Faces
Faces in Art: Portraits Up Close
The eyes are where a portrait stops being paint and starts being a person. This gallery collects the most arresting faces in the collection — sitters who hold your stare, look away, or seem caught mid-thought. Seen in close-up, each face becomes a study in how painters built presence from pigment. Click any detail to see the full work.
24 details · cropped from original museum images
severed head of Orpheus
Henri Leopold Lévy (French, 1840–1904) · The Death of Orpheus
Art Institute of Chicago
Wrathful face of Guru Dragpur
Tibet · Painted Banner (Thangka) with Guru Dragpur, a Wrathful Form of Padmasambhava
Art Institute of Chicago
face of Adam Duncan
Philip Jean · Admiral Adam Duncan (1731–1804)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Face of Christ
Master of the Worcester Carrying of the Cross (active c. 1400–c. 1450) · Christ Carrying the Cross
Art Institute of Chicago
Face of Margherita Gonzaga
Frans Pourbus the Younger · Margherita Gonzaga (1591–1632), Princess of Mantua
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Face of Christ with crown of thorns
Follower of the Master of Saint Veronica (German, active c. 1395–1420) · Christ on the Living Cross
Art Institute of Chicago
face of the colossal statue of Alexander the Great
Pierre-Henri de Valenciennes (French, 1750–1819) · Mount Athos Carved as a Monument to Alexander the Great
Art Institute of Chicago
face of Saint Peter
Caravaggio (Michelangelo Merisi) · The Denial of Saint Peter
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Face of the Christ Child
Andrea del Verrocchio · Madonna and Child
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
face of Christ
Michele Giambono (Michele Giovanni Bono) · The Man of Sorrows
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
face of Ingena Rotterdam
Nicolaes Maes · Ingena Rotterdam (died 1704), Betrothed of Admiral Jacob Binkes
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Face of Christ with expression of agony
Austrian or Bavarian · The Crucifixion
Art Institute of Chicago
Face of Saint John the Baptist
Aelbert Bouts · Head of Saint John the Baptist on a Charger
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
painter's face
Anders Zorn · A Painter-Etcher (Self-Portrait)
Art Institute of Chicago
face of the Virgin Mary
Sano di Pietro (Italian, 1405–1481) · Virgin and Child with Saints Jerome, Bernardino of Siena, and Angels
Art Institute of Chicago
face of Jesus
Sébastien Bourdon (French, 1616–1671) · Christ Receiving the Children
Art Institute of Chicago
face of Cosimo I
Bronzino · Cosimo I de' Medici (1519–1574)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
baby's face
Vincent van Gogh · Madame Roulin and Her Baby
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Face of the Virgin Mary
Giovanni Bellini · Madonna and Child with Saints
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
face of the Virgin Mary
Circle of Agnolo Bronzino (Italian, 1503–1572) · Virgin and Child with the Young Saint John the Baptist
Art Institute of Chicago
Laura Anne's face
Sir Thomas Lawrence · The Calmady Children (Emily, 1818–?1906, and Laura Anne, 1820–1894)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
face of James Vibert
Ferdinand Hodler · James Vibert, Sculptor
Art Institute of Chicago
face of Miss Ramus
John Smart · Miss Ramus
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Face of Alessandro Vittoria
Paolo Veronese (Paolo Caliari) · Alessandro Vittoria (1525–1608)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art