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A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face is always predominant. In arts, a portrait may be represented as half body and even full body. If the subject in full body better represents personality and mood, this type of presentation may be chosen. The intent is to display the likeness, Personality type, and even the mood of the person. For this reason, in photography a portrait is generally not a snapshot, but a composed image of a person in a still position. A portrait often shows a person looking directly at the painter or photographer, to most successfully engage the subject with the viewer, but portrait may be represented as a profile (from aside) and 3/4.
Some of the earliest surviving painted portraits of people who were not rulers are the Greco-Roman funeral portraits that survived in the dry climate of Egypt's Faiyum district. These are almost the only paintings from the classical world that have survived, apart from , although many sculptures and portraits on coins have fared better. Although the appearance of the figures differs considerably, they are considerably idealized, and all show relatively young people, making it uncertain whether they were painted from life.
ceramic portrait. Larco Museum Collection. Lima-Peru]] The art of the portrait flourished in Ancient Greek and especially Roman sculpture, where sitters demanded individualized and realistic portraits, even unflattering ones. During the fourth century, the portrait began to retreat in favor of an idealized symbol of what that person looked like. (Compare the portraits of Roman Emperors Constantine I and Theodosius I at their entries.) In the Europe of the Early Middle Ages representations of individuals are mostly generalized. True portraits of the outward appearance of individuals re-emerged in the late Middle Ages, in , , miniatures in illuminated manuscripts, and then .
Moche culture of Peru was one of the few ancient civilizations which produced portraits. These works accurately represent anatomical features in great detail. The individuals portrayed would have been recognizable without the need for other symbols or a written reference to their names. The individuals portrayed were members of the ruling elite, priests, warriors, and even distinguished artisans.Donnan, Christopher B. Moche Portraits from Ancient Peru University of Texas Press, 2004. . They were represented during several stages of their lives. The faces of deities were also depicted. There is particular emphasis on the representation of the details of headdresses, hairstyles, body adornment, and face painting.
One of the best-known portraits in the Western world is Leonardo da Vinci's painting entitled Mona Lisa, which is a painting of Lisa del Giocondo. What has been claimed as the world's oldest known portrait was found in 2006 in the Vilhonneur grotto near Angoulême and is thought to be 27,000 years old.
In politics, portraits of the leader are often used as a symbol of the Sovereign state. These may include paintings. In most countries, it is common protocol for a portrait of the head of state to appear in important government buildings. In many countries, official portraits of monarchs are often also hung in minor government buildings such as courts, city halls, or police stations. During World War II, portraits of exiled heads of state became symbols of unity and resistance. Resistance members would often illegally keep portraits of heads of state hidden in their homes, such as those of Queen Wilhelmina. The tradition of displaying portraits of the presidents of the country often has extended to states in the USA as well.Jojola, Jeremy, Case, Angela, Trump portrait to come down at Colorado Capitol after president complained about it, 9news.com, March 23, 2025Olivares, José, ‘Insecure baby’: Trump draws ridicule after throwing fit over Colorado capitol portrait, The Guardian, March 24, 2025
Since the dawn of photography, people have made portraits. The popularity of the daguerreotype in the middle of the nineteenth century was due in large part to the demand for inexpensive portraiture. Studios sprang up in cities around the world, some cranking out more than 500 plates a day. The style of these early works reflected the technical challenges associated with 30-second exposure times and the painterly aesthetic of the time. Subjects were generally seated against plain backgrounds and lit with the soft light of an overhead window and whatever else could be reflected with mirrors.
As photographic techniques developed, an intrepid group of photographers took their talents out of the studio and onto battlefields, across oceans and into remote wilderness. William Shew's Daguerreotype Saloon, Roger Fenton's Photographic Van, and Mathew Brady's What-is-it? wagon set the standards for making portraits and other photographs in the field. Some photographers took the technique to other countries. Augustus Washington moved to Monrovia, Liberia from Hartford, Connecticut and created daguerreotype portraits for many political leaders for the country.
However, in literature a portrait of a character is a subtle combination of fact and fiction, exploring the individual psychology of the character in the wider context of their environment. When the subject of the narrative is a historical figure, then the writer is free to create a compelling and dramatic portrait of the person that draws on imaginative invention for verisimilitude. An example is Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall (2009) which, while acknowledging the work of the historian Mary Robertson for background information, imagines an intimate portrait of Thomas Cromwell and his intense relationship with Henry VIII at a critical time in English history. It could be argued that in literature any portrait is a discreet assembly of facts, anecdotes, and author's insights. Plutarch's Parallel Lives, written in the second century AD, offer a prime example of historical literary portraits, as a source of information about the individuals and their times. Painted portraits can also play a role in literature. These may be fictional portraits, such as that of Dorian Gray in the eponymous 1891 novel by Oscar Wilde. But sometimes also real portraits feature in literature. An example is the portrait of Richard III that plays a role in Josephine Tey's 1951 novel The Daughter of Time.
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