Portrait photography for sale

Two Frenchmen, Étienne Carjat and Nadar, associated their names with this genre in the second half of the century, photographing the leading figures of the day, usually without any decorative elements, with the intention of capturing the psychological truth of their models. With the development of photographic techniques, portrait photography freed itself from immobility. In his spontaneous portraits, American photographer Philippe Halsman captured the stars of his day (from Brigitte Bardot to the Duke and Duchess of Windsor) as they lept into the air, eyes facing the lens. From the post-war years onwards, the illustrated press and its iconic publications (Life, Harper’s Bazaar, Rolling Stone, etc.) offered a formidable platform to photographers such as Irving Penn and Richard Avedon. These portraitists turned their lenses on the anonymous, and their photos circled the globe. At the same time, portrait photography freed itself from the studio environment and thrived on its confrontation with other genres, notably social and documentary photography.

When, in turn, visual artists take up this genre, it’s often to twist its codes or take it into new territory. In the 1980s, for example, German artist Thomas Ruff’s Portraits series explored the aesthetics of identity photography (full face, white background) with no anecdotes, biographical information or narrative content. In a completely different register, the portraits by the duo Pierre et Gilles blend photography and painting, borrowing as much from religious iconography as from popular culture, from Baroque art as from postcard imagery.

Portrait photography on Artistics

The Artistics art gallery strives to represent all genres of contemporary creation in photography, sculpture and painting. Portrait photography features prominently among the thousands of works you’ll discover on our site.

In selecting the artists we represent, we pay particular attention to the originality of their vision and intention, their technical mastery, and the resonance of the works in the broader context of art history.

Our artists and portrait photography

Somewhere between portrait photography, nude photography and staged photography with a strong narrative content, Camille Brasselet‘s images explore an in-between world where everyday life is tinged with a disquieting strangeness, where reality meets fiction. The artist often chooses her models from among close relatives and friends. This intimacy contributes to the softness and sense of abandonment of the bodies pictured in her photographs, often captured in a state of solitude and expectation. Faces are sometimes hidden. When they do appear, the gazes seem fixed, as if absent. The setting is carefully studied, and everything that enters the frame is thought through. The photographer also attaches great importance to light, which must create as few contrasts and shadows as possible. This rigorous composition and mastery of shooting conditions limit post-production work. Above all, it imbues her images with a mysterious atmosphere, giving great importance to the off-camera. Camille Brasselet creates images that are like an “opening onto”, images that go beyond the frame.

Miss Aniela‘s photographs also play with the boundaries between genres: portraiture, fashion, surrealist photography, etc. Her shots of sumptuously dressed female models, moving or posing in settings that evoke both fairy tales and fantasy films, are reminiscent of the portraits of court painters from the 16th and 17th centuries: every element that enters the composition, from the space to the simplest accessory, contributes to telling the story of the subject photographed. The use of special effects and the importance of post-production work reinforce the dreamlike character of her images.

Can we still speak of portrait photography when the model is no longer a human being but an animal? In his Affinity series, American artist Brad Wilson uses the traditional codes of portrait photography to show us wildlife in an unusual way: dark background, artificial studio light and, above all, a proximity to the model that gives the impression of being able to touch them. Taken with a medium-format camera, usually in close-up, the animals appear with a level of detail and sharpness that makes us feel as if we’re looking at them for the first time. In these face-to-face encounters, which are as striking as they are disconcerting, the artist seeks to question the distance between humanity and animality.

Find out more about our art gallery and portrait photography

Have you fallen for a portrait photograph you’ve discovered on Artistics? You can find out more about the artist on their profile page: you’ll find their biography, a video interview, their complete portfolio and related blog posts. If you have any further questions, please contact us by telephone on +33 (0)1.40.28.92.28, or by e-mail at contact@artistics.com.

If you’re thinking of purchasing a signed and numbered print of a portrait photograph, you can do so very simply online via our secure purchasing system. We deliver anywhere in the world and provide each buyer with a personalized follow-up service. The quality of our service is confirmed by our customer reviews, which you can check by clicking the icon at the bottom of this page.

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