19th C Four Faced Grotesque Reversible Ambiguous Watercolour Portrait Curio

A quite remarkable collection of twenty four watercolor and gouache full length portraits, the majority are dated (1872-1875) and signed with a monogram M.E. These images have come f...

A fine oil on canvas depicting a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel peeking from his kennel, very much in the manner of Landseer. Age related craquelure to the painted surface, some mi...

A wonderful naive collection of six fighting scenes, with baker boys and chimney sweeps. The six spilt up into two tryptic's one showing a fight in a ring that's abruptly slowed ...

A charming depiction of figures from youth to old age, ascending and descending the steps of the ladder of life, the centre shows baptism and death. With German and Cyrillic labels o...

A busy oil on canvas interior scene showing an exaggerated early 19th century social scene in the naïve self taught style. A military/naval officer is showing off his wooden leg ...

A charming mid 19th century French oil on canvas of a Gentleman and his doggy, dated 1847 and signed P.Bisson A small section of restoration under his left arm, but done some time ...

Wonderful naive oil painting of a girl. Fabulous muted colors. The austerity of the image is matched by the simplicity of the antique bleached oak frame. I have chosen not to r...

Early 19th century oil portrait of a handsome young man An original painting of a young man wearing his best suit of clothes. Original oil on ...

Nice portrait of baby / young child dating from the end of the 19th century. Beautiful quality of execution; The face of the child is very fine and pleasant. The subject is well trea...

ABOUT An original 19th century Mexican folk retablo. Oil paint on tin. Subject unknown. CREATOR Unknown. DATE OF MANUFACTURE c.1880. MATERIALS AND TECHNIQUES Oil Paint on Tin. CONDITION Good. Wear consistent with age and use. DIMENSIONS H 14 in. W 10 in. HISTORY Retablos, better known as 'laminas' in Mexico, are small oil paintings on tin, wood and sometimes copper which were used in home altars to venerate the almost infinite number of Catholic saints. The literal translation for 'retablo' is 'behind the altar.' This unique genre of art, deeply rooted in European history, was brought to Mexico with the arrival of the Spanish and then ultimately adopted by New World mestizo natives to become what is known today as the Mexican folk retablo. The retablo was an art form that flourished in post conquest Mexico and then ultimately, with the introduction of inexpensive mediums such as tin, reached its pinnacle of popularity in the last quarter of the 19th century. With some exceptions, mostly untrained artists from the provinces worked to produce and reproduce these sacred images; some subjects painted more prolifically than others. A typical "retablero" may have reproduced the same image hundreds, if not thousands of times in his or her career. These oil paintings were sold to devout believers who displayed them in home altars to honor their patron saints. There are virtually hundreds of saints, each invoked to remedy a different situation. "San Ysidro Labrador," the patron saint of farmers, is venerated for good weather...

Large antique 19th century Genre Portrait of a boy by listed artist Adolf Heller, (German , 1874 -1914) A beautifully executed portrait that captures the ...

Beautiful 19th C Fruktur by Martha Geist The poem on the Fruktur (watercolor) is re-written below. "If my name heaven is my station, This world is my habitation. Christ is my ...