among other Slavs. Both brothers are venerated in the Eastern Orthodox Church as saints with the title of "equal-to-apostles". In 1880, Pope Leo XIII...
Category

19th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Attributed to John Riley, 17th century English portrait of a girl on a terrace
By John Riley
Located in Bath, Somerset
Portrait of a young girl, full-length, wearing a blue silk gown, standing on a terrace beside a classical urn holding a branch with blossom. Attributed to John Riley...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

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

Sir Roger de Coverley and his Hounds A Sporting Portrait, signed and dated 1843
Located in Lincoln, GB
Sir Roger De Coverly and his Hounds” by Richard Barrett Davis (1782-1854) Oil on Canvas, Unframed Size: 85 x 112cm Framed Size: 114 x 141cm Signed and dated 1843 Richard Barrett D...
Category

19th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Bright Side: Photorealist Figurative Painting of Young Man in Aqua Blue Pool
Located in Hudson, NY
Square figurative photo-realist painting of an underwater view of a young man swimming in an aqua blue pool "Bright Side", painted by Hudson Valley artist, Samantha French, is 2020 oil on canvas, 30 x 30 inches Sides are cleanly painted white so additional framing is optional Excellent condition and ready to hang as is This photorealist figurative painting captures a peaceful underwater scene of a young man leisurely swimming in a crisp, aqua blue pool. The sunlit water and pops of light pink reflecting off his pale skin complement the vibrant color palette, making for a serene visual experience. The brush work is highly detailed with little texture (impasto) on the surface. The square painting on canvas is currently unframed and has clean, white painted sides, so additional framing is optional. About the Artist: Born and raised in north central Minnesota, Samantha French graduated from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design in 2005. French’s current body of work explores the idea of escape, the tranquility and nostalgia for the lazy summer days of her childhood. The series is inspired by Samantha’s own reflections and memories of her childhood summers spent in the lakes of Northern Minnesota. French actively exhibits her paintings and is included in many private and public collections throughout the country while her work has garnered extensive international and national press. She is a full-time painter and keeps a studio in New York’s Hudson Valley. "My current body of work is focused on swimmers underwater and above. Using vague yet consuming memories from my childhood summers spent immersed in the tepid lakes of northern Minnesota, I attempt to recreate the quiet tranquility of water and nature; of days spent sinking and floating, still and peaceful. These paintings are a link to my home and continual search for the feeling of the sun on my face and warm summer days at the lake. They are my escape, a subtle reprieve from the day-to-day. At the same time, I am drawn to an idealistic time before my own, where swim caps and wool swimsuits were commonplace. This combination of memory, observation and photography has allowed me to preserve the transitory qualities of water and remembrance." Artist Resume: 2019 Winter Swim, Rubine Red...
Category

2010s Photorealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Elegant Georgian Young Ladies Woodland Park Antique English Oil Painting
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
'Morning Amusement' English School, circa 1800's after the painting by Sir Joshua Reynolds, British 1723-1792 oil painting on canvas, unframed please...
Category

Early 19th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

"Plumed, " Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Alexandra Manukyan's "Plumed" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a female face in profile with a white feather hanging from her dark...
Category

2010s Photorealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Linen, Oil

17th century portrait of lady in an ivory silk gown and lace collar
By Cornelius Johnson
Located in Bath, Somerset
Circle of Cornelius Johnson (1593-1661), a 17th century portrait of a lady, bust-length oval, wearing an ivory silk gown with blue silk bows and lace c...
Category

Early 17th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Portrait of Joseph Benwell Original Oil Painting 18th Century
By Sir Allan Ramsay
Located in London, GB
Sir Allan Ramsay 1713-1784 Portrait of Joseph Benwell Oil on canvas, inscribed with sitter's name and dated 1756 Image size: 31 x 25 inches Original ...
Category

