Why Are We So Drawn to Faces? The Psychology Behind Portrait Art
Every day we see hundreds—perhaps thousands—of faces.
On social media. On television. Walking through town. In family photographs. In advertising. We barely notice just how surrounded we are by human faces.
Yet when we step into an art gallery and stand in front of a painted portrait, something different happens.
We stop.
We look.
We wonder.
In Episode 3 of the Liz Dees Art Podcast, I sat down with artist and printmaker Poppy Tuovinen to explore a question that has fascinated artists for centuries:
Why are humans so captivated by faces?
Faces are our first language
Long before we learn to speak, we learn to recognise faces.
Babies instinctively search for the face of their mother or caregiver. Evolution has wired us to identify other humans because our survival depended upon it. A face could represent comfort, protection—or danger.
Perhaps that’s why portraiture has remained such a powerful artistic subject throughout history.
We don’t simply see faces.
We read them.
Every tiny movement around the eyes, every slight change in expression, every raised eyebrow carries information.
Our brains are constantly asking:
· Who is this person?
· Can I trust them?
· What are they thinking?
· How do they feel?
· How do I feel about them?
Portrait artists are working directly with one of the most sophisticated recognition systems humans possess.
Looking for patterns
Artists often talk about “seeing differently.”
One fascinating idea we discussed is our tendency to recognise faces almost everywhere.
You might see one in the grain of a piece of wood.
Or in the clouds.
Or in peeling paint.
Many artists naturally spot these visual patterns without even trying.
It’s as though our brains are permanently searching for the familiar arrangement of two eyes, a nose and a mouth.
That instinct doesn’t disappear simply because the face becomes abstract.
Why I paint faces
As a semi-abstract figurative artist, portraiture has become central to my work.
But I’m not interested in creating photographic realism.
I’m interested in something deeper.
When I simplify a face—reducing details, exaggerating shapes or using bold graphic forms—I want the viewer to see more than one individual.
I want the portrait to become universal.
Instead of asking,
“Who is she?”
I hope viewers begin asking,
“Could that be me?”
or
“What does she represent?”
The less specific a portrait becomes, the more space there is for viewers to bring their own experiences into the work.
Poppy’s powerful women
Poppy’s work also centres around portraiture, but with a different emphasis.
Her striking linocuts and prints often feature women looking directly back at the viewer.
Bold colours.
Strong eye contact.
Confident expressions.
They’re impossible to ignore.
For Poppy, portraiture isn’t simply about recording a likeness.
It’s about portraying strength.
As she explained during our conversation, she’s drawn to creating images of women who appear unapologetically powerful.
That confidence becomes contagious.
When viewers recognise strength in the artwork, perhaps they begin to recognise it within themselves too.
The importance of eye contact
If there’s one feature that dominates a portrait, it’s the eyes.
They are usually the first thing we notice.
Artists have always understood this.
There’s a reason people describe the eyes as “the windows to the soul.”
Even when a portrait becomes highly abstract, the eyes often remain the emotional anchor.
They establish a relationship between artwork and viewer.
A direct gaze can feel welcoming.
Or challenging.
Or uncomfortable.
Or intimate.
Sometimes the portrait seems to ask questions of us rather than offering answers.
That’s where the real conversation begins.
More than a likeness
Good portraiture isn’t simply about resemblance.
It’s about identity.
Emotion.
Connection.
Memory.
Empathy.
Whether created hundreds of years ago or painted today, portraits remind us that behind every face is an entire human story.
Perhaps that’s why we never stop looking.
Even in an age overflowing with photographs, a painted face can still hold our attention in a way few images can.
Because great portraiture doesn’t just show us another person.
Sometimes, it quietly shows us ourselves.
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