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Old Masters Paintings

OLD MASTERS

Encompassing centuries of change in Europe between 1300 and 1800, from booms of prosperity to bloody revolutions, Old Masters describes a wide range of artists. The informal term was derived from the title of an artist who trained in a guild long enough to become a master, such as Leonardo da Vinci, who studied in a Florence painters’ guild. However, Old Masters paintings, prints and other art is now used to refer to work made by any artist with a high level of skill in painting, drawing, sculpture or printmaking who worked during this era.

The 15th century’s expansive trade and commerce spread culture across borders. A vibrant period of art emerged, bolstered by studies of anatomy and nature that influenced a new visual realism. From Raphael and Michelangelo in the Renaissance to Rembrandt van Rijn and Johannes Vermeer in the Dutch Golden Age, artists expressed emotion, naturalism, color and light in new ways. El Greco and Paolo Veronese were leaders in the dramatic style of Mannerism, while Caravaggio and Peter Paul Rubens demonstrated the movement and meticulous detail of Baroque art.

Historically, most attention was concentrated on male artists, but recent research and exhibitions have elevated the impactful work of women such as Rachel Ruysch and Artemisia Gentileschi. In late-18th-century France, female artists like Adélaïde Labille-Guiard and Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun were prominent names. Nevertheless, access to the academies and guilds was highly restricted for women, and even those able to establish practices were expected to adhere to portraits and still lifes rather than the grand history paintings being created by men.

Find a collection of Old Masters prints, paintings, drawings and watercolors and other art on 1stDibs.

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Style: Old Masters
Portrait of a Boy with Bird - British 17th century art Old Master oil painting
Located in London, GB
This stunning 17th century Old Master portrait oil painting is attributed to Godfrey Kneller. Painted circa 1680 it is a superb full length portrait of a blonde haired boy holding a struggling bird. He is bare foot and dressed in a white shirt with gold shawl around him. In the background is a blue drape. There is lovely detail and brushwork in his facial features and vibrant colouring. This a superb 17th century Old Master oil painting housed in a lovely frame. Provenance. Two ascribed labels verso Christie's stamp verso. . Condition. Oil on canvas in good condition, 36 inches by 28 inches approx. Frame. Housed in an ornate frame, 43 inches by 35 inches approx. Sir Godfrey Kneller, 1st Baronet (born Gottfried Kniller; 8 August 1646 – 19 October 1723), was the leading portrait painter in England during the late 17th and early 18th centuries, and was court painter to English and British monarchs from Charles II to George I. Kneller was born Gottfried Kniller in the Free City of Lübeck, the son of Zacharias Kniller, a portrait painter. Kneller studied in Leiden, but became a pupil of Ferdinand Bol and Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn in Amsterdam. He then travelled with his brother John Zacharias Kneller, who was an ornamental painter, to Rome and Venice in the early 1670s, painting historical subjects and portraits in the studio of Carlo Maratti, and later moved to Hamburg. The brothers came to England in 1676, and won the patronage of the Duke of Monmouth. He was introduced to, and painted a portrait of, Charles II. In England, Kneller concentrated almost entirely on portraiture. In the spirit of enterprise, he founded a studio which churned out portraits on an almost industrial scale, relying on a brief sketch of the face with details added to a formulaic model, aided by the fashion for gentlemen to wear full wigs. His portraits set a pattern that was followed until William Hogarth and Joshua Reynolds. Nevertheless, he established himself as a leading portrait artist in England. When Sir Peter Lely died in 1680, Kneller was appointed Principal Painter in Ordinary to the Crown by Charles II. For about 20 years (c.1682-1702) he lived at No. 16-17 The Great Piazza, Covent Garden. In the 1690s, Kneller painted the Hampton Court Beauties depicting the most glamorous ladies-in-waiting of the Royal Court for which he received his knighthood from William III. He produced a series of "Kit-cat" portraits of 48 leading politicians and men of letters, members of the Kit-Cat Club. Created a baronet by King George I on 24 May 1715, he was also head of the Kneller Academy of Painting and Drawing 1711–1716 in Great Queen Street, London, which counted such artists as Thomas Gibson amongst its founding directors. His paintings were praised by Whig members including John Dryden, Joseph Addison, Richard Steele, and Alexander Pope. On the landing in Horsham Museum hang works of art from the Museum's extensive painting collection, featuring a large 18th-century portrait of Charles Eversfield and his wife, of Denne Park House. In the painting Eversfield is giving his wife some violets which signifies fidelity, love and honesty. It is likely that the picture was cut down at some time as it was unusual to stop just below the knee. It may have been painted by more than one person: someone who specialised in clothing, another in drapes, and so on, with perhaps Kneller painting the heads, for it was the portraits that gave the sitters their identity, everything else is rather formulaic. He married a widow, Susanna Grave, on 23 January 1704 at St Bride...
Category

1680s Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

17th Century By Livio Mehus Allegory of Augustinian Order Oil on Canvas
Located in Milano, Lombardia
Publications: - Expertise by Prof. Sandro Bellesi; - S. Bellesi, in Barocco spaziale: dialoghi di luce, forma, colore fra pittura barocca e spazialismo, catalogo della mostra a cura...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

17th-18th Century By Niccolò Cassana Portrait of a Gentleman Oil on Canvas
Located in Milano, Lombardia
Expertise by Prof. Davide Dotti. Expertise by Prof. Anna Orlando.
Category

17th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

17th Century By Paulus Bor Heraclitus and Democritus Oil on Panel
Located in Milano, Lombardia
"Cassetta" frame in ebonized wood. Publications: - Expertise by Prof. Gianni Papi; - G. Papi, Un misto di grano e di pula. Scritti su Caravaggio e l’ambiente caravaggesco, Roma 2...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil, Wood Panel

