The portrait can be described as the most direct representation of a person, especially their face and facial features. The portrait can appear in both drawing and painting and sculpture and can, depending on the personal style of each artist, vary in terms of realism, colors, expression, etc. There are different types of portraits that can be more encompassing of the body or not, they can show the person from the front, in profile or in an intermediate position, etc. In any case, regardless of the variations that may be presented, the portrait is recognized as one of the most common and historically used artistic forms by the West.
The idea of a portrait of a person is an idea present in art since the beginning of civilization. However, it would not be until the break that Modernity and the artistic style of the Renaissance signified that the portraits would begin to be abundantly of people not belonging to high political positions or religious figures. In this way, from the 15th centuries onwards, the portraits that come to us today began to show people who were not necessarily kings, gods or unique figures, but who could be bourgeois in their daily and common activities.
The portrait is normally a very important artistic element for historians since it allows us to know with greater fidelity the appearance of a person. This, as long as the artist represented the person realistically and empirically. The portrait, in addition, always represented a very strong power in terms of expressiveness since it is much more striking for the viewer to find an image of a person who looks directly or indirectly at the viewer than an image of a landscape or a particular situation.
