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Period: 18th Century
Ancient Persian Miniature: Men with Scimitar - Probably 18/19th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Image dimensions: 15 X 10 cm.
This Persian Miniature scene of men with scimitar is a unique precious original painting on the front with handwriting...
Category
18th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Tempera
Venice Landscape - Ink and Watercolor - 18th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Venice Landscape is an original, splendid drawing in pen and watercolor realized by an Anonymous Venetian School, XVIII century. The state of preserva...
Category
Modern 18th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Watercolor
Disegno figurativo fiammingo ad acquerello del XVIII secolo, scena di genere
Located in Florence, IT
Sullo sfondo di un paesaggio dai tratti centro-settentrionali europei-in cui si riconoscono una cappella e il profilo di una città dagli alti pinnacoli-si svolge una scena di svago, ...
Category
Other Art Style 18th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Ink, Watercolor
Mughal School, 18th Century Emperor Jahangir with Empress Nur Jahan
Located in Middletown, NY
Emperor Jahangir and Empress Nur Jahan exchanging lotus blossoms; a symbol of beauty, purity, honesty, rebirth, self-regeneration, and enlightenment....
Category
Rajput 18th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Gold
Rajput School, 17th century Krishna with his beloved, Radha; from Mahabharata
Located in Middletown, NY
Vishnu in the form of Krishna being serenaded with his beloved Radha. An illuminated page from the epic of Mahabharata
circa 1690. Gouache and ink with gold heightening on cream lai...
Category
Rajput 18th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Gold
Mughal School, 17th century – Emperor Jahangir reclining in his harem
Located in Middletown, NY
An illuminated page from a book likely in reference to palace life during Emperor Jahangir's reign over the Mughal Empire.
Circa 1690. Gouache and ink with gold heightening on light...
Category
Rajput 18th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Gold
Rare on the Art Market, A Drawing by Moitte, A Fashionable Couple, 1766
Located in Stockholm, SE
Pierre Etienne Moitte studied in Paris under Jacques-Firmin Beauvarlet and Pierre-François Beaumont (1719–1769). In 1771, he was accepted (agréé) by the Académie Royale de Peinture e...
Category
Old Masters 18th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Pencil
Mughal School, 18th century – Emperor Jahangir in his harem in flagrante delicto
Located in Middletown, NY
An illuminated page from a book likely in reference to palace life during Emperor Jahangir's reign over the Mughal Empire.
Circa 1750. Gouache and ink with gold heightening on cre...
Category
Rajput 18th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Gold
Fine 1700's Italian Old Master Ink & Wash Drawing Roman Allegorical Providenza
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
'Providenza'
Italian School, 18th century
ink and wash drawing on paper, framed within a light oak wood frame (behind glass)
image size: 10.5 x 7 inches
overall framed: 17 x 13 inche...
Category
Old Masters 18th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Watercolor, Archival Paper
18th Century French Rococo Old Master Ink Drawing Nativity Scene
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
The Birth
French Rococo School, mid 18th century
sepia ink on paper over board, framed behind glass.
framed: 13 x 11 inches
painting : 8 x 6 inches
Provenance: private collection, B...
Category
Rococo 18th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor, Ink
French School 18th Century, Portrait of a gentleman, pastel
Located in Paris, FR
French School of the 18th Century
Portrait of a gentleman
Pastel on paper
25 x 18 cm
Framed : 49 x 32 cm
The mounting of this work is marked "Attribué à Saint Aubin", which means t...
Category
Old Masters 18th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Pastel
Landscape - Pencil and Watercolor by Jan Pieter Verdussen - 1750
Located in Roma, IT
Landscape is a beautiful drawing in watercolor and pencil on ivory-colored paper realized by Jan Peter Verdussen.
In good condition; only a smallspots at the edges of the drawing an...
Category
Old Masters 18th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Ink, Watercolor
Mughal School, 18th century Emperor Jangahir on a pleasure boat with his harem a
Located in Middletown, NY
Emperor Jahangir depicted with his harem attendees aboard a pleasure cruise, the water filled with lotus blossoms; symbols of paradise itself.
