Portrait of Lisa Gherardini, wife of Francesco del Giocondo, known as "Monna Lisa, la Gioconda" or "Mona Lisa", 1503-1519 (1503/1519) by Leonardo di ser Piero DA VINCI, dit Léonard de Vinci (1452 - 1519), Paris, musée du LouvreOriginal Source: Paris, Louvre Museum
Some portraits are painted with such intensity that they appear to look right back at you. Scroll on to get up close to these famous and arresting portraits from art history.
Girl with a Pearl Earring (c. 1665 (digitized by Madpixel)) by Johannes VermeerMauritshuis
Johannes Vermeer, Girl with Pearl Earring, 1665
This simple portrait by Vermeer sees a girl dressed in a fashionable Turkish-style headdress turning slightly to gaze outwards and meet her viewers' eyes. The shine of her eyes, her lips, and, most of all, her earring have entranced generations.
Vermeer is rightly thought of as a master of light and, despite the cracks, we can see how he balanced a depthless dark background with the luminous details of the face. But it's rather strange to talk of 'light' in paintings…
…when all it takes is a smudge of white paint!
Margot (Lefebvre) in Blue (1902) by Mary Cassatt (American, 1844-1926)The Walters Art Museum
Mary Cassatt, Margot in Blue (1902)
Barred entry into spaces that her Impressionist male contemporaries used as inspiration for their paintings, Mary Cassatt instead chose the people in her immediate surroundings - upper class mothers and children - as her focus of study.
This pastel depiction of the young Margot Lefebvre is a characteristic picture in Cassatt's later style, allowing flashes of personality and candid self-expression to appear through the pomp and propriety of upper-class society.
Portrait of Joseph Roulin (1889) by Vincent van GoghMoMA The Museum of Modern Art
Vincent van Gogh, Portait of Joseph Roulin, 1889
When Vincent van Gogh arrived in Arles, he knew nobody and struggled to find models for portraits. The closest friend he made was his postman, Joseph Roulin, a hulking old-fashioned Republican whom Van Gogh often compared to the philosopher Socrates.
His magnificent beard fills the canvas, spilling over his shoulders and into the flourishing background. The exuberance with which Van Gogh has painted it reflects Roulin's notoriously uproarious character.
The same swirling mass of colours and stripes seen in the depths of Roulin's beard are present throughout Van Gogh's later work.
Self-portrait (ca. 1628) by Rijn, Rembrandt vanRijksmuseum
Rembrandt van Rijn, Self Portrait, 1629
This is the very first self portrait by Rembrandt van Rijn, one of the masters of the genre. He would chart his life in over a hundred self portraits made in paint and ink. In these, he would dress up as historical characters, pull faces, and, over time, come to know himself.
His youthful energy is seen in the freedom with which he draws something as simple as an ear, the paint splashed on in quick strokes, and carved away in flourishes with the end of his brush.
If only we could put ourselves behind those eyes, and see the world as he saw it.
Woman Holding a Fruit (Late 19th century) by Raja Ravi VarmaNational Gallery of Modern Art
Raja Ravi Varma, Woman Holding a Fruit (19th Century)
Remembered as perhaps modern India's greatest painter, Raja Ravi Varma painted bold, luxurious portraits of figures from high society, but also applied the same regal lens to more tender, everyday depictions of normal people.
This picture shows a woman with self-assurance and poise looking back at the viewer.
Superficial anatomy of the shoulder and neck (recto) (c.1510) by Leonardo da VinciRoyal Collection Trust, UK
Leonardo da Vinci, Anatomy of the Shoulder and Neck, 1510
Behind all of Leonardo da Vinci's paintings were piles and piles of drawings and manuscripts. His study of anatomy and composition sought to discover the hidden, ideal proportions of the human body - something he saw as essential to creating excellent art.
There's a grim story behind these drawings. These figures aren't taken from history or ancient myths; they're the bodies of executed men, dissected and anatomised by Leonardo and his colleagues in the aim of producing the ideal painting.
The name and fate of this man isn't known, but through a few lines scratched on to parchment, his face is immortalized.
Her Highness Janaki Subamma Bai Sahib of Pudukkottai (1879) by Raja Ravi VarmaOriginal Source: Private Collection
Want to see more arresting portraits? Explore Raja Ravi Varma's works further.
