±«Óătv

Portrait

Portrait painting of a woman with a scarred face in traditional African clothes
Figure caption,
Student artwork

A portrait is a representation of a person. A self-portrait is a portrait of the artist by the artist.

A good portrait can draw the viewer in and reveal something about the subject’s personality, instead of being only a good likeness.

When planning portrait painting, examine facial expression, gesture, pose and clothing. Think about the and the objects placed within the .

Portraits can be created in any medium or form.

Click through the slideshow for examples of portrait paintings:

Image gallerySkip image gallerySlide 1 of 3, Painting of a man with a cap and beard in a green t-shirt, <em>African Man</em>, 1996, Tilly Willis, oil on canvas

Question

"All good portraits look exactly like the subject.” Is this statement true or false?

More guides on this topic