Circa 1750. Gouache and ink with gold ...
Category
Rajput 18th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Gold
St. Gregory in Rome - Original Ink and Watercolor by J. P. Verdussen - 1741
Located in Roma, IT
St. Gregory in Rome is a beautiful artwork realized by Jan Peter Verdussen in 1741.
Ink and watercolour on brown paper. In very good codition. Dated on the lower margin. The origin...
Category
Modern 18th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Watercolor
Late 18th Century Watercolour, A Swiss Village, Circle of Claude-Louis Châtelet
Located in Cotignac, FR
A late 18th or early 19th century watercolour view of a group of figures in a village square. Though not apparently signed the work is very competent and of high quality. It is frame...
Category
French School 18th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Watercolor
French Neo classical school, Allegory of Time, original drawing
Located in Paris, FR
Neo classical school, France, end of the 18th Century
Allegory of Time,
Pen and black ink on paper, gray ink wash
30.5 x 19 cm
irregularly shaped
In g...
Category
Old Masters 18th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
India Ink
Fine 1700's Italian Old Master Ink & Wash Drawing Roman Allegorical Africa
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
'Africa'
Italian School, 18th century
ink and wash drawing on paper, framed within a light oak wood frame (behind glass)
image size: 10.5 x 7 inches
overall framed: 17 x 13 inches
co...
Category
Old Masters 18th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Watercolor, Archival Paper
Ancient Persian Miniature: Men with Scimitar - Probably 18/19th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Image dimensions: 15 X 10 cm.
This Persian Miniature scene of men with scimitar is a unique precious original painting on the front with handwriting...
Category
18th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Tempera
A pair of portraits in profile (2 works) – English School, 18th century
Located in Middletown, NY
Red crayon on cream laid paper, 3 3/4 x 4 inches (95 x 102 mm) ; 3 3/4 x 3 1/8 inches (95 x 80 mm). Each with scattered early repairs done with non-archival tape on the verso; the sm...
Category
English School 18th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Crayon, Laid Paper
Dancing Couple
Located in Paris, Île-de-France
Attributed to Charles-Nicolas Cochin the Younger (Paris, 1715 – 1790)
Dancing Couple
Circa 1765–1770
Red chalk on cream paper; verso in black and red chalk
34 × 21 cm
Provenance:
...
Category
Old Masters 18th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Chalk
Mughal School, 18th century Emperor Jahangir taking tea in his harem
Located in Middletown, NY
An illuminated page from a book likely in reference to palace life during Emperor Jahangir's reign over the Mughal Empire.
circa 1750. Gouache and ink with heightening in gold on li...
Category
Rajput 18th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Gold
French school 18th Century, A mytholological scene with a couple, drawing
Located in Paris, FR
French school 18th Century,
A mytholological scene with a couple,
Pen and brown ink, brown ink wash on paper
11.5 x 11.5 cm, diameter of the main scene : 10,5 cm
in a modern frame under glass : 33.5 x 33.5 cm
This drawing by a particularly talented 18th-century artist - as yet unidentified - is notable for its mastery of pen and wash...
Category
Old Masters 18th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink
Fine 1700's Italian Old Master Ink & Wash Drawing Roman Allegorical Napoli
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
'Napoli'
Italian School, 18th century
ink and wash drawing on paper, framed within a light oak wood frame (behind glass)
image size: 10.5 x 7 inches
overall framed: 17 x 13 inches
co...
Category
Old Masters 18th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Watercolor, Archival Paper
Life study of a male nude in repose - European School, late 18th Century
Located in Middletown, NY
European School, late 18th century. Red chalk with primo pensiero in graphite on cream laid paper, 8 1/2 x 11 1/2 inches (215 x 293 mm). Scattered light handling wear and multiple s...
Category
Naturalistic 18th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Chalk, Laid Paper, Pencil, Graphite
Fine 1700's Italian Old Master Ink & Wash Drawing Roman Allegorical India
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
'India'
Italian School, 18th century
ink and wash drawing on paper, framed within a light oak wood frame (behind glass)
image size: 10.5 x 7 inches
overall framed: 17 x 13 inches
con...