1750s Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Portrait of a Girl, 18th Century Oil Old Master
By George Knapton
Located in London, GB
George Knapton 1698-1778 Portrait of a Girl Oil on canvas Image size: 20 x 18 inches Original giltwood frame This beautiful half length portrait  of a young woman, turned to left, gazing at the spectator, wearing a pink, white lace-embroidered, dress, in her hair a pink bonnet trimmed with lace to match her dress. The depiction of a young girl epitomises child portraiture of the late eighteenth century, in which painters such as William Beechey, Joshua Reynolds, Thomas Gainsborough had begun to discover and express the true character of children, in contrast to the stiff, miniature-adults of previous generations. The Artist Knapton was born in Lymington, one of four sons of James Knapton. He was apprenticed to Jonathan Richardson from 1715 to 1722, and in 1720 was a founding subscriber to the academy of St. Martin's Lane established by Louis Chéron...
Category

18th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Old Master portrait of a lady musician by the master or portraiture
Located in Petworth, West Sussex
Attributed to Pierre Paul Prud’hon (French, 1758-1823) 'La belle musicienne' Oil on canvas, oval Signed ‘P. P. Prudon’ (lower left) 28.3/4 x 23.1/2 in. (73 x 59.5 cm.) Pierre Paul Prud'hon is considered a prime example of early French Romanticism. He was born as the seventh and last child of a master tailor. At the age of 16 he was a pupil of the painter and sculptor Francois Devosge. After finishing his studies he moved to Paris, where he first worked for an engraver and became friends with the Baron of Joursanvault, who became his patron. He also made a friendship with the "incorruptible", the politician and revolutionary Maximilien de Robespierre. Despite important friendships and the care of some cardinals, Prud'hon plunges into loneliness and melancholy. He has a good reputation and produces allegorical paintings, but his attachment to Robespierre forces him to leave the French capital. He now lives in the Free County of Burgundy, where he makes portraits and illustrations for Pierre Didot, the owner of the printing house. After a few years he moved back to Paris and his career received a new impetus. In the Louvre, Prud'hon is provided with a studio in which he paints "La sagesse et la vérité descendant sur la terre" (Wisdom and Truth descend to earth) for one year, as well as some ceilings of the Louvre. The government assigns him a studio in the Sorbonne, where his wife Jeanne, whom he married at the age of 19, comes looking for him. To escape her, he asks the museum director for protection. In 1808 he wrote "La justice et la vengeance divine poursuivant le crime" (Justice and divine revenge pursue the crime). In the same year he is also named Knight of the Legion of Honour and is able to break with his grumpy wife once and for all. He soon reconnects with his student and painter of neoclassicism Constance Mayer. Pierre is commissioned to paint a portrait of the Empress and wife of Napoleon, Joséphine de Beauharnais, which can still be seen today in the Louvre. He also paints the small "Roi de Rome" (King of Rome). In 1816 the Academy of Fine Arts elected him a member, where he took over the armchair in the painting section of François-André Vincent. A few years later his depressed wife commits suicide, and full of pain Prud'hon finishes her last work "Une famille malheureuse" (Engl. An Unhappy Family) and exhibits it. He himself dies soon afterwards and is buried in Paris. Many renowned artists admire Prud'hon for his "clair-obscur", the chiaroscuro painting...
Category

18th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

"Locked, " Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Karen Offutt's "Locked" is an original, handmade painting that depicts a close up view of a feminine face at three quarters view, her brown hair frames her porcelain face. About th...
Category

2010s Photorealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

16th Century Italian Renaissance Old Master Portrait of a Procuratore
By Jacopo Bassano
Located in London, GB
Jacopo BASSANO (c. 1510-1592, Italian) Portrait of a Procuratore Oil on canvas 30 ¼ x 26 inches (including frame) Provenance: Lucien Bonaparte’s Collection (as Portrait of Doge Priuli, Tiziano); Rich-mond, Virginia Museum, Portrait of Doge Lorenzo Priuli. The painting is a portrait of a man half-length, on a black background. It is a three-quarter portrait, according to a custom very common in the genre of portraiture in sixteenth century. The man is wearing a decorated...
Category

