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portrait Definition

por·trait (pôr′trit, -trāt′)

noun

  1. Obsolete a drawn, painted, or carved picture of something
  2. a representation of a person, esp. of the face, drawn, painted, photographed, or sculptured
  3. a description or dramatic portrayal of a person

Etymology: MFr, pp. of portraire: see portray

portrait Synonyms

portrait

n.

likeness, portraiture, representation; see painting 1, picture 2.

portrait Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • paint: Recently Peter has been painting iconic portraits of music legends.
  • engrave: John Britton, engraved portrait & title vignette, MEMOIRS OF THE LIFE, WRITINGS, AND CHARACTER OF HENRY HATCHER.

Preposition: in

  • pastel: In 1902 Byam Shaw painted a full-length portrait in pastel of Eleanor.

Adjective modifier

  • full-length: In 1902 Byam Shaw painted a full-length portrait in pastel of Eleanor.
  • photographic: Includes a black and white photographic portrait of Denton Welch in 1937.
  • intimate: Franz Kafka: Illustrated Life is a photographic biography that offers a fresh, intimate portrait in an attractive format.
  • vivid: Charles Grant, just returned from a week in Tehran, presents a vivid portrait of a political system under pressure.
  • whose: Blessed is He Whose Portrait was drawn by the prophets The twelve children of Jacob proclaim the apostles.
  • A4: For Take off Quantities - A4 portrait ( unlimited pages ).

Modifies a noun

  • painter: In this case the last photograph shows the family standing in front of their portrait at the Royal Society of Portrait Painters Annual Exhibition.
  • gallery: These are now in the care of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.
  • bust: Sculpture: Portrait bust in bronze of Dame Myra Hess by Jacob Epstein, 1946.
  • miniature: With Hilliard, the portrait miniature became firmly established in English culture.
  • photographer: Alex is an award winning member of the Society of Wedding & Portrait Photographers.
  • photography: Based in Berkshire, offers wedding and portrait photography packages.

Noun used with modifier

  • daguerreotype: The Palmer Museum acquired the large daguerreotype portrait of a man named James Duncan in February 1997.
  • twilight: The scene modes you can choose from are Twilight, Twilight Portrait, Soft Snap, Landscape and Beach.
  • pen: They Made Magic These pen portraits build up into a gallery of special people.
  • frontispiece: A local oral tradition recalls that she made strenuous efforts to look like Queen Alexandra and the frontispiece portrait confirms the tradition.
  • self: The picture right, is a self portrait of Mary Beale.
portrait Quotes

I do not paint a portrait to look like the subject, rather does the person grow to look like his portrait.

—Dal|¤  , Salvador

Every time I paint a portrait I lose a friend.

—Sargent,John Singer

   When I make a portrait,I cannot limit it tothe lines of the head, for that head belongs toa body, it exists ina setting which influences it, it is part of a totality that I cannot suppress. The impression you produce upon me is not thesame if I catchsight of youalone ina gardenor if Isee you in the midst of a group of other people, in a living room or on the street.

—Rosso, Medardo

Sometimes, in order to imitate the original, it is necessary toput something that isnot inthe original into a portrait in marble.

—Bernini, Gianlorenzo

I would rather see the portrait of a dog that I know, than all the allegorical paintings they can show me in the world.

—Johnson, Samuel known as Dr Johnson

[A Gustave Courbet] portrait of a trout†has more death in it than Rubens could get in a whole Crucifixion.

—Hughes, Robert Studley Forrest

Portrait of the Artist as aYoung Dog.

—Thomas, Dylan Marlais

   Thereare only twostyles of portrait painting, theserious and the smirk.

—Dickens, CharlesJohn Huffam