17th Century By Johann Carl Loth Saint Mark Oil on Canvas
Located in Milano, Lombardia
Publications: - Expertise by Prof. Dario Succi; - M. Pulini, in Lo studiolo di Baratti, catalogue of the exhibition curated by M. Pulini, Cesena, Galleri...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

19th Century By Giuseppe Molteni Portrait of a Woman Oil on Canvas
Located in Milano, Lombardia
Beautiful original frame in gilded wood. Expertise by Prof. Fernando Mazzocca.
Category

19th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

17th-18th Century By Benedetto Luti Head of a Girl Oil Pastel on Canvas
Located in Milano, Lombardia
Original "cassetta" frame in carved and gilded wood. Expertise by Prof. Giancarlo Sestieri.
Category

18th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil Pastel

17th Century By Agostino Beltrano The Procession to Calvary Oil on Canvas
Located in Milano, Lombardia
Beautiful original frame in walnuts wood with decorations in gold. Publications: - Expertise by Prof. Nicola Spinosa; - N. Spinosa, in Barocco spaziale: dialoghi di luce, forma, ...
Category

Early 17th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

17th Century By Gian Giacomo Barbelli Paradise and Purgatory Oil on Canvas
Located in Milano, Lombardia
Already been in Koelliker collection (no. inv. LK0431) Publications: - C. Alpini, Ritratto di Gian Giacomo Barbelli nel IV centenario della nascita, in “Insula Fulcheria”, XXXIV, ...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Early 17th Century Italian Old Master Semi Nude Man with Dagger oil painting
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Semi Nude Man drawing a Dagger Italian School, early 17th century circle of Caravaggio oil on canvas, framed framed: 21 x 17 inches canvas : 18 x 14 i...
Category

Early 17th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

horse & carriage/gig , country scene, antique oil, by John Vine of Colchester
Located in York, GB
A fine antique oil painting, on canvas, of horses pulling a tandem at speed. signed and titled lower left, Vine Colchester 1834 This fine painting shows two horses pulling an open carriage /gig with gentleman in extensive landscape/park The size of the painting is approx 50 x 80 cms, whilst overall the size framed is 100cm x 71 cm This is a fine painting in very good condition housed in a gilt frame ready to hang Provenance: The E. W. Towler Collection, formerly of Glympton Park, Woodstock, Oxfordshire see details below The artist John Vine was born with a disability that did not appear to interfere with his ability to draw and paint, largely self-taught as an animal painter, as his reputation grew he exhibited at the Society of British Artists in Grosvenor Square. Based at Colchester he painted many different subjects including farms, houses, children and animals. Eric W. Towler was a remarkable man. He was born in 1900 and left school at the age of 12 to work in a Yorkshire pit and through a lifetime of hard work, self-improvement, luck and a refusal to limit his horizons achieved many of his aspirations. As a Yorkshireman through and through, he believed in ‘spending the brass in his pocket’ and over time he was successful enough to acquire enough ‘brass’ to enable his purchase of Glympton Park and furnish it as a traditional country house with all the trappings – in his case collections of...
Category

Mid-19th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

Fine 17th Century French Old Master Oil Painting Nude Lady Doves & Cherubs
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Mythological Figures in Classical Sunset Landscape French School, 17th century oil on canvas, framed framed: 20 x 23.5 painting: 13.5 x 17 inches provenance: private collection, Engl...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

Still Life of Flowers in vase on Ledge - Dutch 17thC Old Master art oil painting
Located in London, GB
This stunning 17th century Dutch Old Master Golden Age floral oil painting is by noted Dutch artist Simon Pietersz Verelst. The full attribution...
Category

1670s Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

De Wit Flowers Still life Paint Oil on canvas 18th Century Flemish Cupids Art
Located in Riva del Garda, IT
Jacob De Wit (Amsterdam, 1695 - 1754) attributable/ workshop Pair of Cupids with Garland of Flowers Oil on canvas 91 x 103 cm. - Framed 104 x 115 cm. Provenance: Christie's (London, Old master Painting 12.12.1996) lot 82 This magnificent composition depicts two cupids holding a garland of flowers, placed on a fine architecture with bas-reliefs and masks, presumably the top of a fountain. One of the two cupids sympathetically holds a part of it with his hands, while his head turns towards the viewer; the second cupid, on the other hand, must have clumsily broken the thread holding its end, and is sitting sullenly with a torch and a tear streaking his chubby cheek. The work, given its stylistic features and compositional taste, can be attributed to the Flemish artist Jacob de Wit (Amsterdam, 1695 - 1754), or to an artist from his workshop, with his typical triumphal and opulent style, which reveals clear influences from Rubens and Van Dijck, but also from Gerard de Lairesse...
Category

18th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

Fine 17th Century Dutch Old Master Oil on Panel Angelic Visitation to Figures
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
The Angelic Visitation Dutch School, mid 17th century circle of Rembrandt (Dutch 1606-1669) oil on wooden panel, framed in faux tortoiseshell style frame. framed: 25 x 28.75 painting...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil, Wood Panel

17th c. Antwerp studio of J. Brueghel & H. van Balen - The Virgin with Child
Located in PARIS, FR
Workshop of Jan Brueghel the Younger (1601-1678) & Hendrick van Balen (Antwerp, 1575 – 1632) 17th century Antwerp School The Virgin and Child ...
Category