16th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

19th century English portrait of a White/grey hunter in a stable
Located in Woodbury, CT
English 19th century portrait of a White / Grey hunter in a stable. Charles Towne was born in Wigan in 1763. He was trained as a coach painter, and by ...
Category

1820s Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

"Glow, " Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Karen Offutt's "Glow" is an original, handmade painting that depicts a close up view of a feminine face with her eyes closed as her necklace and alabaster skin reflect brightly again...
Category

2010s Photorealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Panel, Oil

Pietà Cherubs Paint Oil on canvas Religious Rome 16/17th Century Michelangelo
Located in Riva del Garda, IT
Peintre actif à Rome au XVIe siècle - entourage de Scipione Pulzone (Gaeta 1550 - Rome 1598) La Pietà (Christ mort soutenu par la Madone) huile sur t...
Category

16th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Portrait of Jean-Baptiste Greuze, painted on linen by his daughter Anna Greuze
Located in PARIS, FR
This replica of the last self-portrait of Jean-Baptiste Greuze painted in 1804, executed by his daughter Anna at her father's side and recently rediscovered, provides us with a poignant image of the great artist, represented with panache despite the disillusions of life. 1. Jean-Baptiste Greuze Jean-Baptiste Greuze was the sixth child of a roofer from Tournus and retained a certain rusticity in his behaviour from his provincial childhood, beyond his taste for describing picturesque scenes of the countryside. He initially started training with a little-known painter from Lyon, Charles Grandon, before his genius was recognised in Paris where he became a full-time student of the Académie (of Painting) in 1755. He exhibited his work for the first time at the Salon during the summer of 1755, before leaving on a trip to Italy in the company of Louis Gougenot, abbot of Chezal-Benoît. Upon his return to Paris, Greuze became a prolific painter, participating widely in the Salons held between 1759 and 1765, to which he sent no less than 63 paintings: numerous genre scenes (The Marriage Contract, The Beloved Mother), but also portraits of his family circle, of courtiers and art lovers, or of his colleagues. The Academy closed the doors of the Salons to him in 1767 for not having produced his reception piece within six months of his reception, as was the tradition. He worked actively on this painting (Emperor Severus rebukes Caracalla, his son, for trying to assassinate him ) until the summer of 1769, tackling historical and mythological subjects for the first time. Once this was completed, he was then fully admitted to the Academy, but as a genre painter, and not as an historical painter, which had been one of the greatest humiliations of his life. Greuze then refused any participation in events organised by the Academy or its successor, the Academy of Fine Arts until 1800. Abandoning history painting, he gave a new twist to genre scenes, bringing them closer to history painting, as in this pair of canvases which constitutes some of his masterpieces: The Paternal Curse: The Ungrateful Son and The Paternal Curse: The Punished Son . Married in 1759 to Anne-Gabrielle Babuti, the daughter of a Parisian bookseller, his marriage was unhappy and his wife probably frequently unfaithful. The institution of divorce enabled him to record their separation in 1793, keeping his two daughters Anna-Geneviève, born in April 1762, and Louise-Gabrielle, born in May 1764, with him. Little is known about his daughter Anna except that she was herself a painter and lived with her father until his death. It is likely that most of the paintings she produced up to that date were attributed to her father, whose technique she shared to a great extent, making it extremely difficult to establish an autonomous corpus of her paintings. Greuze died in his studio at the Louvre on March 21st 1805. The attention paid to the expressivity of his characters and the emotional charge they convey enabled Jean-Baptiste Greuze to enjoy immense popularity with the eighteenth-century public, and they still constitute Greuze's true modernity. As the artist said, "I dipped my brush in my heart". Greuze was also an exceptional draughtsman and a portraitist of immense talent and exceptional longevity who painted both the Dauphin (the son of Louis XV and father to Louis XVI) and the young Napoleon Bonaparte. 2. Greuze's self-portraits Greuze was very much influenced by Dutch paintings during all his life. While the source of his inspiration for genre scenes can be found in Gerard Dou...
Category

