100 famous portraits in painting that stare at you hard

Portrait is one of the most direct genres of painting. A landscape can invite us in, a still life can hold us in front of a table, but a portrait catches us by the eyes. We look for a person, a social rank, an emotion, a secret, sometimes a little pout which clearly says that the model had better things to do that day. From the Renaissance to modern art, the portrait serves to show power, love, memory, beauty, fragility and the human ego in all its very well-lit splendor.

The Renaissance gives the portrait a new depth. The Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci, Ginevra de' Benci, the portraits of Raphael, the figures of Van Eyck, Holbein, Titian and Bronzino establish the face as a psychological territory. The model is no longer just a name with a beautiful garment: it becomes a presence that thinks. Hands, eyes, fabrics, jewelry and backgrounds tell as much as the mouth. And sometimes the mouth, precisely, refuses to conclude, which explains why The Mona Lisa still works full time in the collective imagination.

In the 17th century, Rembrandt, Velazquez, Van Dyck, Rubens, Hals and Vermeer gave the portrait very different temperaments. Rembrandt digs into shadow and age with immense humanity. Velazquez observes the court with formidable intelligence. Van Dyck makes the aristocracy shine, Hals gives movement to the face, Vermeer suspends a young girl in a light so delicate that one almost hesitates to breathe in front of her. The Girl with the Pearl Earring does not need a big decor: a look, a twist, a touch of white, and the room suddenly becomes quieter.

The 18th and 19th centuries further expanded the game. Vigée Le Brun, Gainsborough, Reynolds, David, Ingres, Goya, Manet, Renoir, Sargent, Whistler and Cassatt paint worldly, family, political or intimate portraits. Some models want to display their rank, others seem surprised to have become immortal between two meetings. Renoir's Lodge, Arrangement in gray and black n°1 by Whistler, the portraits of Ingres or the women of Manet show that the portrait can be elegant, social, ironic, tender or slightly intimidating depending on the angle of the hat.

With Van Gogh, Munch, Klimt, Modigliani, Schiele, Picasso or Matisse, the portrait ceases to have to resemble wisely. It expresses, distorts, simplifies, lengthens, colors, worries, illuminates. In Van Gogh, a face can have the tension of a stormy sky. In Klimt, it becomes a decorative icon, almost a living jewel. In Modigliani, he becomes a decorative icon, almost a living jewel. In Modigliani, he becomes a decorative icon, almost a living jewel. In Modigliani, he becomes a decorative icon, almost a living jewel. In Modigliani, he becomes a decorative icon, almost a living jewel. In Modigliani, almond-shaped eyes and endless necks give models a dreamy distance. We recognize less a person than a way of being in the world, which is sometimes more true than a photograph taken on a bad Tuesday.

This Top favors portraits capable of carrying a story: universal icons, intense self-portraits, famous models, looks that marked a movement, worldly figures, anonymous faces that have become unforgettable. The best-known works lead the way, then the journey advances towards less expected but very expressive portraits. The objective is simple on the reader's side: to move from one look to another without having the impression of filling out a museum form, which is a reasonable and even quite civilized ambition.

In a decoration, a portrait immediately brings a relationship. A Mona Lisa establishes mystery, Vermeer brings silence, Klimt golden light, Renoir social life, Van Gogh intensity, Modigliani melancholy elegance, Rembrandt human depth. You just have to accept that a good portrait can change the atmosphere of a room faster than a new sofa. The painted look has this strange politeness: it does not speak, but it is never really absent.

Famous portraits are popular because they bring together two very human desires: to recognize someone and discover what escapes recognition. The face is there, but it retains a margin of mystery. It is this reserve that brings back the eye. A very good portrait never says everything. He leaves an empty chair for the imagination, then pretends to have nothing to do with it.