Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
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
Theatrical Costume - Pencil Drawing by Alfredo Edel - 1895
By Alfredo Edel
Located in Roma, IT
Theatrical Costume is an original pencil, pastel and watercolor drawing realized by Alfredo Edel in 1895.
Good condition, the artwork is with watercolor and biacca.
Hand signed with pencil by the artis.
Alfredo Leonardo Edel (1856–1912), sometimes credited as Alfredo Edel Colorno, was an Italian costume designer popular during the late 19th and early 20th century. He worked at the La Scala opera...
Category
1890s Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Pencil, Pastel, Watercolor
Theatrical Costume - Watercolor by Alfredo Edel - 1895
By Alfredo Edel
Located in Roma, IT
Theatrical Costume is an original pencil, pastel and watercolor realized by Alfredo Edel in 1895.
Good condition, the artwork is from Amleto and represents Ofelia, with a note writes from the artist on the lower margin.
Hand signed with pencil by the artist.
Alfredo Leonardo Edel (1856–1912), sometimes credited as Alfredo Edel Colorno, was an Italian costume designer popular during the late 19th and early 20th century. He worked at the La Scala opera...
Category
1890s Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor, Pastel, Pencil
Costume di Castellone - Watercolor by M. De Vito - 1820 ca.
Located in Roma, IT
Costume di Castellone is an original watercolour on ivory-colored paper made by the old master Michela De Vito in 1820 ca.
Hand-titled "Costume di Castellone", with an autograph ca...
Category
1820s Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor
Costume di Parghelia di Calabria - Watercolor by M. De Vito - 1820 ca.
Located in Roma, IT
Watercolour on ivory colored paper, early XIX century. Hand-titled and signature in black ink (both not readable)on lower margin. Representing a woman in traditional Calabrese costum...
Category
1820s Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor
Costume di Craco - Watercolor by M. De Vito - 1820 ca.
Located in Roma, IT
Watercolor on ivory colored paper, 1820 c.a.
Hand-titled "Costume di Craco" with a caption "Provincia di Basilicata nel Regno di Napoli" in black ink on lower margin at the center. ...
Category
1820s Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor
Interior of a House - Ink and Watercolor Drawing
Located in Roma, IT
Interior of a house is a fine original drawing (China ink and watercolor on paper). Unsigned. This artwork could be attributed to Thomas Stothard.
In ...
Category
Early 19th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Watercolor
Allegoric scene with the Tiber
Located in Roma, IT
Allegoric scene with the Tiber river is a fine original drawing (black chalk on laid and watermarked paper at the center) by an exponent of the Neoclassical school of the nineteenth ...
Category
20th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink
Virgin on a Winged Cart - Ink and Watercolor - 18th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Virgin on a Winged Cart is a brown-ink drawing with watercolor interventions on paper made by an anonymous artist of the Neoclassical school (Second half of 18th century).
From the ...
Category
18th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Watercolor
Galesso di Resina Casale - Gouache - by Michela De Vito - 19th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Galesso di Resina casale is an original gouache drawing on paper realized by Michela De Vito, Naples.
Hand-signed and titled, on the bottom center.
Good conditions.
Category
19th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Gouache
Female Nudes - Charcoal, Ink and Watercolor Drawing
Located in Roma, IT
Female Nudes is a fine original drawing (China ink and watercolor on paper). Unsigned. This artwork could be attributed to Thomas Stothard.
Although th...
Category
Mid-19th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Charcoal, Ink, Watercolor
Man Eating Spaghetti - Watercolor by M. De Vito - 1820 ca.
Located in Roma, IT
Man Eating Spaghetti is an original watercolor on ivory-colored paper, realized by the old master Michela De Vito in 1828.
The year is written by the author, Michela De Vito, in pen...
Category
1820s Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor
Costume di Procida - Watercolor by M. De Vito - 1820 ca.
Located in Roma, IT
Watercolour on paper stuck on ivory colored cardboard, 1820 c.a.