Early 1800s Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Linen, Oil

"The Calling", Oil painting
Located in Denver, CO
Kevin A. Moore's (US based) "The Calling" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a splatter of water juxtaposed over a face in profile that features a strong nose as well as a septum and industrial ear piercing. About the Artist: Kevin Moore is a high-definition realism painter from New Jersey. Moore has exhibited at multiple venues across the US, and has received various International Awards. His work can be described as a glance into imagination, yet at the same time it provides objects that will keep you grounded to reality. Straight out of high school, Moore began taking art classes at DuCret School of Art. He then went on to study under artist Timothy Jahn before finally graduating from Ani Art Academy Waichulis in 2015. Kevin now lives in Red Bank...
Category

2010s Photorealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Panel, Oil

Portrait Of A Lady, Frances Bard (1646-1702) Mistress of The Duke Of Cumberland
By Anthony van Dyck
Located in Blackwater, GB
Portrait Of A Lady, Frances Bard (1646-1702) Mistress of Prince Rupert von de Pfalz, Duke of Cumberland (1619-1882) follower of Anthony Van Dyck (1...
Category

Late 17th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

19thc century classical French portrait sketch of a North African mans head
Located in Woodbury, CT
Outstanding small oil on velum sketch of a North African/ Arab head study. The painting is a classic sketch and I'm sure the figure would have been used in a much larger finished w...
Category

1850s Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

"Enchantress, " Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Alexandra Manukyan's "Enchantress" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a dark haired woman adorned with a jewel laden headdress and a...
Category

2010s Photorealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Linen

17th century Dutch portrait of a Lady in Red adorned with Pearls
By Pieter Nason
Located in Bath, Somerset
Portrait of a lady, half-length in a feigned oval wearing a ruby coloured silk gown holding entwined strings of pearls across her bodice. Signed 'PNason' and dated 1667 (lower right)...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Charles Jervas, Portrait of Joseph Mellish
Located in London, GB
Charles Jervas (1675-1739) Portrait of Joseph Mellish (1675-1733) Oil on canvas; held in a carved period frame Dimensions refer to size of frame. Provenance: Blyth Hall, Nottinghamshire, England; by descent to Sir Andrew Buchanan of Hodsock Priory, Nottinghamshire In 1635 John Mellish, a merchant tailor of London, bought the estate of Blyth in Nottinghamshire. His son, a wealthy Oporto merchant, dying unmarried, left Blyth in 1703 to a cousin, Joseph Mellish, who became one of Newcastle’s earliest and most important political supporters in the county. He went up to Clare College, Cambridge in 1692 and on to the Inner Temple the following year. He married Dorothea Gore, daughter of Sir William Gore...
Category

Early 18th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

"Magnitude" Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Mia Bergeron's (US based) "Magnitude" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a masculine face with shadows and white thinning hair. Mia Bergeron's interest in art was c...
Category

