Portraits have been a part of art forever. It can be a self-portrait, a portrait of a famous leader from history, or possibly a fictional character like the Mona Lisa.
Marie-Antoinette de Lorraine-Habsbourg, queen of France, and her children, Elisabeth Louise Vigée-Lebrun, 1787, From the collection of: Palace of Versailles
Marie Antoinette and her children, painted by Louise Vigee-Lebrun. A portrait of a woman, painted by a woman, Louise served as the court painter for the queen for a time. She is part of the late baroque period of art and had the opportunity to paint many nobles and royals in her lifetime. This painting was done in 1787, oil on canvas and currently resides in the Palace of Versailles.
Obey - Shepard Fairey, Obama portrait, Obey - Shepard Fairey, From the collection of: Museum of Street Art
You've probably seen his Andre the Giant posters or stickers with the word obey written on it, but in 2008 Shepard Fairey created the most iconic poster in campaign history. Street art is the new wave, and may go down as the art of the 21st century.
Paul Guillaume, Novo Pilota, Amedeo Modigliani, 1915, From the collection of: Musée de l'Orangerie
A portrait of art dealer Paul Guillaume done on cardboard of all things, and finally mounted on plywood. Amedeo was known for his modern style and elongated faces. While in Paris he did meet another artist working there, Pablo Picasso, perhaps they rubbed off on one another because there style seems similar.
Portrait of Queen Elizabeth I, Nicholas Hilliard (called), About 1573 - About 1575, From the collection of: Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool
A portrait of Queen Elizabeth done by Nicholas Hilliard, this painting was done on wood. The Elizabethan age was a great time for art, if Shakespeare was the writer for the period Nicholas was the painter.
Portrait of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius, Roman, 161-180 (Antonine), From the collection of: The Walters Art Museum
It is unknown who sculpted this bust of philosopher emperor Marcus Aurelius on marble. The detail of the beard and hair though are exquisite and fully display the level of craftsmanship of ancient Rome.
Mother and Child Figure (Portrait Figure of Queen Nana of the Batufam Kingdom), Attributed to: Mbeudjang Bamileke peoples, Cameroon, active early twentieth century, early 20th century, From the collection of: Art Gallery of Ontario
Even in the smallest corners of the world art exists. This wood sculpture is a portrait of Queen Nana and her child. It is attributed to the people of Cameroon and was sculpted in the 1800's.
Self-portrait, Vincent van Gogh, 1887, From the collection of: Kröller-Müller Museum
Has there ever been a more tortured artist than Vincent Van Gogh? Painting himself in this portrait, it seems like Van Gogh felt just as un happy as we all remember him. Even in portraiture his classic use of lines stand out.
George Washington, Gilbert Stuart, 1797, From the collection of: The White House
Famous American artist Gilbert Stuart's paining of our first President George Washington. His original portrait of Washington was never completed, instead Stuart used it to create copies of Washington which kept him well paid for many years.
Self-Portrait, Rembrandt van Rijn, 1659, From the collection of: National Gallery of Art, Washington DC
This is a self-portrait of famous Dutch painter Rembrandt. Known for his influence on the baroque style and his many depictions of biblical scenes, Rembrandt did many self portraits through out his life.
Ennui, Yuasa Ichiro, 1904/1904, From the collection of: The Museum of Modern Art, Gunma
Yuasa Ichiro was a yoga painter from Japan. Yoga refers to the western technique used in Japanese artistic culture. Ichiro was a leader in this style and was the first yoga artist to exhibit this style in Europe. Ennui is a feeling of wistfulness because one doesn't have enough to do.
Credits: All media
This user gallery has been created by an independent third party and may not represent the views of the institutions whose collections include the featured works or of Google Arts & Culture.