1630s Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

The Annunciation to the Shepherds - Dutch 17thC art religious oil painting
Located in London, GB
This wonderful 17th century Old Master religious oil painting is attributed to Dutch Golden Age artist Benjamin Gerritsz Cuyp. Painted circa 1633 it is entitled The Annunciation to t...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

Castle and River Landscape - British 19thC art oil painting follower of Turner
Located in London, GB
This stunning large 19th century landscape oil painting is attributed to follower of Joseph Turner, possible George William Mote. Painted circa 1850 it is a panoramic landscape loo...
Category

1850s Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

Italian Landscape - Dutch Old Master art Grand Tour landscape oil painting
Located in London, GB
This simply stunning large Old Master landscape oil painting is attributed to noted Dutch artist Adriaen van Diest. Painted circa 1700 this Mediterranean Italian landscape painting h...
Category

Early 1700s Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

Portrait Philip V King Rigaud Paint Oil on canvas 17/18th Century Old master Art
Located in Riva del Garda, IT
Hyacinthe Rigaud (Perpignan 1659 - Paris 1743) Circle Portrait of Philip V, King of Spain (Versailles 1683 - Madrid 1746) Oil on canvas 72 x 59 cm - framed 87 x 74 cm. The painting...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

Landscape with travellers near a bridge - Attributed to Goffredo Wals
Located in Gent, BE
Oil on oval lime wood panel Collection number on the back: 272 We see a herd of goats and their shepherds on the bridge, one of the shepherds is on a horse, the others look at the men near the riverbank. Two standing figures are pointing and discussing with one another, while the other one is sitting and relaxing after a long trip. We'd like to thank dr. Guido Jansen for his attribution. Goffredo Wals was a German painter, who spent most of his career in Italy. Most of his works were in small format, often circular and painted on copper...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil, Wood Panel

Wooded Landscape - British art 18thC Old Master oil painting trees figures
By Thomas Gainsborough (circle)
Located in London, GB
A delightful painting, oil on paper laid on panel, with beautiful Gainsboresque colouring. This is a fine Old Master circa 1770 landscape in the 18th century Romantic landscape tradi...
Category

18th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

Flemish 17th c., Allegory of war and peace, circa 1630, by Adriaen van Stalbemt
Located in PARIS, FR
Adriaen van Stalbemt (Antwerp, 1580-1662) Allegory of Peace and War, circa 1620-1630 Oil on oak panel: h. 49.5 cm, l. 73.2cm (19.29 x 28.74 in) Giltwood frame with laurel leaves, Lo...
Category

Early 17th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

The Penitent Magdalene - Italian Baroque Old Master art portrait oil painting
Located in London, GB
This stunning Italian Baroque Old Master portrait oil painting is attributed to the circle of Guercino, Giovanni Francesco Barbieri (1591 - 1666) and it is ascribed verso. The paint...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

Horses and stagecoach winter/snow scene, oil painting, by John Richard Worsdale
Located in York, GB
A fine antique oil painting of horses pulling a stagecoach in snow , by John richard Worsdale (1869-1947) The artist portrays this powerful scene with an extensive view, featuring the stagecoach pulled by 4 horses and a village scene behind with buildings and peopla with another coach behind. oil on canvas, signed lower left, housed in a gilt frame. The size of the painting is approx 74 cms x 49 cms, whilst framed size is 90cm x 67cm. The painting is in very good condition, relined, with only some minor craquelure to the skyline, The frame appears original and is also in good condition with only minor age wear. Provenance: The E. W. Towler Collection, formerly of Glympton Park, Woodstock, Oxfordshire. Eric W. Towler was a remarkable man. He was born in 1900 and left school at the age of 12 to work in a Yorkshire pit and through a lifetime of hard work, self-improvement, luck and a refusal to limit his horizons achieved many of his aspirations. As a Yorkshireman through and through, he believed in ‘spending the brass in his pocket’ and over time he was successful enough to acquire enough ‘brass’ to enable his purchase of Glympton Park and furnish it as a traditional country house with all the trappings – in his case collections of antique furniture...
Category

Late 19th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

Portrait of a Lady - British 17th century art Old Master portrait oil painting
Located in London, GB
This lovely British Old Master portrait oil painting is attributed to the circle of Sir George Kneller. Painted circa 1680 it is a half length portrait in a feigned oval of a lady in...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

Vedustist painter (Veneto school) - 19th century landscape painting - Padova
Located in Varmo, IT
Venetian painter (19th century) - Padua, Porta Liviana. 37.5 x 48.5 cm without frame, 50.5 x 60 cm with frame. Oil on canvas, in a carved wooden frame. Condition report: Good stat...
Category