Category
Old Masters 18th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Watercolor, Archival Paper
Antique Italian artist - 18th/19th century figure drawing - The writer
Located in Varmo, IT
Italian artist (18th-19th century) - Study for a writer.
17 x 25.5 cm, with passe-partout.
Pencil drawing on paper, without frame.
- Work signed indistinctly lower left (under pas...
Category
Baroque 18th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Pencil, Paper
Johann Weinmann: c.18th Engravings of Fruit in Decalcomania Frames
Located in Richmond, GB
Hand-coloured mezzotint engravings from: ""Phytanthoza Iconographia"", c1739, presented in hand-made parcel-gilt, ebonised and decalcomania frames.
Johann Weinmann (1683-1741), a G...
Category
18th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor, Mezzotint
Fine 18th Century French Old Master Ink Wash Drawing Cain & Abel Fighting
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
'Cain et Abel'
Circle of Franois Devosge
(1732-1811) French
pencil drawing with watercolour wash on paper
size: 12.25 x 9 inches
private collection, France
The painting is in overall...
Category
Old Masters 18th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Washi Paper, Color Pencil
Fine 1700's Italian Old Master Ink & Wash Drawing Roman Allegorical Magnaminita
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
'Mgnaminia'
Italian School, 18th century
ink and wash drawing on paper, framed within a light oak wood frame (behind glass)
image size: 10.5 x 7 inches
overall framed: 17 x 13 inches...
Category
Old Masters 18th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Watercolor, Archival Paper
Johann Weinmann: c.18th Engravings of Fruit in Decalcomania Frames
Located in Richmond, GB
Hand-coloured mezzotint engravings from: ""Phytanthoza Iconographia"", c1739, presented in hand-made parcel-gilt, ebonised and decalcomania frames.
Johann Weinmann (1683-1741), a G...
Category
18th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor, Mezzotint
Johann Weinmann: 18th Century Engravings of Sunflowers, Set of 4, Framed
Located in Richmond, GB
A complete set of four hand-coloured mezzotint engravings of sunflowers from: "Phytanthoza Iconographia", c1739, presented in hand-made, parcel-gilt, ebonised and decalcomania frame...
Category
18th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor, Mezzotint
Study of a Sleeping Girl in a Cap
By Jean-Baptiste Greuze
Located in Middletown, NY
Graphite on greenish gray wove paper. 15 1/4 x 11 5/8 inches (390 x 295 mm). Initialed "G. B." in pencil on the lower right recto. In generally good condition with some minor scattered surface soiling. Condition is consistent with age.
____
This drawing is closely related to two known mid 18th century oils...
Category
Old Masters 18th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Handmade Paper, Graphite
Mughal School, 18th century – Emperor Jahangir dancing with his harem attendees
Located in Middletown, NY
A joyful scene of lighthearted merriment in the palace of Jangahir Mahal Agra
Circa 1750. Gouache and ink with gold heightening on light weight cream laid paper, 8 1/4 x 6 inches (2...
Category
Rajput 18th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Gold
Johann Weinmann: c18th Botanical Engravings in Decalcomania Frames, Set of 6
Located in Richmond, GB
A group of mezzotint engravings of flowers from: "Phytanthoza Iconographia", c1739, presented in hand-made parcel-gilt, ebonised and decalcomania frames.
Johann Weinmann (1683-174...
Category
18th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor, Mezzotint
La Femme Muse /// Allegorical Symbolism Romantic Old Masters European Drawing
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: Unknown (Likely French, 18th Century)
Title: "La Femme Muse"
*No signature found
Circa: 1780
Medium: Original Pastel Drawing on heavy laid paper
Frami...
Category
Old Masters 18th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Pastel, Laid Paper
A dazzling Venetian Regatta Boat Study attributed to Alessandra Mauro
Located in PARIS, FR
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...