2010s Photorealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Double Portrait Oil Painting Brothers George, 2nd Duke Buckingham & Lord Francis
Located in London, GB
Aftrer Anthony VAN DYCK - maybe Studio (1599, Antwerp – 1641, London) Flemish Double Portrait of George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham (1628-1687) & Lord Francis Villiers (1629-1648) Oil on Canvas 170 x 147 cm Anthony Van Dyck (1599-1641) No painter has done more to define an era than Anthony van Dyck. He spent only seven and a half years of his short life (1599- 1641) in England. He grew up in Antwerp, where his precocious talent was recognised by Peter Paul Rubens, the greatest painter of his age. He worked in Rubens’s studio and imitated his style as a religious artist, painting biblical scenes redolent of the lush piety of the counter-reformation. But soon he was on the move. In 1620, he visited London for a few months, long enough to paint a history picture, The Continence of Scipio, for the royal favourite, George Villiers, Marquess of Buckingham, and a portrait of his other English patron, the great art collector, Thomas Howard, 2nd Earl of Arundel. After a stint in Italy, making imposing portraits of the wealthy aristocracy and sketching and copying works by Titian, he returned to the Spanish Netherlands in 1627, becoming court artist to Archduchess Isabella before departing for The Hague in 1631 to paint the Dutch ruler Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange. Charles I’s invitation in 1632 led Van Dyck back to London where he was knighted, paid an annual salary of £200 and installed in a house in Blackfriars with a special jetty at which the royal barge might tie up when the King was visiting his studio. By this time Van Dyck was recognised as the leading court painter in Europe, with Velazquez at the court of Philip IV of Spain his only rival. He also excelled as a superbly observant painter of children and dogs. Van Dyck’s notoriety in depicting children led to the introduction of groups of children without their parents as a new genre into English painting (amongst other new genres). For the next 300 years, Van Dyck was the major influence on English portraiture. Nearly all the great 18th Century portraitists, from Pompeo Batoni and Allan Ramsay to Thomas Gainsborough and Joshua Reynolds, copied Van Dyck’s costumes, poses and compositions. George Duke of Buckingham & his brother Francis Villiers Painted in 1635, this double portrait was originally commissioned by Charles I, who raised the two brothers after their father, George Villiers, was assassinated in 1628. Together with their sister, Lady Mary Villiers, they enjoyed the King’s favour absolutely. Francis whose absolute ‘inimitable handsomeness’ was noted by Marvell (who was killed in a skirmish near Kingston upon Thames). The young duke who commanded a regiment of horse at the Battle of Worcester, remained closely associated with Charles II, held a number of high offices after the Restoration and was one of the most cynical and brilliant members of the King’s entourage, immortalised as ‘Zimri’ in Dryden’s Absalom and Achitopbel. As a young man he had sold his father’s great collection of pictures in the Spanish Netherlands, many of them to the Archduke Leopold Willhelm. Painted for Charles I and placed near the portrait of their sister in the Gallery at St James’ Palace. The handling of both costumes is very rich, and the heads are very carefully and sensitively worked. That of the younger boy in particular is more solidly built up than the lower part of the figure. A preparatory drawing for the younger boy is in the British Museum. There are copies at, e.g., Highclere Castle...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Portrait of a Lady, After Sir Peter Lely (1610-1680) Oil Painting
By After Sir Peter Lely
Located in Uppingham, GB
Oil Painting After Sir Peter Lely (1610-1680) Portrait of a Lady Housed in a Lely gold Leaf Frame. Peter Lely: In 1647 he became a member of the Pain...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Portrait Gentleman 17th Century Paint Oil on canvas Old master France Art
Located in Riva del Garda, IT
NICOLAS DE LARGILLIÈRE (Paris 1656 - Paris 1746), circle Portrait of a gentleman late 17th century oil on canvas cm. 59 x 56 with frame 71 x 59 Beautiful portrait, of excellent quality, depicting an austere gentleman who peers intensely towards the observer. He is depicted three-quarters, powdered with the long wig called "Léonine", in a red velvet cloak...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Mary Magdalene, " Antique Italian Grand Tour Oil on Canvas Circa 1840 Guido Reni
Located in Portland, OR
Antique Italian Grand Tour Oil on Canvas painting, "Mary Magdalene," by Achille Leonardi (Italian, 1800-1870), circa 1840. The painting depicting Mary Magdalene looking skyward and in the manner of...
Category