Early 19th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Rest on the Flight into Egypt - Attributed to Pieter Van Avont - 17th c. Flemish
Located in PARIS, FR
Rest during the Flight into Egypt - The Virgin and Child with St. John the Baptist and the angels in a Landscape. Attributed to Pieter Van Avont (1600-1652) 17th century Antwerp School, circa 1630 Oil on oak panel, Dimensions: h. 38 cm, w. 50 cm (14.96 in x 19.68 in) Flemish style frame in ebonized and moulded wood Framed: h. 56 cm, w. 68.5 cm (22.04 in. x 26.97 in.) In the heart of a lush wooded landscape, the Virgin with Jesus rests in a green clearing accompanied by Saint John the Baptist and the cherubs. Seated to the left of the composition, the Virgin Mary holds the Child on her lap; the little Saint John the Baptist wearing the camel-skin tunic (his attribute) stands before Jesus to exchange a few caresses. On the right, the couple of cherubs are playing with the lamb of Saint John the Baptist, bringing a jovial character to the scene. A pair of gardening putti on the left pick flowers to bring bouquets to the Virgin and Jesus. Spring flowers such as tulips, daffodils and anemones that grow abundantly around them and enrich the composition with their shimmering colors. A lush rose bush blooms to the left of the figures offering delicate roses. (The rose is the flower associated with the Virgin Mary, who is the "mystical rose," the one that does not bear the "thorn of sin") At the feet of the Virgin are bunches of grapes (symbol of the future passion of Christ) as well as apples (symbol of the original fall of Man but also of the Redemption in Christ) In the foreground we find a wicker basket filled in profusion with beautiful flowers and guinea pigs nibbling on the blades of grass. In a cleverly arranged disorder, these elements of the still life with their strong symbolic power accentuate the religious theme, but are also an opportunity for the artist to demonstrate his know-how in the still life genre that is gaining momentum in Antwerp. The landscape behind the figures consists of a large tree with a twisted trunk and a luminous opening to the horizon placed on the right. We see Saint Joseph arriving with a donkey, a small reminder from the artist that the composition is associated with the episode of Rest during the flight into Egypt. The calm expanse of this bucolic forest opening onto the luminous distance, with its profusion of symbolic flowers and fruits, is particularly suited to this sacred scene. The theme of Jesus' sacrifice and his tragic fate is mitigated by cherubs who play with innocence and carelessness in the face of the fragility of life symbolized by cut flowers. The great mastery of the painter is manifested by the finesse of the drawing enhanced by the delicacy in the application of the brushstrokes bringing a multitude of details. The richness of the whole is exacerbated thanks to the choice of colours, this varied palette is an undeniable asset of our work. The virtuosity of our artist lies in his versatility, as much concerned with the success of the landscape and flowers as with the modelling of his figures. The cherubs with their naked bodies are gracefully illuminated by warm colours with subtle shadows, while the still life is rendered with astonishing realism, both in the precision of the drawing and in the countless shades of the flowers. There are several compositions similar to ours, of which below are the closest versions: • Sale, Jean-Claude Anaf et Associés, Lyon, 08/02/1998, attributed to Pieter Van Avont, oil on panel, h. 48 cm, l. 71 cm (recorded on RKD n° 31451). Comment: identical composition, only St Joseph with the donkey is different) • Christie's New York sale, 29/01/1998, Pieter Van Avont, oil on copper, h. 23.8 cm, w. 24.8 cm • Dorotheum sale, Vienna, 25/04/2017, Pieter Van Avont and Jan Breughel II, oil on copper, h .26 cm, w. 39 cm • Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg, Russia, Pieter Van Avont, oil on panel, h. 50.5 cm, w. 71.7 cm Peter van Avont, Flemish painter (Mechelen, 1600 - Antwerp. 1652) Born in Mechelen, he is mentioned in 1620 as a member of the painters' guild of his hometown. He left in 1 622 for Antwerp, where he was also a member of the guild. He collaborated with many painters, including Jan Brueguel the Younger, David Vinckboons, Lucas van Uden...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oak, Oil

Boy with Guinea Pig - British Victorian animal art male portrait oil painting
By Henry Turner Munns
Located in London, GB
This charming British Victorian genre oil painting is by noted exhibited artist Henry Tuner Munns. It was painted in 1865 in realist palette with superb detail in the young boy's fac...
Category