Category
Old Masters 18th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Chalk
Interior of the Nieuwe Kerk, Amsterdam
Located in Paris, Île-de-France
Jan Goeree (Middelburg 1670 – Amsterdam 1731)
Interior of the Nieuwe Kerk, Amsterdam (c. 1724)
Red chalk for the architecture, pen and black ink, grey wash on paper
Composition reversed in preparation for engraving
25 × 17.5 cm
Watermark: Hunting horn, Churchill 318 (dated 1724)
Provenance
Private collection, France
Context & Attribution
Trained in the studio of Gérard de Lairesse, Jan Goeree was among the finest Dutch engravers of the early eighteenth century, celebrated for his architectural views of Amsterdam. This drawing is a preparatory study for an engraving of the same subject now preserved in a major public collection. The final print—slightly larger—closely follows the reversed composition of this sheet.
Subject
In the center of the Gothic nave, five bearers carry a catafalque toward a freshly dug grave—a tribute to the naval heroes often buried in the Nieuwe Kerk. This funerary motif, familiar from Dutch painting (e.g. Emanuel de Witte, 1657), evokes the vanitas theme and the transience of earthly life.
Technical Analysis
Goeree’s use of red chalk for the architecture and ink for the figures reveals his working method: the chalk lines could be used to produce a counterproof restoring the correct orientation of the architecture, while the inked figures remained adjustable before the design was transferred to the copper plate.
Place within the Oeuvre
Drawings of church...
Category
Old Masters 18th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Chalk, Ink
Mercurio / Mercury
Located in Middletown, NY
A lovely, early drawing of the Roman god Mercury.
Pen and brown ink on cream laid paper, with a partial crown and shield watermark, 7 1/4 x 4 7/8 inches (184x 123 mm) (matrix). In go...
Category
Old Masters 18th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Handmade Paper, Laid Paper
The Fish - Pencil on Paper by J. P. Verdussen - 1775 ca.
Located in Roma, IT
The Fish is a beautiful drawing in pencil on paper realized by Jan Peter Verdussen in 1755 ca.
Hand-signed and dated on the lower in pencil.
In good condition, and aged.
The artwo...
Category
Modern 18th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Pencil
FINE 18th CENTURY OLD MASTER CHALK DRAWING - ROMANESQUE FIGURES INTERIOR SCENE
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Artist/ School: French School, 18th century
Title: Classical figures within an interior.
Medium: chalk on paper, mounted.
Size: drawing: 11.5 x 13.5 inches
Provenance:...
Category
Old Masters 18th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Chalk
Sacred Scene - Original Ink and Watercolor - 18th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Sacred Scene is an original watercolor, realized by an Anonymous artist of the XIX century. There is The state of preservation of the artwork is very good.
Sheet dimension :32x31.5 ...
Category
18th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Watercolor
Seaman in petticoat breeches and slops, smoking a pipe, carrying a carpetbag.
Located in Middletown, NY
English School, 18th century
Pen and black ink with gray wash on cream laid paper, 9 1/4 x 5 inches (238 x132 mm). 1/4 inch repaired loss, top center, to the left of the figure’s h...
Category
Realist 18th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Watercolor, Laid Paper, Pen
Hercules vanquishing a drakaina (half‑woman, half‑serpent)
Located in Paris, Île-de-France
Circle of Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo (Venice 1727 – Madrid 1804)
Hercules vanquishing a drakaina (half‑woman, half‑serpent) – interpreted either as Echidna or a personified Hydra
c. ...
Category
Old Masters 18th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink
Figure of Woman - Original Ink Drawing - 18th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Figure is an original drawing in china ink on paper.
Good Conditions.
Applied on a Passepartout.
The artwork represents a figure of a woman through deft and smooth strokes, delica...
Category
Modern 18th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink
Circle of Angelika Kauffmann, Venus and Amor, Arrow and Spindle, Oval Drawing
Located in Greven, DE
Fine drawing in pencil, oval format. Circle of Angelika Kauffmann.
The subject is not clear. It is Amor with his arrows and perhaps Venus with a sp...
Category
Romantic 18th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Crayon, Handmade Paper
Landscape - Watercolor and Pencil by Jan Peter Verdussen - 18th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Landscape is a beautiful dranwing in watercolor and pencil on ivory-colored paper realized by Jan Peter Verdussen.
In good condition; only a sma...
