Portraiture is the category in which an artist's goal is to realistically depict one or more people in a painting, photograph, or sculpture. This is not necessarily limited to appearance, as an artist can also show the mood and character of the model. They can also be used to represent qualities such as wealth, beauty or power. Portraits date back to ancient Egypt and remain one of the most popular categories to this day. I will examine both a contemporary and historical portrait painter to explore and compare their style, influence, and how they chose to express their subjects. The first artist is Natalie Holland (left), who describes herself as an artist of realism and neoclassicism, is a Russian-born contemporary painter who moved to Norway in 1981 before settling in London a few years ago . Working primarily in oil on canvas, his efforts aim to tell a story through figurative art by focusing on the difference between his subjects' appearance and their reality. Holland's influences include Western culture, society and media. I chose to write about this particular artist because she shares my interest in philosophy and human interaction. A quote from the artist states: Concerning my development as an artist, I subscribe to Picasso's thoughts: “I am not developing as an artist. at all, I am." As an artist, I focus on what I want to paint, with little responsibility beyond that. As long as you paint, you develop. The painting "Sisters" by Natalie Holland painted in oil on canvas tells two stories and I find this painting really inspiring because it reminds us that we are all individuals and that we make our own choices The painting shows two sisters who were raised the same way... ... middle of paper ......lour in a painting that expresses anger But after researching your artists, I think it makes for a much more interesting and in-depth painting when you can express emotion. that you choose without needing to use a certain color to make what you are trying to depict more obvious //en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincent_van_Gogh http://arthistory.about.com/od/modernarthistory/a/. Post-Impressionism-Art-History-101-Basics.htm https://www.khanacademy.org/ human sciences/art-history/art-history-1848-1907-industrial-revolution-ii/post-impressionism/v/ vincent-van-gogh--the-smoking--1889 http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk /artists/vincent-van-gogh http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/At_Eternity's_Gate http:/ /en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natalie_Holland http://www.natalie-holland.com/http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/van-goghs-self-portrait-with-bandaged-ear.html