19th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

The Abduction of the Sabine Women , a Renaissance drawing by Biagio Pupini
Located in PARIS, FR
This vigorous drawing has long been attributed to Polidoro da Caravaggio: The Abduction of the Sabine Women is one of the scenes that Polidoro depicted between 1525 and 1527 on the façade of the Milesi Palazzo in Rome. However, the proximity to another drawing inspired by this same façade, kept at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, and to other drawings inspired by Polidoro kept at the Musée du Louvre, leads us to propose an attribution to Biagio Pupini, a Bolognese artist whose life remains barely known, despite the abundant number of drawings attributed to him. 1. Biagio Pupini, a Bolognese artist in the light of the Roman Renaissance The early life of Biagio Pupini, an important figure of the first half of the Cinquecento in Bologna - Vasari mentions him several times - is still poorly known. Neither his date of birth (probably around 1490-1495) nor his training are known. He is said to have been a pupil of Francesco Francia (1450 - 1517) and his name appears for the first time in 1511 in a contract with the painter Bagnacavallo (c. 1484 - 1542) for the frescoes of a church in Faenza. He then collaborated with Girolamo da Carpi, at San Michele in Bosco and at the villa of Belriguardo. He must have gone to Rome for the first time with Bagnacavallo between 1511 and 1519. There he discovered the art of Raphael, with whom he might have worked, and that of Polidoro da Caravaggio. This first visit, and those that followed, were the occasion for an intense study of ancient and modern art, as illustrated by his abundant graphic production. Polidoro da Caravaggio had a particular influence on the technique adopted by Pupini. Executed on coloured paper, his drawings generally combine pen, brown ink and wash with abundant highlights of white gouache, as in the drawing presented here. 2. The Abduction of the Sabine Women Our drawing is an adaptation of a fresco painted between 1525 and 1527 by Polidoro da Caravaggio on the façade of the Milesi Palace in Rome. These painted façades were very famous from the moment they were painted and inspired many artists during their stay in Rome. These frescoes are now very deteriorated and difficult to see, as the palace is in a rather narrow street. The episode of the abduction of the Sabine women (which appears in the centre of the photo above) is a historical theme that goes back to the origins of Rome and is recounted both by Titus Livius (Ab Urbe condita I,13), by Ovid (Fasti III, 199-228) and by Plutarch (II, Romulus 14-19). After killing his twin brother Romus, Romulus populates the city of Rome by opening it up to refugees and brigands and finds himself with an excess of men. Because of their reputation, none of the inhabitants of the neighbouring cities want to give them their daughters in marriage. The Romans then decide to invite their Sabine neighbours to a great feast during which they slaughter the Sabines and kidnap their daughters. The engraving made by Giovanni Battista Gallestruzzi (1618 - 1677) around 1656-1658 gives us a good understanding of the Polidoro fresco, allowing us to see how Biagio Pupini reworked the scene to extract this dynamic group. With a remarkable economy of means, Biagio Pupini takes over the left-hand side of the fresco and depicts in a very dense space two main groups, each consisting of a Roman and a Sabine, completed by a group of three soldiers in the background (which seems to differ quite significantly from Polidoro's composition). The balance of the drawing is based on a very strongly structured composition. The drawing is organised around a median vertical axis, which runs along both the elbow of the kidnapped Sabine on the left and the foot of her captor, and the two main diagonals, reinforced by four secondary diagonals. This diamond-shaped structure creates an extremely dynamic space, in which centripetal movements (the legs of the Sabine on the right, the arm of the soldier on the back at the top right) and centrifugal movements (the arm of the kidnapper on the left and the legs of the Sabine he is carrying away, the arm of the Sabine on the right) oppose each other, giving the drawing the appearance of a whirlpool around a central point of support situated slightly to the left of the navel of the kidnapper on the right. 3. Polidoro da Caravaggio, and the decorations of Roman palaces Polidoro da Caravaggio was a paradoxical artist who entered Raphael's (1483 - 1520) workshop at a very young age, when he oversaw the Lodges in the Vatican. Most of his Roman work, which was the peak of his career, has disappeared, as he specialised in facade painting, and yet these paintings, which are eminently visible in urban spaces, have influenced generations of artists who copied them abundantly during their visits to Rome. Polidoro Caldara was born in Caravaggio around 1495-1500 (the birthplace of Michelangelo Merisi, known as Caravaggio, who was born there in 1571), some forty kilometres east of Milan. According to Vasari, he arrived as a mason on the Vatican's construction site and joined Raphael's workshop around 1517 (at the age of eighteen according to Vasari). This integration would have allowed Polidoro to work not only on the frescoes of the Lodges, but also on some of the frescoes of the Chambers, as well as on the flat of Cardinal Bibiena in the Vatican. After Raphael's death in 1520, Polidoro worked first with Perin del Vaga before joining forces with Maturino of Florence (1490 - 1528), whom he had also known in Raphael's workshop. Together they specialised in the painting of palace façades. They were to produce some forty façades decorated with grisaille paintings imitating antique bas-reliefs. The Sack of Rome in 1527, during which his friend Maturino was killed, led Polidoro to flee first to Naples (where he had already stayed in 1523), then to Messina. It was while he was preparing his return to the peninsula that he was murdered by one of his assistants, Tonno Calabrese, in 1543. In his Vite, Vasari celebrated Polidoro as the greatest façade decorator of his time, noting that "there is no flat, palace, garden or villa in Rome that does not contain a work by Polidoro". Polidoro's facade decorations, most of which have disappeared as they were displayed in the open air, constitute the most important lost chapter of Roman art of the Cinquecento. The few surviving drawings of the painter can, however, give an idea of the original appearance of his murals and show that he was an artist of remarkable and highly original genius. 4. The façade of the Milesi Palace Giovanni Antonio Milesi, who commissioned this palace, located not far from the Tiber, north of Piazza Navona, was a native of the Bergamo area, like Polidoro, with whom he maintained close friendly ties. Executed in the last years before the Sack of Rome, around 1526-1527, the decoration of Palazzo Milesi is considered Polidoro's greatest decorative success. An engraving by Ernesto Maccari made at the end of the nineteenth century allows us to understand the general balance of this façade, which was still well preserved at the time. The frescoes were not entirely monochrome, but alternated elements in chiaroscuro simulating marble bas-reliefs and those in ochre simulating bronze and gold vases...
Category

16th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Ink, Gouache, Pen

Huge 18th Century British Oil Painting Dusk Landscape Figures Boat & Lake
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Dusk Landscape British School, 18th century oil on canvas, unframed painting: 32 x 41 inches provenance: private collection, UK condition: very good and...
Category

18th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Figures in Winter Dutch Snow Landscape Large 19th Century Oil on Canvas Painting
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
The Winter Landscape Dutch School, 19th century oil painting on canvas, framed framed: 22 x 28 inches canvas: 16.5 x 23 inches provenance: private collection, UK condition: very goo...
Category

19th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Portrait of a Lady in a Blue Gown Holding a Sheer Scarf Painting Godfrey Kneller
Located in London, GB
Portrait of a Lady in a Blue Gown Holding a Sheer Scarf c.1675-85 Studio of Sir Godfrey Kneller (1646-1723) Titan Fine Art present this captivating portrait by the leading late seve...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Portrait of man with white hair
Located in Genève, GE
Work on canvas Plaster and gilded wood frame 66 x 59 x 9 cm Fragile frame for transport. It is possible that it is damaged during the journey.
Category

Early 19th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

River Landscape with Shepherds and Architecture, a painting by Jan van Bunnik
By Jan van Bunnik
Located in PARIS, FR
This painting has been the subject of a study by the art historian Fabrizio Dassie (available on request), confirming its inclusion in Jan van Bunnik’s corpus. In this painting, Ja...
Category