Mid-19th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Paint Religious 17th Century Oil On Panel Saint Girolamo Leonardo Italy Holy
Located in Riva del Garda, IT
This splendid panel, made in the last decades of the sixteenth century, depicts San Girolamo, a monk who lived between the 4th and 5th centuries, presente...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Head of an Angel
Located in New York, NY
Procaccini was born in Bologna, but his family moved to Milan when the artist was eleven years old. His artistic education was evidently familial— from his father Ercole and his elder brothers Camillo and Carlo Antonio, all painters—but his career began as a sculptor, and at an early age: his first known commission, a sculpted saint for the Duomo of Milan, came when he was only seventeen years old. Procaccini’s earliest documented painting, the Pietà for the Church of Santa Maria presso San Celso in Milan, was completed by 1604. By this time the artist had made the trip to Parma recorded by his biographers, where he studied Correggio, Mazzola Bedoli, and especially Parmigianino; reflections of their work are apparent throughout Procaccini's career. As Dr. Hugh Brigstocke has recently indicated, the present oil sketch is preparatory for the figure of the angel seen between the heads of the Virgin and St. Charles Borrommeo in Procaccini's altarpiece in the Church of Santa Afra in Brescia (ill. in Il Seicento Lombardo; Catalogo dei dipinti e delle sculture, exh. cat. Milan 1973, no. 98, pl. 113). As such it is the only known oil sketch of Procaccini's that can be directly connected with an extant altarpiece. The finished canvas, The Virgin and Child with Saints Charles Borrommeo and Latino with Angels, remains in the church for which it was painted; it is one of the most significant works of Procaccini's maturity and is generally dated after the artist's trip to Genoa in 1618. The Head of an Angel is an immediate study, no doubt taken from life, but one stylistically suffused with strong echoes of Correggio and Leonardo. Luigi Lanzi, writing of the completed altarpiece in 1796, specifically commented on Procaccini's indebtedness to Correggio (as well as the expressions of the angels) here: “Di Giulio Cesare...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Paper, Canvas, Oil

"The Soul That Sees Beauty, " Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Kevin A. Moore's "The Soul That Sees Beauty," is an original, handmade hyper realistic oil painting that depicts a woman in profile wearing a wolf skin headd...
Category

2010s Photorealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Portrait of a Lady
Located in London, GB
Attributted to Barthel Bruyn the Elder 1493–1555 Portrait of a Archduchess Margaret of Austria Oil on wood panel Image size: 10 inches (25.5 cm) Faux tortoiseshell frame Provenance North England Estate The Artist The date of Bartholomaeus (or Barthel) Bruyn's birth, 1493, can be deduced from a portrait medal by Friedrich Hagenauer which is dated 1539 and gives the artist's age as 46. The exact place of his birth is unknown, but was almost certainly in the region of the Lower Rhine. Bruyn entered the workshop of Jan Joest and assisted in painting the high altar of the Nikolaikirche, Kalkar, executed between 1505 and 1508. Also in Joest's atelier at this time was Joos van Cleve...
Category

16th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

"Karla, " Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Karen Offutt's "Karla" is an original, handmade painting that depicts a Black feminine figure wearing a bright blue hoodie, with the hood up, highlighting her form against the dark b...
Category

2010s Photorealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

17th Century portrait oil painting of a lady
Located in Moreton-In-Marsh, Gloucestershire
Circle of Sir Peter Lely Dutch, (1618-1680) Portrait of a Lady, traditionally identified as Princess Henrietta Anne Stuart Oil on canvas Image...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Henry Pickering, Portrait of a Gentleman
Located in London, GB
Henry Pickering, Portrait of a Gentleman Oil on canvas; signed and dated 1759; held in a giltwood period frame Provenance: Lenygon & Morant Ltd. c.1900; Knoedler, October 1912 (Sto...
Category

Mid-18th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Christian Charity - Tempera by the circle of Bernardo Strozzi - 1630s
By Bernardo Strozzi
Located in Roma, IT
Christian Charity is an original Old Master Painting realized in the first half of the XVII Century, most probably in the 1630s, by one of the pupils of the Italian artist Bernardo Strozzi...
Category

1630s Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Tempera, Canvas

"Float Away from This Land", Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Pegah Samaie's (CA based) "Float Away from This Land" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a woman cradling an origami boat as other origami...
Category

2010s Photorealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Panel, Oil

18th Century European Portrait of a Child Saint John the Baptist
Located in SANTA FE, NM
18th Century European Portrait of a Child Saint John the Baptist Oil on Canvas 19 x 14 1/4 inches This lovely and sensitively painting has been examined by a professional restorer w...
Category

