Throughout art history, many artists have created portraits of themselves and of other people. This gallery is a collection of non-traditional portraits disguised through different forms of abstract art. Unlike most portraits, this gallery is filled with images that may not appear to be portraits at first glance. These portraits are disguised through loose brush strokes, geometric shapes, contrast of colors, and sharp lines that reveal important details. Beautiful art does not always have to be elegant; sometimes they can appear to be chaotic and disorganized. Welcome to the gallery of beautifully disguised portraits.
Abstract Oil Portrait, Rupert Kilgore, 1955/1965, From the collection of: McLean County Museum of History
This oil paint on a canvas is a brilliant display of a variety of colors that demand the viewer’s attention. It is a vague silhouette of a person outlined by shapes and colors. Many may not see this portrait silhouette right away because it is beautifully disguised. Contrast helps outline the human silhouette. The chest or breasts are darker colors in contrast next to lighter colors while the head, arm and hair are bright colors contrasted by lighter colors. This image is a beautifully disguised portrait.
Self-Portrait Faley, Faley Aleksandr, 2009, From the collection of: Erarta Museum of Contemporary Art
This acrylic on a canvas is a self-portrait that seems to be a chaotic painting. This portrait in disguise uses colors and lines in order to reveal an image of a man. This artwork demonstrates how portraits are not always beautiful and elegant, sometimes they are chaotic and out of control. While the portrait isn’t a master disguise, you still must decipher how the colors and lines play a role in creating this image of a man. Contrasts also plays a role in outlining the head and body by using white against a dark blue background. If you only glanced at this image, you may not have ever noticed that it was actually a self portrait.
This artwork is an abstract portrait of a Cuban-American dancer. The dancer takes up most of the image and dominates the artwork. The bright blue against a warm tan/brown body creates a feeling of warmth as the woman is dancing for the sun. The unproportional body helps disguise the figure and may take some focus to actually realize that this image is a portrait.
The Summer, Gino Severini, 1951/1951, From the collection of: Museo Carlo Bilotti
This beautifully designed artwork uses colors and geometric shapes in order to reveal a portrait in disguise. This is a great representation of cubism at its best. The artist reveals space between body parts by using the background color against other contrasting colors for the body. There is a vast amount of color to capture the viewer’s attention and after dissecting it further you can begin to see the portrait of a woman.
Portrait 2, Kang, Kyung Koo, 1996, From the collection of: Korean Art Museum Association
An old man is pictured here and the sharp contrast between white, black, and yellow is what helps the viewer realize it is a portrait. There are hardly any sharp lines in the artwork but the contrast of black and white help the viewer see the individual parts of the face. The body parts are outlined in white, while the face as a whole is outlined by black against the yellow background. This image may seem like a mess at first but it is just another example of a disguised abstract portrait.
A young man is sitting down on a chair while writing in this disguised portrait. This is another great example of how cubism can help create an abstract and disguised image. This image reveals the man by using geometric shapes and different colors. At first glance you may see a man looking back at you but after close analysis you can see that the man is created to look like he is both looking at you and looking at what he is writing. This is a brilliantly disguised portrait of a man who appears to be in two different poses.
Seated Figure, Charles Alston, 1970, From the collection of: SCAD Museum of Art
This abstract piece of art may at first look like scribbles on paper, but if you look closer you can see a man sitting down. A very rough looking portrait that mostly uses contrast of black and off-white in order to develop the image. The use of lines exposes the facial features, feet, and clothes. With splashes of a brownish red, this portrait can really grab your attention.
Head of JYM III, Frank Auerbach, 1980, From the collection of: British Council
This wild and abstract portrait is a woman looking up and to the left. Another great example of disguised portraits. Only the raw facial features help you see the portrait with her dark eyes and a dark outline of her nose and chin. The dark red/tan color helps outline her suit while the black lines show cleavage and help establish that it is a female. The dark red lips could be lipstick to help further the look of a female figure. The loose brushstrokes can make this image look very dramatic and chaotic but after analyzing it you can begin to see that this image is actually a portrait.
Self-Portrait, Yoo, Geun Taek, 1999, From the collection of: Korean Art Museum Association
This piece of art is a very dramatic portrait of a man with glasses. While at first this image may seem very rough, the loose style of this painting starts to portray an abstract portrait. The colors create a great contrast in order to reveal this image. The vibrant blue and gold contrast the dark and ominous black background very nicely. The artist uses the black background inside the blue outline of the face in order to reveal his facial expressions and glasses. The face dominates this image while the gold clothing fits nicely as a secondary subject.
Archer, Theo van Doesburg, 1919, From the collection of: Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest
The figure in this image is an archer holding a bow and arrow ready to fire at any moment. This portrait is clearly a form of abstract art that is brought together by a series of rectangles, squares and triangles. At the core it is a very simple work of art when you look at the individual pieces of this image. When you bring all the pieces together, they reveal an archer in disguise. The black shapes help reveal smaller characteristics of the blue archer like his feet, hands, face, bow and his arrow. This artwork is a brilliantly disguised portrait.
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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.
