portraiture

noun

por·​trai·​ture ˈpȯr-trə-ˌchu̇r How to pronounce portraiture (audio)
-chər,
-ˌtyu̇r,
-ˌtu̇r
1
: the making of portraits : portrayal
2

Examples of portraiture in a Sentence

The museum is exhibiting portraiture from the late 19th century.
Recent Examples on the Web Jack Davison is a British photographer known for his black-and-white portraiture. Susan Dominus, New York Times, 3 Mar. 2024 The After, an 18-minute short on Netflix starring David Oyelowo and co-written by John Julius Schwabach, marks the directorial debut of Harriman, 46, previously known for his celebrity portraiture. Jack Smart, Peoplemag, 27 Feb. 2024 Wild theoretical portraitures are called for: The sound of melting light, and time inverting. Jonathan Rowe, SPIN, 23 Jan. 2024 More than 395,000 images from scores of countries and territories were entered into the Sony World Photography Awards 2024, with topics including nature, landscape, architecture, portraiture and sports. Aj Willingham, CNN, 10 Feb. 2024 Most of the toy figurines were soldiers in the conventional sense, meticulously arranged and spray-painted with vibrant colors, some blending into the portraiture underneath, others standing out in neon hues. Justin Fairweather, The New Yorker, 7 Feb. 2024 The horizon is a rare event in the landscape photographs of Dawoud Bey, one of this country’s preeminent photographers, whose previous work has been mainly focused on portraiture. Philip Kennicott, Washington Post, 24 Jan. 2024 Sargent’s high-style portraiture was out of style by the 1930s, displaced by the Depression, photography, his genre’s exhaustion after hundreds of years, the new sleek and minimalist décor, and cultural informality. Brian T. Allen, National Review, 11 Jan. 2024 Stamped presents those iconic figures’ stories through animation that incorporates the artistic styles of their respective periods — watercolor paintings for Wheatley and black-and-white portraiture for Wells, for example — and has each woman address the viewer with a monologue. Tyler Coates, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'portraiture.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of portraiture was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near portraiture

Cite this Entry

“Portraiture.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/portraiture. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

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