What Is Portrait Painting?
Portrait painting is as old as the art of painting itself. Portraits can be painted of human models who pose for an artist, of scenes from real life or as representations of historical events. Paintings can be a realistic as a photograph or nearly unrecognizable, depending on the genre and the artist.
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Posed Portraits
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What many people think of when they consider the term "portrait painting" is a visual representation of an individual or group of people who pose for a painter. Highly stylized portraits existed as early as ancient Egypt. Early portraits in ancient Rome were realistic representations of the subjects; more idealized portrait painting developed later and persisted through much of the Middle Ages. Many portrait paintings were made of wealthy models, with the paintings commissioned by the models, or by spouses or parents of the portrait subjects.
Scenes From Life and History
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Many portrait paintings are representations of scenes from everyday life. These portraits can range from being nearly as realistic as photographs to being highly stylized. A very famous portrait painting of an everyday scene is a painting which is often called "Paris Street, Rainy Day," by the French Impressionist painter Gustave Caillebotte. This canvas shows pedestrians with raised umbrellas walking along a street in Paris.
Impressionist Portraits
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Many Impressionist painters used family and friends as models for their portrait paintings. Self portraits were also a common theme for Impressionist artists, including Vincent Van Gogh, whose self portrait is one of the most famous in the world. Artists like Renoir were often favored by wealthy patrons, who liked the vibrant colors and attractive likenesses he produced.
Twentieth Century
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In the twentieth century, portrait painting took several turns. Cubism, executed by artists like Pablo Picasso, rendered the subjects of many portrait paintings unrecognizable. Marc Chagall transformed his portrait subjects into fanciful representations of bright colors. On the other hand, German artist Max Beckmann rejected nonrepresentational painting in favor of stark, even haunting images with sharp outlines of the human form.
"The Mona Lisa"
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"The Mona Lisa," painted by Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci and on display in the Louvre, is perhaps the most famous portrait painting. For centuries, the enigmatic smile of the portrait subject defied curious inquiries as to the identity of its possessor. The brushstrokes and overall painting technique of Leonardo da Vinci were also closely studied. Mona Lisa's identity was recently revealed--she is now generally acknowledged to have been Lisa Gherardini Giocondo, the wife of a wealthy silk merchant in Florence.
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