Every culture has its own way of understanding the social reality. One of the “hallmarks” of the popular culture became the portrait painting, and portrait painters contributed to the first universal culture in the history of humanity. By portrait painting, portrait painters have started to develop a system of values, myths and representations dedicated to the subjectivity, which emerged in the bourgeois family. Portrait painting from photos is a reaction undertaken by the portrait artists towards the current conditions of creating such paintings, which is influenced by the technical and audiovisual civilization.
Painting from photos has adapted successfully towards the current diversity in the cultural reality. In addition, the portrait painters create illusions of the public and aesthetic communication. The portrait painters give the subject / object of portrait painting intellectual existence, which serve as reference to the different located in the time interpretations. Painting emanates the need of the individuals to express their personality and qualities and in this way this art groups importance of the existence of the individuals. Through their artworks, portrait artists develop existential projects, which have its ground on the popular culture. By portrait painting- portrait artists also defend the right of every person to become subject of happiness and dreams.
Drawing on Jose Ortega y Gasset, I claim that painting from photos represents a salvation from the life shipwrecked and by creating a painting, the portrait artists help the individuals to live without their life to become a meaningless tragedy or a total failure. Portrait painting creates such “salvation gestures” as long as portrait artists are relating their expression and technique to the experimental and talent usage of the traditions in their oil portraits.
Oil painting from photos has a vast number of followers and oil artists have the power to transmit accumulated cultural experience to the public. The flourishing of painting from photos might be explained with the invention of photography and the advantages it gives to the portrait painters and by the invention of Internet. Nowadays you can find the best artists for your subject on Internet, with turnaround times of 1 week until your painting is completed, and costs under $ 100 for a custom oil painting.