Creating Artistic Portraits with Nano Banana 2 Prompts

In this article I want to explore Creating Artistic Portraits with Nano Banana 2 in the styles of well-known portrait artists.

To begin exploring, I asked Gemini to return a list of names and dates of well-known portrait artists that have uniquely identifiable styles. Here is Gemini's list: Raphael (1483–1520), Hans Holbein the Younger (1497–1543), Diego Velázquez (1599–1660), Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669), Johannes Vermeer (1632–1675), Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun (1755–1842), John Singer Sargent (1856–1925), Gustav Klimt (1862–1918), Amedeo Modigliani (1884–1920), Frida Kahlo (1907–1954), Francis Bacon (1909–1992), and Kehinde Wiley (1977–present). I think these are fine examples to building my article around.

Next I asked Gemini to create a one or two sentence description of each of the artists and their contributions to artistic painting, to supply the names of some of their famous portrait paintings, and to create a Nano Banana 2 text prompt to create an image using that artist's style.

I have included edited versions of a lot of the information that Gemini in the gallery below. First you will see the name and dates of the artist, followed by a short description, and the name of one of their famous portraits. Then I searched for and found versions of the famous paintings on other websites. The portraits were various shapes and sizes so I resized and cropped them so that they would appear the same size. I set them in the center of another image with blank space on both sides of the paintings so that they would like center justified in the article.

Then I edited each prompt for consistency and created the Nano Banana 2 images in the style of each artist. I hope you enjoy reading the prompts and seeing how well Nano Banana 2 (NB2) did in following them. (You can judge for yourself whether you think NB2 got the styling right.)

Now let's get right into the list of artists. Here is my …

A Gallery of Images by and in the style of Famous Portrait Artists

Portrait Artist #1: Raphael (1483–1520)

Short Description: Raphael_ was a master of the Italian High Renaissance who synthesized grace, spatial harmony, and idealized human beauty into compositions that defined Western figurative art for centuries._

A Famous Portrait by this Artist: Portrait of Pope Julius II

The Prompt: high Renaissance portrait painting of a noble figure, featuring soft sfumato transitions, calm psychological dignity, smooth imperceptible tonal shifts, and a perfectly balanced pyramidal composition, in the style of Raphael

The Portrait Image from Nano Banana 2:

There is a certain softness to the painting style of Raphael which is also shown in this Nano Banana 2 image.

Portrait Artist #2: Hans Holbein the Younger (1497–1543)

Short Description: As a court painter to King Henry VIII, Holbein revolutionized Northern European portraiture through meticulous linear precision, symbolic detail, and unsparing realism.

A Famous Portrait by this Artist: Portrait of Anne of Cleves

The Prompt: northern Renaissance oil painting portrait with photorealistic precision, unsparing realism, hyper-detailed textures of fur, velvet, and metals, crisp linear clarity, and embedded symbolic objects, in the style of Hans Holbein the Younger

The Portrait Image from Nano Banana 2:

The story of Holbein's painting of Anne of Cleves is told in the contemporary Broadway musical, Six.

Portrait Artist #3: Diego Velázquez (1599–1660)

Short Description: Diego Velázquez_ was the leading artist of the Spanish Golden Age. He introduced groundbreaking, fluid brushwork and complex spatial plays that influenced future movements like Impressionism._

A Famous Portrait by this Artist: Portrait of Innocent X

The Prompt: baroque oil painting portrait showcasing loose, visible brushwork that snaps into sharp focus at a distance, masterfully playing with spatial depth, complex reflections, and dramatic perspective, in the style of Diego Velázquez

The Portrait Image from Nano Banana 2:

Portrait Artist #4: Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669)

Short Description: Rembrandt_ was a giant of the Dutch Golden Age who brought unparalleled emotional introspection and dramatic chiaroscuro to portraiture, mastering the art of the self-portrait_

A Famous Portrait by this Artist: Self-Portrait with Two Circles

The Prompt: baroque portrait painting using dramatic chiaroscuro with a dark atmospheric background, a strong directional key light casting an inverted light triangle on the shadowed cheek, and heavy impasto paint application, in the style of Rembrandt van Rijn

The Portrait Image from Nano Banana 2:

It is also fitting that Nano's image in the style of Rembrandt is another self-portrait.

Portrait Artist #5: Johannes Vermeer (1632–1675)

Short Description: Johannes Vermeer_ specialized in luminous, domestic Dutch scenes and character head studies using subtle optical effects and soft-focused light to create quiet atmospheric intimacy._

A Famous Portrait by this Artist: Girl with a Pearl Earring

The Prompt: intimate portrait painting featuring luminous interior light, specular highlight dots, soft focus, and atmospheric quietness capturing a subtle character head study, in the style of Johannes Vermeer

The Portrait Image from Nano Banana 2:

Vermeer's Pearl Earring painting is one that I love. He had a great talent for capturing the essence of ordinary people. This image is a good example of that style.

Portrait Artist #6: Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun (1755–1842)

Short Description: Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun_ was one of 18th-century Europe's most successful portraitists and a court painter to Marie Antoinette. She elevated Neoclassical portraiture with relaxed poses, warm vitality, and informal elegance._

A Famous Portrait by this Artist: Self-Portrait in a Straw Hat

The Prompt: graceful Rococo oil painting portrait depicting a relaxed, intimate subject with a gentle open-mouthed smile, warm glowing flesh tones, and delicate rendering of flowing textiles, in the style of Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun

The Portrait Image from Nano Banana 2:

Portrait Artist #7: John Singer Sargent (1856–1925)

Short Description: John Singer Sargent_ was an American expat and the premiere Gilded Age portraitist. Sargent captured high-society figures using a virtuosic, effortless alla prima paint application that conveyed luxury and movement._

A Famous Portrait by this Artist: Portrait of Madame X

The Prompt: grand Manner portrait painting executed with virtuosic alla prima economy, sweeping liquid brushstrokes, shimmering light on silk reflectivity, and elegant posture, in the style of John Singer Sargent

The Portrait Image from Nano Banana 2:

Singer is known for his paintings of men, in particular the official paintings for Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson, so it interesting that his most well-known portrait is of the scandalous Madame X.

Portrait Artist #8: Gustav Klimt (1862–1918)

Short Description: Gustav Klimt_ was a leader of the Vienna Secession who fused Symbolism, Art Nouveau, and decorative mosaic patterns with hyper-detailed figurative painting to explore themes of sensuality and psychology._

A Famous Portrait by this Artist: Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I

The Prompt: portrait painting featuring flattened golden mosaic ornamentation, two-dimensional backgrounds covered in gold leaf and Art Nouveau floral patterns framing realistic, sensual faces and hands, in the style of Gustav Klimt

The Portrait Image from Nano Banana 2:

I really like this portrait. I have long admired the Art Nouveau style and the works of Alphonse Mucha and Gustav Klimt. Klimt wasn't afraid to add other media (like gold leaf) into his paintings. This portrait shimmers with gold touches.

Portrait Artist #9: Amedeo Modigliani (1884–1920)

Short Description: Amodeo Modigliani_ developed an avant-garde portrait style marked by elongated figures, almond-shaped eyes, and mask-like features rooted in African sculpture and Mannerism._

A Famous Portrait by this Artist: Portrait of Jeanne Hébuterne

The Prompt: portrait painting depicting an elongated figure with a stretched neck, mask-like features, almond-shaped flat-colored eyes, and a warm earthy color palette inspired by Mannerism, in the style of Amedeo Modigliani

The Portrait Image from Nano Banana 2:

The proportions of the subject in this image match those of many subjects in Modigliani's work.

Portrait Artist #10: Frida Kahlo (1907–1954)

Short Description: Frida Kahlo_ transformed personal trauma, indigenous Mexican culture, and Surrealist symbolism into raw, deeply psychological self-portraits that challenged traditional notions of identity and beauty._

A Famous Portrait by this Artist: Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird

The Prompt: intensely personal self-portrait painting featuring a central direct gaze, Mexican folk art motifs, vibrant fauna and flora, and symbolic surrealist imagery expressing raw emotion and physical pain, in the style of Frida Kahlo

The Portrait Image from Nano Banana 2:

It is fitting that the subject of this example is a self-portrait. Frida created many of them.

Portrait Artist #11: Francis Bacon (1909–1992)

Short Description: Post-WWII British artist, Francis Bacon, redefined modern figure painting by contorting and smearing portraits to express raw existential horror and human anxiety.

A Famous Portrait by this Artist: Study after Velázquez's Portrait of Pope Innocent X

The Prompt: portrait painting depicting a contorted, smeared figure isolated inside a geometric spatial cage, capturing raw psychological trauma and existential distortion, in the style of Francis Bacon

The Portrait Image from Nano Banana 2:

Francis Bacon's art is often disturbing raw and this creation of Nano Banana's lives up to that legacy.

Portrait Artist #12: Kehinde Wiley (1977–present)

Short Description: Kehinde Wiley_ reimagines classical European Grand Manner portraiture by replacing historic monarchs with contemporary Black subjects set against flat, vibrant, ornate floral backdrops._

A Famous Portrait by this Artist: Portrait of President Barack Obama

The Prompt: contemporary Grand Manner portrait painting featuring a young Black subject in a heroic Old Master pose, set against a backdrop of flat, vibrant, repeating floral textile patterns, in the style of Kehinde Wiley

The Portrait Image from Nano Banana 2:

This is another favorite portrait image from this group. I have enjoyed viewing some of the paintings that Wiley has created of many famous Black Americans. This image from Nano Banana 2 would fit well with Wiley's other works.

Each time I use the Nano Banana 2 (NB2) model to create images I learn more about its capabilities.

Since NB2 was created by Google I have found myself typing many queries into Gemini to get information and coaching on prompting techniques to get better images from the various versions of Nano Banana.

I will being sharing More Nano Banana 2 Tips in future articles.

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Thanks again for reading. Have a great week. If you haven't tried it yet… try Nano Banana 2 image creation using https://gemini.google.com/. Peace to you. David

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