Late 17th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Copper

The Infant St John the Baptist with Lamb - Italian Old Master art oil painting
Located in London, GB
This beautiful 18th century Italian Old Master oil painting is something rather special. Painted circa 1750 the subject matter is Saint John the Baptist as a very young child. He is ...
Category

1750s Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

Adoration with angels and putti - Attr. to Johann König (1586-1642)
Located in Gent, BE
Oil on copper Comes with a certificate by dr. Jan De Maere 20/01/2023) Dimensions: 26 x 20 cm, 36 x 30 cm (framed) Johann König was a German painter and follower of Adam Elsheime...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

Portrait of Elizabeth Banks - British 18th Century art Old Master oil painting
Located in London, GB
This Beautiful British 18th century British Old Master portrait oil painting is by noted artist Joseph Highmore. Painted circa 1740 it is a half length portrait of a young woman, Eli...
Category

18th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

Manor House with Cottages - British 18thC Old Master art oil painting VG prov.
Located in London, GB
This stunning British Old Master landscape oil painting, with excellent provenance, is by George Lambert. Lambert was a pioneer of British landscape in art for its own sake. Painted in 1744, the painting is entitled View of a Manor House and Cottages in Elizabeth Einberg's 63rd volume of the Walpole Society 2001 and is described as follows: In the foreground a road emerges from a wood to cross a ford and then leads up the hill to the right, towards a manor house seemingly built into the remains of a medieval or Tudor edifice. The main track, crowded with sheep and rustic figures, passes the massive square gateposts lower down the hill on the left. Further to the left is a thatched cottage with smoke coming out the chimney. In the distance is a wide coastal view. The main buildings, which are in the dead centre of the composition, represent almost certainly an as yet unidentified English view. The colouring and detail in the trees and foliage are superb. This is an excellent Old Master oil painting by one of the all time great British landscape artists with extensive provenance. Signed and dated 1744 lower left on rock in black. Provenance. Elizabeth Einberg, “Catalogue Raisonnè of the works of George Lambert” The Annual Volume of the Walpole Society, 2001 Vol. 63, page 149 no P1744, fig.71. Antonacci Efrati Antichità Rome Gallery. Burden sale, Parke Bernet, New York, 20-21, April 1938 (376 repr.) Robert E. Peters, Sotheby Parke Bernet, New York, March 1975 (41 repr.) Lit. Schnackenburg 1995, pp 83-84, cat. no.14 fig 13. Condition. Oil on canvas, 54 inches by 52 inches and in good condition. Frame. Housed in an ornate gilt frame, 64 inches by 62 inches and in good condition. George Lambert (1700-1765) was an English landscape artist and theatre scene painter. With Richard Wilson he is recognised as a pioneer of British landscape in art, for its own sake. Lambert was born in Kent and studied art under Warner Hassells and John Wootton, soon attracting attention by the quality of his landscape painting. He painted many large and fine landscapes in the style of Gaspar Poussin and Salvator Rosa. Many of his landscapes were finely engraved by François Vivares, James Mason (1710–1785), and others, including a set of views of Plymouth and Mount Edgcumbe (painted conjointly with Samuel Scott), a view of Saltwood Castle in Kent, another of Dover, and a landscape presented to the Foundling Hospital in London. Lambert also obtained a great reputation as a scene-painter, working at first for the Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre, in London, under John Rich. When Rich moved to Covent Garden Theatre, Lambert secured the assistance of Amigoni, and together they produced scenery of far higher quality than any previously executed. Lambert was a man of jovial temperament and shrewd wit, and frequently spent his evenings at work in his painting-loft at Covent Garden Theatre, to which men of note in the fashionable or theatrical world resorted to share his supper of a beef-steak, freshly cooked on the spot. Out of these meetings arose the well-known "Beefsteak Club" which long maintained a high social reputation. Most of Lambert's scene-paintings unfortunately perished when Covent Garden Theatre was destroyed by fire in 1808. Lambert was a friend of William Hogarth and a member of the jovial society that met at 'Old Slaughter's' Tavern in St Martin's Lane. In 1755 he was one of the committee of artists who proposed a royal academy of arts in London. He was a member of the Society of Artists of Great Britain, exhibited with them in 1761 and the three following years, and during the same period contributed to the Academy exhibitions. In 1765 he and other members seceded and formed the Incorporated Society of Artists of Great Britain, of which he was elected the first president. In conjunction with Samuel Scott, Lambert painted a series of Indian views for the old East India House in Leadenhall Street. He also etched two prints after Salvator Rosa. Lambert was associated in 1735 with George Vertue, Hogarth, and John Pine (engraver, 1660–1756) in obtaining a bill from parliament securing artists a copyright on their works. Lambert's portraits were painted by Thomas Hudson, John Vanderbank (engraved in mezzotint by John Faber the younger in 1727, and in line by H. Robinson and others), and Hogarth. Lambert's most famous painting is "A view of Box Hill, Surrey" (1733) which depicts a well-known beauty spot south of London. Hogarth considered Lambert a rival to the famous French landscape painter Claude Lorrain (1600–1682) with respect to his use of soft light to unify the scene in this painting. Though he never visited Italy he was inspired by the classical tradition of landscape painting. Lambert died on 30 November 1765 at his home on the Piazza in Covent Garden. His pupils included John Inigo Richards...
Category

Mid-18th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

Guido Reni workshop (Bolognese school) - Late 17th century painting - Cupid
By Guido Reni
Located in Varmo, IT
Circle of Guido Reni (Bologna 1575 - Bologna 1642) - Cupid. 73.5 x 60cm. Antique oil painting on canvas, without frame. - The painting is taken from an original by Guido Reni (Bol...
Category