Hand-titled "Costume di Procida" with a caption "Provincia di Napoli" in black ink on lower margin. Partially hand-signed on lower-right margin. Representing a woman with baby...
Category
1820s Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor
Ballo de' Zampognari - Watercolor by M. De Vito - 1820 ca.
Located in Roma, IT
Watercolour on paper, 1820 c.a.
Hand-titled "Ballo de' Zampognari" (Dance of Pipers), hand-signed on lower-left margin. Very good conditions except for some ripples on the lower ma...
Category
1820s Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor
Female figure with Child and Dog - Charcoal Drawing
Located in Roma, IT
Female figure with child and dog is a sublime original drawing (red chalk drawing on laid paper) by an exponent of the French School of the XVIII century...
Category
18th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Charcoal
Costume of Cajazzo - Gouache by Michela De Vito - 19th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Costume of Cajazzo is an original gouache drawing on paper realized by Michela De Vito, Naples.
Hand-signed, on the bottom right.
Titled on the lower center.
Good conditions, exce...
Category
19th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Gouache
Studies of a kneeling female figure, an arm, a hand, and a head in profile
Located in Paris, Île-de-France
Studio of Carlo Maratti (or Maratta)
Camerano 1625 – Rome 1713
Studies of a kneeling female figure, an arm, a hand, and a head in profile
Red chalk on paper
43.4 x 26.6 cm
Unsigne...
Category
Late 17th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Chalk
English School early 19th century, Portrait of two children, drawing
Located in Paris, FR
English School early 19th century,
Portrait of two children,
Pencil and light heightenings of white and red gouache
29.5 x 23 cm
In quite good condition : the pape is yellowed by t...
Category
Early 1800s Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Pencil
Venditori e Mangiatori di Maccheroni - Watercolor by M. De Vito - 1820 ca.
Located in Roma, IT
Watercolour on paper stuck on grey cardboard, 1820 c.a.
Wonderful watercolour both for the drawing and for the fineness of the colours representing a typical Italian scene of ordina...
Category
1820s Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor
Woman in Costume - Ink and Watercolor by M. De Vito - Early 1800
Located in Roma, IT
Woman In Costume is an original watercolor on ivory-colored paper, realized by Michela De Vito in the first half of XIX century.
Good conditions exc...
Category
Early 18th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Watercolor
Soft Drink Seller - Gouache - by Michela De Vito - 19th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Soft Drink Seller is an original gouache drawing on paper realized by Michela De Vito, Naples.
Titled on the bottom center. The work is glued on a cardboar...
Category
19th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Gouache
Female Nude - Original Ink on Paper by Georges Isaul - 1940s
Located in Roma, IT
Female Nude is an original modern artwork realized in the 1940s by Georges Isaul (Argenteuil, 1882 - 1963).
Original ink drawing on paper.
Hand-signed in pen by the artist on the ...
Category
Early 1900s Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Pencil
Speech - Original China Ink Drawing by Jan Pieter Verdussen - Mid 1747
Located in Roma, IT
Speech is an original and unique drawing in ink on paper realized by Jan Peter Verdussen, with sketches on the rear.
The State of preservation is very good with the traces of time.
...
Category
1740s Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Ink
Zampognari che fanno la Novena di Natale - Watercolor by M. De Vito - 1820 ca.
Located in Roma, IT
Watercolour on paper, 1820 c.a.
Hand-titled "Zampognari che fanno la Novena di Natale" (Bagpipers Playing During Christmas Time), hand-signed on lower-right margin. Very good condi...
Category
1820s Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor
Costume di Villa Pianezza - Watercolor by M. De Vito - 1820 ca.
Located in Roma, IT
Watercolour on ivory colored paper, 1820 c.a.
Hand-titled "Costume di Villa pianezza" with a caption "Provincia dell'Aquila nel Regno di Napoli" in black ink on lower margin at the ...
