Old Masters Animal Drawings and Watercolors

Unknown (European, probably Eighteenth Century) Shepherds and Peasants in a Landscape Ink, watercolor, and gouache on vellum; 12 5/8 x 19 3/8 inches Framed: 20 x 28 inches (approx.)

This stunning Baroque study depicts a regatta boat, a type of vessel developed in eighteenth-century Venice for the regattas organized by the Serenissima during visits by royalty and princes. We propose to link this drawing to the work of Alessandro Mauro, an artist who specialized in this type of composition, as illustrated by a drawing from him at the Metropolitan Museum. 1. Description of the boat The greatest decorative fantasy reigns in this preparatory study, which blends mythological and exotic elements with references to ancient Egypt. Our drawing is probably an initial thought, destined to be refined and clarified later in pen and ink (as evidenced by the ink stain in the lower right). A quadriga of seahorses guided by Neptune stands at the stern of the boat, shown well above the waterline (perhaps to outline its empty volume). One of the seahorses is ridden by a newt, while Amphitrite lies at the feet of the sea god. The center of the boat is occupied by a vast baldachin resting on four atlantes and surmounted by a figure riding an animal (a dragon?). Three figures sit beneath the canopy, one of them on a griffin-shaped seat. This allusion to Egyptian antiquity echoes the winged sun (sometimes a symbol of the god Horus, as in the temple of Edfu in Egypt) that adorns the sides of the promontory on which this baldachin rests. Another flag-bearer figure crouches at the stern of the boat on a raised seat, on the reverse of which is a crowned mermaid whose arm, extended backwards, rests on a mascaron decorated with a radiant face (Helios?) and whose torso surmounts an elephant's head. The heads of the rowers and their oars are sketched all along the boat, whose sides are embellished with elongated naiads. 2. The Venetian regatta boats An exhibition held in 2013 at the Ca' Rezzonico (the Venetian eighteenth-century museum) paid tribute to these regatta boats through studies and prints depicting them. The regattas organized by the Serenissima in honor of visiting princes and sovereigns were among the most spectacular ceremonies in Venice. Some important artists of the 18th century contributed to the creation of these extravagant boats which were given exotic names such as bissona, malgarota or peota. The specialists in this field were Andrea Urbani and the brothers Alessandro and Romualdo Mauro. They were born into a family of theater decorators in Piedmont, but little is known about their detailed biography. Alessandro was the architect of the Dresden opera house and of the St. Samuel Theater in Venice (in collaboration with his brother Romualdo), but also worked as stagehand and set designer in Vienna, Rome and Turin. A drawing produced around 1737 from the Metropolitan Museum (7th photo in the gallery) bears witness to his activity as a regatta boat designer. This drawing is a much more elaborate version than the one presented here, having been entirely reworked in brown ink. However, a figure at the bow of the boat, executed solely in black chalk, still bears witness to a technique similar to that of our drawing. It is difficult to know whether the boat depicted in our drawing was a project for an actual boat or whether it remained in the planning stage, but the front of our boat (Neptune and the quadriga of seahorses ridden by a newt) bears several similarities to that of a parade boat depicted in the print published by Michele Marieschi entitled Regatta on the Grand Canal, between the Foscari and Balbi Palaces (last photo in the gallery). This print is dated 1741, which could confirm that our work dates from around 1740. The area between Neptune and the quadriga that precedes him on this strange paddle-boat appears to be partially submerged, confirming that the waterline of our boat was probably intended to be much lower than the one shown in our drawing. The Correr Museum’s collection holds one of the most important collection of engravings and drawings devoted to these specifically Venetian Baroque productions. These boats were intended to last the duration of a festival. Today, they are only documented by preparatory drawings or prints that testify to the sumptuousness of their decoration. This taste for regatta boats lasted throughout the Venetian eighteenth century, and the conception of regatta boats also attracted great masters such as Giambattista Tiepolo, Francesco Guardi or Giambattista Piranesi...

Recto: two horses, preparatory study for the lithograph "Les Boueux" ("The Muddy Ones") Verso: four studies of horse heads (including two preparatory studies for the watercolor "Plowing in England"), a study of a life guard with the rump of his horse (preparatory to the lithograph "A Party of Life...

The drawings showcase the beauty of the black women on one hand and also reflect the intimacy animals possess with females, especially horses, and princesses in royalty. They are muc...

The drawings showcase the beauty of the black women on one hand and also reflect the intimacy animals possess with females, especially horses, and princesses in royalty. They are muc...

A rare and charming study of cows by 18th Century French painter, engraver and designer Jean-Baptiste Huet. The details are: Jean Baptiste Huet (French, 1745 – 1811) Study of cows P...

Il disegno, china su carta, rientra negli studi all'antico molto diffusi nelle Accademie dal XVIII secolo in poi, e rimanda al fregio di un sarcofago antico. Al centro si trova un cl...

Wonderful 18th century English gouache on paper of a 18th century English scene of a groom with a horse in a landscape. One of a set of five all framed in Hogarth frames. L.Green ...

Wonderful 18th century English gouache on paper of a 18th century English scene of a man on his horse with his dog in a landscape One of a set of five all framed in Hogarth frames. ...

Inscribed: 3. una Madonna che va in Egitto, verso, and Madonna che va in Egitto, recto Provenance: Private Collection, UK, since 1999 This expressive and boldly executed drawing is the work of Luca...

Follower of Zacharias Wagener (1614-1688) Tamanuâguasû (Giant Anteater) On Italian 17th or 18th-century paper, H. 28 x W. 43.5 cm ​The present painting is a copy after Wagener’s painting of the anteater, Tamanduá-bandeira, which is illustrated in his “Thier Buch”, with 109 drawings of Brazilian fish, birds and mammals, published in Amsterdam c. 1641, in German. ​ Zacharias Wagener, or Wagenaer in Dutch, (Dresden 1614 – Amsterdam 1668) was a real adventurer who became Opperhoofd on Deshima and Governor of the Cape of Good Hope in the service of the VOC. During the Thirty-Year War in Germany Wagener tried his luck in Amsterdam where he worked for the map-maker Willem Blaeu. In 1634 he joined the WIC and left for Dutch Brazil where he worked as writer and painter, together with Frans Post...

Title: Portrait of a Horse Artist/ School: French School, circle of Jacques-Laurent Agasse (French 1767-1849) Medium: pencil drawing on paper laid over card Size: 10.25 x 11.5 inc...

Dog with plants in the garden is a beautiful artwork realized by Jan Peter Verdussen in 1751. pen and watercolour on brown paper. In good codition except for some pencil marks and t...

Plants is a beautiful artwork realized by Jan Peter Verdussen in 1740. pen and watercolour on brown paper. In good codition except for some pencil marks and traces of sealing wax on...

Artist: (Follower of) Nicholaes Berchem (The Elder) (Dutch, 1620-1683) Title: "Herdsmen Resting" *No signature found Circa: 1790 Medium: Original Ink Drawing on wove paper Framing: Not framed, but matted with white rag matting from Holland and gold filet Matted size: 15.25" x 17.75" Sheet size: 7.25" x 10" Condition: Light toning to sheet. A few foxmarks and a small area of discoloration upper left. In otherwise very good condition Biography: Nicolaes Pieterszoon Berchem (1 October 1620 – 18 February 1683) was a highly esteemed and prolific Dutch Golden Age painter of pastoral landscapes, populated with mythological or biblical figures, but also of a number of allegories and genre pieces. He was a member of the second generation of "Dutch Italianate landscape" painters. These were artists who travelled to Italy, or aspired to, in order to soak up the romanticism of the country, bringing home sketchbooks full of drawings of classical ruins and pastoral imagery. His paintings, of which he produced an immense number, (Hofstede de Groot claimed around 850, although many are misattributed), were in great demand, as were his 80 etchings and 500 drawings. His landscapes, painted in the Italian style of idealized rural scenes, with hills, mountains, cliffs and trees in a golden dawn...