Balthasar Denner

18th century portrait of the artist’s daughter, Catharina, playing the cello

c.1730

Portrait of a lady by Dutch Golden Age painter Nicolaes Maes (1634-1693). Half-length, within a feigned oval, the lady wears a pearl necklace and earrings, an ivory silk gown adorned...

Portrait of the Hon. James Thynne (c. 1680-1704), full-length, in the gardens of Longleat House, seated beside a fountain, holding a shell beneath water spouting from a horn blown by a cherub on a dolphin. A glimpse of part of Longleat House can be seen upper left. Oil on canvas in a period giltwood frame, decorated with leaves and acorns. C. 1682. Dimensions: 145 x 123cm (57 x 48in) in frame Provenance: Ex Longleat House, Wiltshire Private collection, Bath James Thynne was the youngest son of Thomas Thynne, 1st Viscount Weymouth and Frances Finch of Longleat House, Wiltshire. He died in his youth and his Aunt, Anne Kingsmill Finch, Countess of Winchilsea (1661-1720), wrote a moving poem on his death. He was buried in the family vault at Longbridge Deverill, Wiltshire. A mezzotint of this painting by William Faithorne the Younger is held in the Royal Collection. Johann Kerseboom (d.1708) was the nephew of Frederick Kerseboom and first worked in Germany before coming to England in the 1680's where his sitters included the 'Electress Sophia Dorothea' (known from a mezzotint by William Faithorne). His early works were influenced by William Wissing...

Portrait of a young girl, full-length, wearing a blue silk gown, standing on a terrace beside a classical urn holding a branch with blossom. Attributed to John Riley...

A rare pair of three-quarter length 'marriage' portraits by one of the foremost dutch portrait painters of the 17th century, Nicolaes Maes (Dordrecht 1634-1693 Amsterdam). The gentleman signed middle left 'Maes 1679'. Oil on canvas in dutch style ebonised frames. Dimensions 58 x 47.5cms each. The gentleman is shown in a landscape at dusk, leaning against a stone capital, wearing a white chemise decorated with lace, a black coat and a brown silk cloak draped across his body. The lady is elegantly dressed in an ivory silk gown decorated with jewels on the neckline and shoulders, the contrasting sleeves in gold fabric, with a rose pink silk cloak draped over her shoulder and bodice. She wears a pearl necklace and earrings with her fair hair worn up with ringlets falling down onto her chest in the fashionable style of the day. She stands with one hand touching a lock of her hair as she rests her arm on the bowl of a stone water drinking fountain...