Category
Old Masters 18th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor, Pencil
France 18th Century, Pastorale (Arcadian Landscape), original drawing
Located in Paris, FR
France 18th Century,
Pastorale (Arcadian Landscape)
Black chalk and heightenings of white gouache on blue-grey paper
19 x 31 cm
Framed : 34.5 x 46.5 cm
The atmosphere and the subje...
Category
Old Masters 18th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Chalk
18th Century Roman School , A Palazzo with antiques, drawing
Located in Paris, FR
18th Century Roman School
A Palazzo with antiques
Brown ink and pen, brown ink wash on paper
12.5 x 20 cm
Framed : 28,5 x 35.5
This nice drawing represents a genre scene, with a nobleman, priests, a mother and her children...
Category
Old Masters 18th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink
Venus
Located in London, GB
Richard Westall, R.A. (1765-1836)
Venus
signed and dated ‘R. Westall 1794’ (lower right)
pencil and watercolour, with white heightening
image 11 ⅞ x 15 ¼ in. (30.2 x 38.7 cm.)
frame 22 ⅛ x 26 in. (56.3 x 66.1 cm.)
Provenance:
Private Collection, UK.
Venus (1794) was produced during a highly creative and defining period of Richard Westall’s career and artistic development, when from 1790-95 the ambitious young artist was sharing a house at 57 Greek Street, Soho, with his friend Sir Thomas Lawrence, the future President of the Royal Academy.
Whilst lodging together, Lawrence became an Associate of the Royal Academy in 1791, Westall the following year, and both were elected full-members in 1794 – the year Lawrence was appointed Painter-in-Ordinary to His Majesty King George III. Westall was to become Queen Victoria’s first Drawing Master, before her ascension to the throne.
It was in this very year, 1794 - as the two young artists became Royal Academicians - that the present watercolour was executed, and it is exciting to speculate that Lawrence would have examined and given his thoughts on the work.
Highly comparable to The Wallace Collection’s Nymph and cupids (c.1793, cat. P757), acquired by Francis Seymour-Conway (1777-1842), 3rd Marquess of Hertford, (who hung it in his bedroom), the mid-1790s saw Westall exhibiting and returning to similar subject-matter on a number of occasions. Two works with titles that could be applied to the present picture were exhibited at the Royal Academy, in 1794 (no. 341 Nymph and Cupids) and 1795 (no. 620, A Wood–nymph and Cupids). However, a print after the watercolour, engraved by F. Screen, entitles the piece Venus.
Westall is regarded as a great virtuoso watercolourist, and Venus is evidence of the young artist’s mastery of the medium. Indeed, it is unusual to find a watercolour of comparable age so well preserved, and retaining such vibrancy - the superb condition providing an insight into his exceptional brushwork and use of colour.
Venus languishes luxuriously on her woodland bed, the trunk of a tree resembling a curtain, while three winged putti play beside her, seeming to gesture to someone in the woods. Cupid draws back his bow and aims an arrow of love, perhaps about to pierce the heart of a hunting nobleman, or unsuspecting woodcutter. The striking contrast between the almost luminescent nymph, with the deep, rich, luxuriant forest, gives the glade an alluring sense of mystery – perhaps an allusion to the mysteries of the heart, a pre-occupation with Romanticism, central to the emerging thought of the time. Westall can be classified as one of the great Romantic artists, and even painted Lord Byron’s portrait...
Category
Romantic 18th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor, Pencil
Landscape - Original Pencil Drawing by J. P. Verdussen - Mid-18th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Landscape is an original drawing in pencil on ivory-colored paper realized by Jan Peter Verdussen.
The artwork has some folds rips and foxings and is repaired on the middle line.
T...
Category
Modern 18th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Pencil
Attrib. Thomas Stothard (1755-1834) - Fine 18th Century Watercolour, In Reeds
Located in Corsham, GB
A delicate 18th century sepia watercolour depicting an angelic child praying amongst reeds. Beautifully presented in a period gilt frame with sgraffito decoration. Much of the artist...
Category
18th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor
Reading Madonna drawing. Red chalk on paper.