18th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Mid Century Young Blonde Girl Portrait Egg Tempera - Style of Thomas Hart Benton
By Robert Collins
Located in Soquel, CA
Gorgeous pointillist egg tempera portrait of young blonde girl by Robert Joseph Collins (American, 1922-2011), 1947. Signed "Collins" and dated "'47." U...
Category

1940s Photorealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Egg Tempera, Illustration Board

18th Century, Antique Oil Painting, Old Master. Portrait of Mother with child.
Located in Berlin, DE
18th century, antique painting, oil on canvas, old master. Mother with child. Relined canvas. Stretcher frame also renewed. Artist unknown.
Category

18th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

17th Century, Old Master, "King Basileus Alexander of Macedon Magnus, the Great"
Located in Berlin, DE
Very decorative, 17th century, old master painting, oil on canvas, King Alexander Magnus, the great. Illustration of two children, putti, with wreaths of flowers on a board (or maus...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"A Little Longer, " Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Karen Offutt's "A Little Longer" is an original, handmade painting that depicts a feminine figure, in sequined green clothing, wearing a black face mask...
Category

2010s Photorealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Realist Leopard Portrait Wild Cat Painting from British Wildlife Tiger Artist
By Pip McGarry
Located in Preston, GB
Realist Leopard Portrait Wild Cat Painting from British Wildlife Tiger Artist. The vivid realism of the hairs & whiskers coupled with the intensity of the leopard's eyes make this pa...
Category

2010s Photorealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Paint, Cotton Canvas

Curly From the Three Stooges -- Original Oil Painting on Wood
Located in Boca Raton, FL
This is an original oil painting on wood. This artwork is produced under a license from the grandchildren of The Three Stooges®. We are a 1stdibs Platinum Seller...
Category

2010s Photorealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Wood

Anne Wolff, "Morning Exercise", Photorealist Equine Portrait Oil on Canvas
Located in Saratoga Springs, NY
This equine racing portrait "Morning Exercise" by artist Anne Wolff is a 24x24 original oil painting on canvas. Depicted is a profile view of a thoroughbred race horse against a blac...
Category

2010s Photorealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Nefertiti", Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Adrienne Stein's "Nefertiti" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a Black woman moving her dark tresses from her face with an orange background. About the artist: Ad...
Category

2010s Photorealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Linen, Oil

Portrait of a Gentleman
Located in New York, NY
Circle of Jacques-Louis David (French, 18th Century) Provenance: Private Collection, Buenos Aires Exhibited: “Art of Collecting,” Flint Institute of Art, Flint, Michigan, 23 November 2018 – 6 January 2019. This vibrant portrait of young man was traditionally considered a work by Jacques-Louis David, whose style it recalls, but to whom it cannot be convincingly attributed. Rather, it would appear to be by a painter in his immediate following—an artist likely working in France in the first decade of the nineteenth century. Several names have been proposed as the portrait’s author: François Gérard, Louis Hersent, Anne-Louis Girodet (Fig. 1), Theodore Gericault, and Jean-Baptiste Wicar, among others. Some have thought the artist Italian, and have proposed Andrea Appiani, Gaspare Landi...
Category

18th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Anne Wolff, "Sunlight", Equine Portrait Oil Painting on Canvas
Located in Saratoga Springs, NY
This equine racing painting "Sunlight" by artist Anne Wolff is a 12x16 original oil painting on canvas. The black background adds a dramatic note to the painting, and contrasts the ...
Category

2010s Photorealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Anne Wolff, "California Chrome", Equine Racing Portrait Oil on Canvas
Located in Saratoga Springs, NY
This equine racing portrait "California Chrome" by artist Anne Wolff is a 24x24 original oil painting on canvas. Depicted is a profile view of the famous thoroughbred race horse California Chrome in a green and purple silk mask...
Category

2010s Photorealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Shop Antique and Vintage Portrait Paintings

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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