A portrait of a lady three-quarter length, seated in an interior, wearing a red silk gown draped in a pink silk sash with an exotic bird perched on her hand and one arm resting on a stone plinth, her young daughter wearing a green silk gown standing at her side. Oil on canvas, housed in a period 'Lely' giltwood frame. This double portrait was painted at the height of Dahl's career in circa 1715 when Dahl had become firmly established as one of the leading portrait painters in Britain. Although the identities of the sitters are currently unknown, it is a sensitive depiction of a close and affectionate bond between a mother and daughter, with the young girl's hand resting affectionately on her mothers lap. The tamed exotic bird adds a charming decorative element which also serves to convey the high social status of the lady, given only the very wealthy would be able to own such a rare and expensive pet and the lively colouring of the bird's feathers is reflected in the colours of the sitters' silk gowns. Provenance: Private collection, London Michael Dahl (Stockholm 1659-1743 London) was born in Stockholm in Sweden and studied under Martin Hannibal (d 1741) and later with David Klöcker Ehrenstrahl. In 1682 he travelled to London, where he became acquainted with Godfrey Kneller and Henry Tilson, and in 1685 he left for Europe with Tilson, working briefly in Paris before continuing to Venice and Rome, where they stayed for about two years. In Rome Dahl converted to Roman Catholicism and gravitated towards the circle of Christina, former Queen of Sweden, who sat for him (Grimsthorpe Castle, Lincs). He returned to England with Tilson via Frankfurt and arrived in London in 1689, staying in England for the remainder of his career. During Dahl's absence, Kneller had consolidated his supremacy in London as the most fashionable portrait painter, but Dahl rapidly became Kneller’s closest competitor. His patrons probably had roots in the Swedish diplomatic circles, but it expanded as a result of his ability and his agreeable personality. His prices were lower than those of Kneller and he favoured softer, more diffused, colour tones and could respond to his sitters with sincerity and humanity. Politically, Kneller supported the ascendant Whigs while Dahl was a Tory, but they frequently painted the same sitters from both parties, and in spite of fundamental differences in technique and temperament, their work was sometimes similar in appearance. Dahl was prolific but rarely signed his work, and comparatively few of his portraits were engraved in mezzotint, the method used by Kneller to widen his reputation. By 1690 he had painted the aged Duke of Schomberg (engraved by William Faithorne) and Prince George of Denmark (London, Kensington Palace). He was ignored by William III but received commissions from Princess Anne, including one for a portrait of herself (Oakly Park, Ludlow, Salop). He also painted the future Duke and Duchess of Marlborough, and his informal portrait of the Duchess (Althorp House, Northants), formerly attributed to Kneller, is perhaps the most intimate of all images of her. During the 1690s he secured the patronage of Charles Seymour, the ‘Proud’ 6th Duke of Somerset, who ordered a series of seven full-length portraits of notable contemporary beauties from Dahl (1690s; Petworth House, W. Sussex, NT). This was originally a scheme similar to Kneller’s more famous ‘Hampton Court Beauties’, but the portraits were subsequently reduced to three-quarter-length formats. The features of the sitters are not individualized, but they possess a decorative, languorous glamour that recalls Lely rather than Kneller. Somerset gave Dahl further employment over the next 25 years. In 1698, following the death of Klöcker Ehrenstrahl, Dahl was offered the post of court painter at Stockholm, which he apparently refused, preferring to remain in London at his studio in Leicester Fields, near the Swedish legation. In about 1700 he was joined by a young compatriot, Hans Hysing, who worked with him for many years. Dahl seems not to have married until after 1708, He had a son Michael (d. 1741), also a painter, of whose work nothing is known, and two daughters. After the accession of Queen Anne in 1701, she and Prince George sat for a number of official portraits. His royal patronage ceased with Queen Anne’s death, and when Dahl refused to paint the infant Duke of Cumberland in 1722. He was suspected of Jacobite sympathies, and relations had cooled between him and the Swedish legation. However, his practice continued to prosper, and he acquired another important patron in Edward Harley, 2nd Earl of Oxford, who shared his political views and whose circle included the architect James Gibbs and the poets Matthew Prior and Alexander Pope, all of whom Dahl painted. Oxford commissioned several portraits of himself. In the earliest (1719; Welbeck Abbey...

Portrait of a lady wearing a white gown with a red cloak, pearls in her hair and draped over one shoullder, standing beside a classical urn with a basket of flowers, c.1765. The portrait is believed to be a companion portrait of a John (1741-1816) or James (1751-1807) Durno which is housed in an identical frame. The sitter is possibly either the wife of John who was Janes Byres of Stonywood or John and James's sister Elizabeth. (James never married). The Durno family were based around the Aberdeen area of Scotland and John was an advocate in the area and then later a customs official in Jamaica. James was a successful timber merchant, spending time in the Baltic before being made His Majesty's Consul in Memel, Prussia. The portrait is likely to have been painted before Tilly travelled to India in 1768, when John, Jane and Elizabeth would have been in their twenties. We are gtrateful to Mark Beattie for sharing his family knowlege and research on the portrait. Provenance: With W. C. Beattie in the mid 19th century, and by descent through the family Private collection, Kent With thanks to Hugh Belsey who has confirmed this to be the work of Tilly Kettle from photographs. Tilly Kettle (1735-1786) was born in London, the third of six children by Henry Kettle (c.1704-c.1773), a coach painter, and his wife Ann. He attended William Shipley...

COUDER Alexandre Jean Rémy (1808-1879) Reading on the sofa Oil on canvas signed low left Old original frame gilded with leaves Dim canvas : 47 X 39 cm Di...

Courtiers Party in the Park in 18th Century In the Taste of Nicolas Lancret (1690-1743) Oil on canvas Frame gilded with leaves Dim canvas : 73 X 59 cm Dim frame : 100 X 87 cm

CASTAING Henri Joseph (1860-1918) Young girl at the source Oil on canvas signed low left Frame gilded with gold leaves Dim canvas : 100 X 66 cm Dim frame : 121 X 86 cm CASTAING Henr...

Antique American modernist interior portrait oil painting. Oil on board, circa 1930. Unsigned. Displayed in a period modernist frame. Exhibition provenance verso. Image size, 25"L ...

Antique American school museum interior oil painting by Nathaniel E. Reich. Oil on board, circa 1940. Signed. Image size, 32L x 24H. Housed in a period wood frame.

Nice modernist portrait for sale here. Oil on board. Signed. Nicely framed. Image size, 9L x 10H.