Art Guide · Styles
Portrait
Faces and gazes
Portraiture depicts a person’s face, character and status. From the Mona Lisa to Girl with a Pearl Earring, many of the best-known works in art history are portraits.
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Last updated: · Iconica Society editors
In brief
In the Renaissance, Leonardo and Van Eyck gave portraits psychological depth; in the 17th century Rembrandt and Velázquez dramatised them with light and composition. Sargent won fame with elegant society portraits in the 19th century; in the 20th, Klimt, Modigliani, Matisse and Schiele reinvented the portrait with gold, elongated lines and bold colour.
Key works
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Self-PortraitVincent van Gogh, 1887 
Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer IGustav Klimt, 1907 
Girl with a Pearl EarringJohannes Vermeer, c. 1665 
The Night WatchRembrandt van Rijn, 1642 Mona LisaLeonardo da Vinci, c. 1503–19 
American GothicGrant Wood, 1930 
The Arnolfini PortraitJan van Eyck, 1434 
Las MeninasDiego Velázquez, 1656
Related pages
- Vincent van GoghPainters
- Gustav KlimtPainters
- Johannes VermeerPainters
- Rembrandt van RijnPainters
- Leonardo da VinciPainters
- Grant WoodPainters
- Jan van EyckPainters
- Diego VelázquezPainters
- Egon SchielePainters
- Pierre-Auguste RenoirPainters
- Amedeo ModiglianiPainters
- John Singer SargentPainters
- James McNeill WhistlerPainters