Deciding on the size of your portrait is an exciting challenge. You know you want a portrait, and you know who it will portray—but what size should it be? This decision involves creativity, budget, and logistics. Here’s a bunch of information to help you on your journey deciding what size you want your portrait…

Understanding Ratios and ‘Supports’

In the 21st century we have all become very familiar with smartphone camera ratios like square, 16:9, 5:4, 7:5, 4:3, 5:3, and 3:2. The ratio being the proportional length of an image by that of the height. While these ratios can apply to portrait painting, they primarily belong to the world of photography. You might find examples of portraits that fit these ratios within the tradition of oil painting, but for the purposes of your painting let’s ignore them for the time being and focus on the more traditional aspects of the canon.

When we talk about an artist’s ‘canvas,’ we’re referring to the ‘support.’ Oil paintings can be painted on various surfaces, but most commonly, they are on cotton or linen (flax) canvas, or ‘board’ or ‘panel,’ usually made of wood. I paint on both, but for more information, check out this blog post that goes into detail on each.

In researching the tradition of portraiture, I found valuable information from the National Portrait Gallery. Historically, portrait sizes were based on the cut length of linen canvas. It wasn’t until the 18th century that variations in sizes emerged as different lengths of material became available. Fascinating!

*Also, food for thought – Flax/Linseed, the raw material used to make the canvas and the oil used in oil paint is regenerative, as in it regenerates the soil it is planted in! So aside from the nasty chemicals used to make the pigments (lead and other metals), the oil and canvas itself is sustainable.

Choosing the right size for your portrait

Number of Subjects

The first thing to consider when choosing a support (canvas) size for your portrait is – how many subjects will feature in the painting? This is massively influential in the size of your painting. For example, it’s possible to fit four or more people on a 16×12.5 support—great masters have done it! It will be a very small painting however! Small paintings can be very endearing, but they may lack impact depending on the size of the room it will be hung in. While there are many great small paintings, expanding the subject onto a larger support can mean more visual impact and room to explore details such as textures and fabrics etc. But this leads onto the next consideration…

Location – the final hanging place

When choosing a portrait size, where the painting will be displayed is a big part of the decision making process. Will it hang in a living room, hallway, or office? The size of the space is crucial. A large 30×40″ support can look imposing in a small room, especially when framed. Additionally, in smaller rooms, there’s a risk of damage as people move around the painting. So, location is a key consideration when choosing a size.

Adhering to Tradition

Personally, I like my work to exist within the tradition and aim to continue this heritage in my work. To reduce variability in portrait sizes and develop a more standardised approach, I aim to stick to traditional guidelines as set out by the National Portrait Gallery article I referred to earlier. I have attached a document I put together to help visualise the traditional sizes to scale next to a model six-foot person as well as outlining these measurements with respect to a recommended number of subjects to each size.

I hope you find this as helpful. I had a lot of fun putting this together. And I’m super grateful to the National Portrait Gallery for the initial research. Let me know what you think in the comments.