Mid-17th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Old Master Wooded Landscape - Irish 1830 art woodland oil painting
By James Arthur O'Connor
Located in London, GB
A delightful large oil on canvas of a wooded landscape which dates to circa 1830 and is attributed to Irish artist James Arthur O’Connor. A superb painting and an excellent example o...
Category

18th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

Pastoral Scene with Shepherd and Animals - Old Master c 1700 art oil painting
By Philipp Peter Roos (Rosa di Tivoli)
Located in London, GB
This superb Old Master later 17th/early 18th century oil painting is attributed to Baroque painter and German born animal artist Philipp Peter Roos. He was active in and near Rome fr...
Category

Early 1700s Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

Andromeda Monster Paint Oil on canvas Old master 16/17th Century Roman school
Located in Riva del Garda, IT
Antichità Castelbarco SRLS is proud to present: Painter active in Rome late 16th - early 17th century Andromeda and the monster Oil on canvas 137 x 102 cm. - In frame 152 x 118 cm. The subject of the painting, derived from Ovid's Metamorphoses, is inspired by the myth of the princess Andromeda, daughter of the King of Ethiopia Cepheus and Queen Cassiopeia. The heroine's misfortune was to have a mother who praised her beauty as superior even to that of the Nereids, the sea nymphs daughters of the god Poseidon. According to mythology, the girl was therefore chained to a cliff and offered as a sacrifice to the terrible monster sent to appease the wrath of the nymphs, offended by Cassiopeia's unforgivable pride. Consider that the depiction of this myth, and in particular its climax with Andromeda offered to the monster, had great fortune in Roman Baroque painting...
Category

16th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

Ricci View Coastal Landscape Paint Oil on canvas Old master 17/18th Century Art
By Marco Ricci (Belluno 1676 - Venice 1730)
Located in Riva del Garda, IT
Marco Ricci (Belluno 1676 - Venice 1730) attributable to Coastal landscape with port city and boats oil painting on canvas 82 x 126 cm., In gilded frame 93 x 137 cm. Provenance: purchased by the previous owners around 1970 in Vienna, at the Hofstätter Gallery (as Marco Ricci) We present with great pleasure this vast and harmonious composition of a coastal view with a fortified city overlooking the sea and a rocky cove in the foreground with several boats, including a vessel. The work, coming from a prestigious Austrian collection, bears a historical attribution to the sphere of Marco Ricci (Belluno 1676 - Venice 1730) who, by virtue of the stringent compositional and stylistic similarities that we can find with the autograph works of the Venetian master, we feel we can confirm. Our marina wisely combines elements taken from life with elements drawn from the author's imagination, set within a wide-ranging perspective framework; the canvas is then enveloped in a diffused but natural luminosity, evoking that sense of atmosphere which is a prelude to eighteenth-century vedutism, but without having those markedly rocaille characteristics. Among the innovations introduced by Marco Ricci in landscape painting, and which we find in our beautiful painting, there is the experimentation of light in its possibilities of atmospheric rendering. The painting in question shares many details with the master's works, such as the mountain ranges that dissolve into the background taking on silvery tones, the tree motif in the foreground and the classic rocky spur, as well as the small figures that animate the scene and still the city ​​on the coast dotted with bell towers and towers, in addition to the compositional cut of the view that expands in depth in a modulated succession of perspective plans. Finally, we can trace the characteristic light effects of the master, highlighted here by the cleaning intervention just carried out in our restoration laboratory, previously obscured by an amber paint that prevented the correct reading of the pictorial material. Trained on the study of the great Venetian tradition and, above all, on Titian's models, Marco Ricci had started his painting activity in the workshop of his uncle Sebastiano. After an important trip to England and Holland, the direct knowledge of Nordic painting - in particular of the works of Johann Anton Eismann, Pieter Mulier...
Category

Late 17th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

Large 17th Century Dutch Old Master Oil Painting on Wood Panel Biblical Scene
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Biblical Figures, Large Gathering around Christ? Dutch Old Master, early 17th century oil painting on wood panel, stuck on velvet backing board velvet board: 27 x 29 inches board: 25.5 x 26 inches provenance: private collection, France condition: good and sound condition, obvious old panel...
Category

Early 17th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Wood Panel, Oil

Landscape with figures, workshop of Paul Bril, Italian school 17th Century
By Paul Bril
Located in PARIS, FR
Idyllic landscape with myhological story of Cephalus and Procris Early 17th century Italian school Workshop Of Paul Bril (Antwerp, 1554 - Roma, 1626) Oil on poplar panel: H. 28 cm (1...
Category

Early 17th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Poplar, Oil

Fine 18th Century Italian Old Master Oil Painting Berghers with Animals Sunset
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
The Close of Day Italian School, early 18th century oil on canvas, unframed canvas: 17 x 22.5 inches provenance: private collection, France condition: very good and sound condition
Category

18th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Still life with playing cards, coral and shells - Carstian Luyckx (1623-1658)
Located in Gent, BE
Still life with playing cards, coral, shells, a jewelry box and a stone sculpture Oil on canvas We'd like to thank dr. Fred Meijer for his attribution. Carstian Luyckx was a 17th ...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