By Francesco Fernandi
Located in New York, NY
Inscribed: front, brown ink, bottom left, F. Imperiali pinx…; bottom right, R. Rol..(?). Back, brown ink, top left, Roma, Gune(?) 1742 / F. Impeririali ping…;[illegible] R. deline..(...
Category
18th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Chalk, Handmade Paper
18th Century Watercolour - Jacob and the Pharaoh
Located in Corsham, GB
A charming watercolour interpretation of chapter forty-seven verse seven of Genesis where Joseph presents his father Jacob to the Pharaoh. The artist captures the religious figures o...
Category
18th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor
French School Of The 18th century, An Ancient Shipyard, Drawing
Located in Paris, FR
French school of the 18th century
An ancient shipyard or building site (?)
Ink and ink wash on paper
17.5 x 23 cm
In a modern frame 32 x 37 cm
Category
Old Masters 18th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink
Louis-Félix de La Rue (1730-1777) A Mythological scene, drawing
Located in Paris, FR
Louis-Félix de La Rue (1730-1777)
A Mythological scene
Pen and black ink on paper
Bears an old inscription with the name of the artist on the lower left bo...
Category
Old Masters 18th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink
Three studies executed in the Pitti Palace in 1761 by Jean-Honoré Fragonard
Located in PARIS, FR
This brilliant study sheet, of which we present here a counterproof, is a souvenir of Fragonard's return journey from Italy. Between April and September 1761, he accompanied the abbot of Saint-Non on his way back to France. Three studies after the masters taken from the Pitti Palace’s gallery in Florence are gathered on this sheet. Although The Ecstasy of Saint Margaret...
Category
Old Masters 18th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Carbon Pencil
Johann Weinmann: c.18th Engravings of Fruit in Decalcomania Frames
Located in Richmond, GB
Hand-coloured mezzotint engravings from: ""Phytanthoza Iconographia"", c1739, presented in hand-made parcel-gilt, ebonised and decalcomania frames.
Johann Weinmann (1683-1741), a G...
Category
18th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor, Mezzotint
The Death of Coresus
By Jean-Baptiste Greuze
Located in Paris, Île-de-France
JEAN-BAPTISTE GREUZE
(Tournus 1725 - 1805 Paris)
The Death of Coresus, circa 1750
Pen and brown ink, black ink tips, gray wash on black chalk, 455 x 385 cm
Bears on the reverse in ...
Category
Old Masters 18th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Watercolor
"Spring at Window" 18th Century Antique realism Watercolor painting on Paper
Located in Jacksonville, FL
The painting is signed and dated 1858
Felix Schlesinger (1833-1910) was a German painter known for his charming and detailed portrayals of domestic ...
Category
Realist 18th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Watercolor
France 18th Century, The Surprised Lovers, original drawing
Located in Paris, FR
France circa 1770
Two lovers surprised in bed
Black chalk on paper
13 x 17 cm
Modern frame : 34 x 38 cm
This drawing had been attributed to Gabriel de Saint Aubin (1724-1780). It's...
Category
Old Masters 18th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Chalk
A Coachman - 18th Century British Figure watercolour drawing by Paul Sandby
By Paul Sandby
Located in London, GB
PAUL SANDBY
(1731-1809)
Study of a Coachman
Pencil and brown wash, shaped
Framed
16.5 by 9 cm., 6 ½ by 3 ½ in.
(frame size 32 by 22.5 cm., 12 ½ by 9 in.)
Provenance:
Iolo Williams;
Private collection.
Exhibited:
Sudbury, Gainsborough House, 1979.
Sandby was born in Nottingham and moved to London in 1745. He and his brother Thomas first worked in the military drawing department at the Tower of London, later working on a military survey of new roads and bridges in the Highlands. On leaving this post in 1751 he spent some time living with his brother who had been appointed Deputy Ranger of Windsor Great Park. There he assisted his brother, and made a series of drawings of the castle, town and neighbourhood. In 1760 he settled in London where he contributed to the first exhibition of the Society of Artists where he regularly exhibited until the foundation of the Royal Academy in 1768, becoming one of its founder members. In same year he was appointed chief drawing...
Category
Realist 18th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor
