Curt Ruger

Curt Ruger, Portrait Study Of A Girl, Oil Painting

1886

This charming portrait by Bror Kronstrand (1875-1950) depicts Brita Söderberg (nee Browall) wearing a light blue blouse with a white hat, ribbon and flower. She was 20 at the time. ...

This early 20th-century portrait by eminent Danish artist Peter (Peder Mork) Mønsted (1859-1941) depicts local dignitary Aage Jørgensen (1879-1960). It’s an ...

This charming portrait by Derbyshire artist Joseph Thraves (1805-1851) depicts a scholar proudly standing with his hand on an open book. It’s likely that the family commissioned this...

This early 20th-century oil painting by Dutch artist Jelle Troelstra (1891-1979) depicts a seated woman wearing a floral top and dark grey dress. With eyes closed and hands held upo...

This mid-20th-century oil painting by English artist John JG Blundell (1927-2016) depicts a middle-aged man in profile. Every now and then we discover a special piece by an unknown ...

This mid-19th-century oil painting by English artist Thornton Rippingille (1830-1863) depicts the inventor Thomas Dunn. Dunn was a remarkable Lancastrian who pioneered new technolog...

The son of the legendary Napoléon Bonaparte, Napoléon François Charles Joseph, takes a spirited stance in this remarkable oil painting attributed to the Austrian portraitist Johann Peter Krafft. Believed to have been exhibited at the Exposition Universelle of 1900 in Paris, this work stands as a testament to both Austrian artistry and the legacy of one of the most powerful men in history. After Napoléon's exile to the island of Elba in 1814, his son was seen by many of his supporters as the last hope of France. The child was named the ruler of half of Europe, holding the titles of Napoléon II...

John William Godward 1861-1922 British A Pompeian Lady Signed and dated "J.W. Godward 1904" (lower right, partially covered by frame) Oil on canvas One of the last and greatest Victorian neoclassical painters, John William Godward is celebrated for his flawlessly executed images of graceful women posed in idealized ancient settings. In this work, entitled A Pompeian Lady, a classical beauty is caught idling in a moment of quiet, solitary reflection. Godward's elegant subjects are depicted with a degree of technical mastery that remains unsurpassed, and the work's dramatic palette, luxurious fabrics and classical vision are all characteristics of his unique take on the neoclassical style. Godward was unmatched in terms of his technical skill and attention to detail. A master of contrasting textures, he paints a diaphanous gown draping against the model’s smooth, milky white skin, which sits against the painstakingly rendered individual hairs of a tiger’s pel. Scintillating color permeates the canvas as well, energizing the otherwise static scene. Each element is given careful attention, and the overall effect is one of both immaculate technique and sensual tactility. Along with his contemporary and mentor, Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, Godward set the tone for the Victorian neoclassicist movement. He built his career upon creating images of idealized feminine beauty infused with a Greco-Roman-inspired style. Though greatly influenced by Alma-Tadema, Godward distinguished himself through his predilection for the solitary female figure. His fame rose dramatically in the first few years of the 20th century, when the present work was completed, due to the burgeoning strength of the British Empire and the Victorian society’s preoccupation with ancient Rome. To many of the newly affluent, Roman society was, as Iain Gale writes, “a flawless mirror of their own immaculate world.” The sensuality and mystery of Godward’s maidens, combined with his impressive antique backdrops...

John Falter arranges figures and faces in a way that rival the old masters in their compositional perfection. And he makes it look easy. The expressions are captured so the emotion...

Giuseppe Gandolfo (Catania 1792 - 1855), Portrait of a lawman in his study Oil painting on canvas 87 x 68 cm signed and dated 1831 (or 1851) lower left, always in the lower left co...

Beautiful oil on canvas from the end of the 19th century figuring the portrait of a young woman. The painting is signed Y Pol on the bottom left . The artist in his performance perfe...

A large and very elegant portrait of a British lady thought to be Dame Anna Neagle, the British actress and singer. English School, 20th Century Portrait of a society lady thought t...