noun
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the practice or art of making portraits
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another term for portrait
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portraits collectively
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a verbal description
Etymology
Origin of portraiture
Explanation
The process of painting a picture or taking a photograph of a person is called portraiture. If an art exhibit only includes pictures of faces, you can describe its focus as portraiture. Portraiture is the art of making a portrait, which is a close study of one person. Taking a candid snapshot of your friend riding by on her skateboard isn't portraiture. But if you ask your friend to pose with her skateboard while you take a photo — that's what portraiture is all about. Painters who specialize in portraiture often have subjects "sit" while their portraits are painted. Portraiture is rooted in the Old French portraire, "to paint."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The sort of person depicted in the National Portrait Gallery’s “The Outwin 2022: American Portraiture Today” is quite different from those typically represented in such institutions.
From Washington Post • May 12, 2022
“Watergate: Portraiture and Intrigue” spotlights the June 17, 1972, break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters, which led to Nixon’s resignation two years later.
From Washington Times • Mar. 7, 2022
Easton, a documentary photographer from the UK, was awarded first place in the Portraiture category for his project Bank Top.
From BBC • Apr. 15, 2021
Portraiture and classification across institutions varied dramatically, making it difficult to share information between authorities.
From Slate • Mar. 5, 2018
He carried all three portraits to the front counter and was about to stamp his embossed gold Hofacket’s Fine Portraiture seal on the lower left corner of each one when Granddaddy stopped him.
From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
