    a portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. the intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. for this reason, in photography a portrait is generally not a snapshot, but a composed image of a person in a still position. a portrait often shows a person looking directly at the painter or photographer, in order to most successfully engage the subject with the viewer. ==history==  some of the earliest surviving painted portraits of people, who were not kings or emperors, are the funeral portraits that survived in the dry climate of egypt's fayum district. these are almost the only paintings from the classical world that have survived, apart from frescos, though many sculptures survive, and portraits on coins. the art of the portrait flourished in ancient greek and especially roman sculpture, where sitters demanded individualized and realistic portraits, even unflattering ones. during the 4th century, the portrait began to retreat in favor of an idealized symbol of what that person looked like. (compare the portraits of roman emperors constantine i and theodosius i at their entries.) in the europe of the early middle ages representations of individuals are mostly generalized. true portraits of the outward appearance of individuals re-emerged in the late middle ages, in tomb monuments, donor portraits, miniatures in illuminated manuscripts and then panel paintings. moche culture of peru was one of the few ancient civilizations which produced portraits. these works accurately represent anatomical features in great detail. the individuals portrayed would have been recognizable without the need for other symbols or a written reference to their names. the individuals portrayed were members of the ruling elite, priests, warriors and even distinguished artisans.donnan, christopher b. moche portraits from ancient peru university of texas press, 2004. isbn 0-292-71622-2. they were represented during several stages of their lives. the faces of gods were also depicted. to date, no portraits of women have been found. there is particular emphasis on the representation of the details of headdre
Art_genres Portrait_art