Dutch School, 17th Century, Shipping in a Stiff Breeze, a City Beyond
Located in Stockholm, SE
We are delighted to present a significant piece from the Dutch School, most likely dating back to the late 17th century. This captivating painting showcases the dynamic force of nature with three ships vigorously navigating through stormy waters. The foreground is a scene of nautical struggle, as figures are depicted working intensely with the sails, steering, and bracing against the tumultuous sea. In the serene background, the silhouette of a quaint town emerges, with spires from churches and the outlines of various buildings is visible. This juxtaposition of the calm town against the chaotic foreground serves as a powerful reminder of the unpredictability of life and nature. Dominating the canvas, the sky occupies two-thirds of the painting, filled with brooding clouds that occasionally break to reveal patches of blue. The presence of birds adds a dynamic element to the otherwise ominous atmosphere. While the artist remains unknown, the work is quintessentially Dutch in its execution, with meticulous attention to detail and a profound understanding of maritime life. The painting's oval shape is quite distinctive and is complemented by a suitably antique octagonal black frame, which adds to its historical charm. This piece is a testament to the mastery of Dutch maritime painting...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oak, Oil, Wood Panel

Portrait of an Elegant Lady in a Red Silk Dress, Beautiful Antique Frame c.1720
By Jonathan Richardson the Elder
Located in London, GB
This beautiful portrait was painted circa 1725 and is a fine example of the English eighteenth century portrait style. The artist has chosen to depict the lady against a plain background wearing a simple red silk dress and transparent headdress hanging down the back. The sitter is not shown with jewellery or any other elements to distract the viewer’s attached, thus highlighting the beauty of the young sitter. This restrained manner achieves a sense of understated elegance. The portrait genre was valued particularly highly in English society. Neither landscapes nor allegorical pictures were ever priced so highly at exhibitions and in the trade as depictions of people, from the highest aristocracy to scholars, writers, poets and statesmen. With the rich colouring and lyrical characterisation, these works are representative of the archetypal English portrait and is are very appealing examples of British portraiture...
Category

18th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Antique French Still Life Strawberry Bowl Abundant Still Life of Fruit Interior
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Still Life of Fruit French School, mid 19th century indistinctly signed lower right corner oil on canvas laid on board, framed framed: 27 x 35 inches board: 25 x 33 inches provenance...
Category

Late 19th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

Portrait of a Young Gentleman - Dutch Old Master 17thC art portrait oil painting
Located in London, GB
This superb Dutch Old Master portrait oil painting is attributed as by a follower of Dutch 17th century artist Gerrard van Honthorst. The original of this painting hangs in Wilton House, Wiltshire, home to the 18th Earl and Countess of Pembrokeshire. The painting was previously attributed to Van Dyck by early cataloguers, but after exhaustive comparisons with the two Honthorst brothers' works, it was concluded that Gerrard van Honthorst was the artist who painted the original in Wilton House. Our painting was painted circa 1695 by a follower of Gerrard Honthorst. It was sold to us as circle of Cornelius Johnson. The sitter is Prince Rupert of the Rhine, Duke of Cumberland, Earl of Holderness (1619-1682). He was an English army officer, admiral, scientist, and colonial governor. He first came to prominence as a Royalist cavalry commander during the English Civil War. Rupert was the third son of the German...
Category

1650s Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

Winter Landscape Molenaer Paint 17th Century Oil on canvas Old master Flemish
Located in Riva del Garda, IT
Nicolaes (or Claes) Molenaer (Haarlem c. 1630 - 1676) attributable Winter landscape with village, frozen river and travellers Oil on canvas 63 x 77 cm. - framed 82 x 95 cm. The pai...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

Dutch Classical Winter Scene with Figures Enjoying Ice Gilt Framed Oil
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Winter Scene with Figures Dutch School, 20th century signed 'M. Feyen' signed oil on board, framed in elaborate gilt swept frame framed: 19.5 x 23.5 inches board: 14 x 18 inches prov...
Category

20th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

Italian Greyhound and Friends - Italian 17thC Old Master dog art oil painting
By Francesco Fieravino
Located in London, GB
This stunning Old Master 17th century oil portrait painting is attributed to Francesco Fieravino, an artist famous in his day for still lifes and carpets. This painting which dates t...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Fine 18th Century Italian Old Master Drawing Mother & Children
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Giovanni Battista Cipriani, RA, Italian 1727-1785 Sketch of a mother with three children; black and red chalk on laid paper with watermark '© TAYLOR', 22.4 x 17.5 cm. Provenanc...
Category

18th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Chalk

Portrait of Madonna at Prayer - Italian Old Master art religious oil painting
By Giovanni Battista Salvi da Sassoferrato
Located in London, GB
This rather special Italian Old Master religious portrait oil painting is attributed to a follower of Giovanni Battista Salvi, or Sassoferrato as he is better known. Painted circa 17...
Category

1790s Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

Italian Mountainous River Landscape - French 19th Century Neo Classical art
Located in London, GB
This stunning Neo Classical French 19th century landscape oil painting is by acclaimed French artist Jean Victor Bertin. He was also an early proponent of sketching out doors and dir...
Category

19th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

Old Masters paintings for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Old Masters paintings available for sale on 1stDibs. Works in this style were very popular during the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artists have continued to produce works inspired by this movement. If you’re looking to add paintings created in this style to introduce contrast in an otherwise neutral space in your home, the works available on 1stDibs include elements of orange, blue, yellow and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Antonio Savisio, Pietro Colonna, Goyo Dominguez, and Nicolaes Maes. Frequently made by artists working with Paint, and Oil Paint and other materials, all of these pieces for sale are unique and have attracted attention over the years. Not every interior allows for large Old Masters paintings, so small editions measuring 4.5 inches across are also available. Prices for paintings made by famous or emerging artists can differ depending on medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $338 and tops out at $1,495,000, while the average work sells for $7,505.

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