The 50 most famous portraits from the Renaissance to the present day: a journey through the art of portraiture

From the Renaissance to contemporary art, the portrait stands out as an essential genre that reveals the faces, emotions, and identities of each era. Famous portraits transcend time due to their unique ability to capture the essence of a personality while reflecting the major artistic styles of their period. This selection of 50 must-see portraits offers a unique opportunity to traverse the history of art, from the enigmatic faces of Leonardo da Vinci to the iconic representations of Warhol or Lucian Freud, thus illustrating the fascinating evolution of the artistic gaze on humanity.

(See the previous list of 50 famous portraits to discover this rich artistic evolution.)

🎨 Renaissance (15th-16th century)

1. Portrait of the Arnolfini Couple, Jan van Eyck (1434)

2. La Dame à l’hermine, Léonard de Vinci (1489-1490)

3. Portrait of a Man with the Medal of Cosimo the Elder, Sandro Botticelli (1475)

4. La Joconde, Léonard de Vinci (1503-1506)

5. Portrait d’Agnolo Doni, Raphaël (1506)

6. Self-Portrait with Glove, Albrecht Dürer (1498)

7. Portrait of Doge Leonardo Loredan, Giovanni Bellini (1501-1504)

8. Portrait du pape Jules II, Raphaël (1511-1512)

9. La Belle Ferronnière, Léonard de Vinci (1490-1496)

10. Portrait de Baldassare Castiglione, Raphaël (1514-1515)

11. Portrait of Francis I, Jean Clouet (1525)

12. Portrait of Henry VIII, Hans Holbein the Younger (1537-1540)

🎨 Mannerism (16th century)

13. Portrait of a Young Man, Bronzino (1530-1539)

14. Portrait of Eleonora of Toledo, Bronzino (1545)

🎨 Baroque (17th century)

15. Portrait of Cardinal Richelieu, Philippe de Champaigne (1642)

16. Portrait of Charles I Hunting, Anthony van Dyck (1635)

17. La Jeune fille à la perle, Johannes Vermeer (1665)

18. Autoportrait au chevalet, Rembrandt (1660)

🎨 Rococo and Neoclassicism (18th century)

19. Madame de Pompadour, François Boucher (1756)

20. Portrait of Queen Marie Antoinette, Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun (1783)

21. Self-Portrait with His Daughter, Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun (1786)

22. Portrait of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Barbara Krafft (1819, but in the style of the 18th century)

🎨 Romanticism (early 19th century)

23. Portrait de Napoléon dans son cabinet de travail, Jacques-Louis David (1812)

24. Portrait of Goethe in the Roman Countryside, Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein (1787)

🎨 Realism (19th century)

25. The Desperate, Gustave Courbet (1865)

26. Whistler’s Mother, James Abbott McNeill Whistler (1871)

🎨 Impressionism and Post-Impressionism (19th century)

27. Portrait du Docteur Gachet, Vincent van Gogh (1890)

28. Autoportrait à l'oreille bandée, Vincent van Gogh (1889)

29. Portrait de Madame Cézanne, Paul Cézanne (1885-1887)

30. Portrait de Berthe Morisot, Édouard Manet (1872)

🎨 Symbolism and Vienna Secession (19th-20th century)

31. Portrait d’Adèle Bloch-Bauer I (La Dame en or), Gustav Klimt (1907)

32. Portrait d'Adele Bloch-Bauer II, Gustav Klimt (1912)

🎨 Expressionism and Cubism (early 20th century)

33. Self-Portrait with Crossed Arms, Pablo Picasso (1901)

34. Portrait of Gertrude Stein, Pablo Picasso (1906)

35. Portrait de Jeanne Hébuterne, Amedeo Modigliani (1918)

🎨 Modern Art and Surrealism (20th century)

36. Self-Portrait Dedicated to Dr. Eloesser, Frida Kahlo (1940)

37. Portrait of Dora Maar, Pablo Picasso (1937)

38. Portrait of a Man in Red, Chaim Soutine (1924)

39. Triple Self-Portrait, Norman Rockwell (1960)

🎨 Pop Art and Contemporary Art (20th-21st century)

40. Portrait of Marilyn Monroe, Andy Warhol (1962)

41. Portrait of Mao Zedong, Andy Warhol (1972)

42. Lucian Freud, Self-Portrait, Lucian Freud (1985)

43. Portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, Lucian Freud (2001)

44. Portrait of Kate Moss, Chuck Close (2005)

45. Portrait of Barack Obama ("Hope"), Shepard Fairey (2008)

46. Portrait of Elizabeth Taylor, Andy Warhol (1963)

47. Portrait of David Hockney, Lucian Freud (2002)

48. Portrait of the Artist (Pool with Two Figures), David Hockney (1972)

49. Portrait of Nelson Mandela, Marlene Dumas (2008)

50. Portrait of Michelle Obama, Amy Sherald (2018)

Conclusion: The Timeless Power of the Portrait

These 50 portraits are not just works of art; they are also historical, emotional, and cultural testimonies that tell us personal and universal stories. From a mysterious Mona Lisa to the provocative gaze of Marilyn Monroe by Warhol, we understand how the art of portraiture continues to inspire, fascinate, and question our relationship with identity and celebrity. At Alpha Reproduction, we perpetuate this richness by allowing you to welcome these timeless masterpieces into your home, in faithful reproductions, to give your interior an artistic touch that transcends the centuries.