Vlaho Bukovac
Late 19th Century Portrait Paintings
Canvas, Oil
People Also Browsed
20th Century Danish Victorian Books
Gold Leaf
Antique Mid-19th Century English High Victorian Taxidermy
Other
17th Century Portrait Paintings
Oil
Antique Late 19th Century English Victorian Windows
Lead
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
Brass
Antique Mid-18th Century Chinese Chinese Export Lacquer
Wood, Cypress, Lacquer
Antique 16th Century German Renaissance Arms, Armor and Weapons
Iron
Antique 19th Century French Louis XV Chandeliers and Pendants
Crystal
Antique 17th Century Italian Renaissance Console Tables
Walnut
Antique Late 19th Century French Regency Fireplaces and Mantels
Oak
Antique Late 18th Century Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
Antique 19th Century French Louis XV Tapestries
Tapestry
1980s Contemporary Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Antique 19th Century French Armchairs
Leather, Giltwood
Antique 19th Century French Louis XV Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Marble, Ormolu
17th Century Portrait Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Finding the Right Portrait-paintings for You
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.
Read More
Impressionist Rebel Camille Pissarro Made the Everyday Feel Radical
In Denver, a major new retrospective reveals how the painter’s devotion to ordinary life — and his fearless shifts in style — shaped modern art.
The Real World Portraitist of “The Gilded Age,” Season Three
Only the best painter could suit the calculatedly extravagant Bertha Russell.
See Kent Monkman’s Magical Realist Take on Frontier History
With a solo show at the Denver Art Museum and a commission from the Met, the Cree Canadian painter has become an international sensation.
Yale’s Trove of British Art Is Back on View in a Refreshed Louis Kahn Building
After a two-year closure, they Yale Center for British Art opens its doors again, with all sorts of changes to its building and programming.
At 89, Artist Lucio Pozzi Is Reaching New Career Heights
The Italian-American’s 2020 abstract painting “The Hoe” personifies his “art of not knowing.”
The 1stDibs Guide to Types of Abstract Art
Get to know the key movements and artists who have influenced visual culture for more than a century.
With a Show at MoMA, Marlon Mullen Paints Pictures That Are beyond Words
The nonspeaking California artist is having a moment, with vivacious paintings that play on art-magazine covers as well as more mysterious abstractions.
The Vibrant Beauty of Orphist Art Supersedes Its Perplexing Name
This kaleidoscopic early-modern art style has long deserved another look. Now, the Guggenheim museum is doing just that.