Category
1820s Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor
Flora Study - Drawing by J. P. Verdussen - End of 18th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Watercolour. Hand-Numbered "312" lower-right on margin. In very good condition except a little stain on the high left corner. Wonderful Watercolour drawing by Jan Peeter Verdussen, s...
Category
Early 18th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper
Louis-Félix de La Rue (1730-1777) The Baptism of Carloman, drawing
Located in Paris, FR
Louis-Félix de La Rue (1730-1777)
The Baptism of Carloman
Pen and back ink on paper
13.3 x 16 cm
Inscribed in the lower border "Le Pape baptise Carloman, fils ainé de Charlemagne" ...
Category
1770s Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink
Princess from the Savannah
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
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...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Canvas, Charcoal
$2,480 Sale Price
20% Off
Saint Jerome in the Desert, Prague school sanguine drawing
Located in New York, NY
Saint Jerome in the Desert Prague school sanguine drawing.
Category
Early 17th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Chalk, Paper
$3,200 Sale Price
54% Off
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
1760s Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Chalk
François Boitard (1670-1715) Abraham and the Three Angels, original drawing
Located in Paris, FR
François Boitard (1670-1715)
Abraham and the Three Angels,
Signed lower left "F Boitard (...) fecit (...)"
28 x 44 cm
Pen and ink on yellow prepared paper...
Category
Early 1700s Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink
Eighteenth century Old Master drawing - Apollo destroying Niobe's children
Located in London, GB
Pen, ink and wash
Framed dimensions: 13 x 11 ¼ inches
Drawn c.1765
Verso: a study of a hanged man
Mortimer has filled this small sheet with action, depicting in the top right, Apollo and Artemis...
Category
18th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Pen
Planimetry of the Vatican - China Ink After G.L. Bernini - Mid-17th
Located in Roma, IT
Planimetry of the Vatican After G.L. Bernini is an original China Ink realized by an unknown artist in mid-17th century.
Good condition except for some spoiled yellowed paper on mar...
Category
Mid-17th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink
Porters - Gouache by Michela De Vito - 19th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Porters is an original gouache drawing on paper realized by Michela De Vito, Naples.
Titled on the lower center.
Good conditions, applied on paper, with a cutting at the top right....
Category
19th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Gouache
Galesso di Resina Casale - Gouache by Michela De Vito - 19th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Galesso di Resina Casale is an original gouache drawing on paper realized by Michela De Vito, Naples.
Titled, on the bottom center. The work is glued on a brownish paper.
Good cond...
Category
19th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Gouache
Costume di Zaccanopoli - Watercolor by M. De Vito - 1820 ca.
Located in Roma, IT
Wonderful watercolor on ivory-colored paper called Costume di Zaccanopoli made by Michela De Vito in 1820 ca.
Hand-titled Costume di Zaccanopoli with autograph notes in black ink "P...
Category
1820s Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor
Costume di Cajazzo - Watercolor by M. De Vito - 1820 ca.
Located in Roma, IT
Watercolour on ivory colored paper, 1820 c.a.. Hand-titled "Costume di Cajazzo", with autograph caption black ink "Provincia Terra di Lavoro nel Regno di Napoli" on lower margin at the center. Representing a woman with baby...
Category
1820s Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor
Eremita Camandolese - Watercolor by M. De Vito - 1820 ca.
Located in Roma, IT
Eremita Camandolese is the title of a beautiful watercolour on ivory-colored paper by the old master Michela De Vito in 1820 ca.
Hand-titled "Eremita Camandolese", in black ink on t...
Category
1820s Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor
The Martyrdom of Saint Bartholomew, a preparatory drawing by Alessandro Casolani
Located in PARIS, FR
This powerful pen and brown ink wash drawing is a study for an altarpiece depicting The Martyrdom of Saint Bartholomew. Signed and dated 1604, it was painted at the end of his life b...
Category
Early 1600s Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Pen
Study in the Antique Style, a neoclassical drawing by Augustin Pajou
Located in PARIS, FR
In this lively and fresh drawing, probably taken from one of the artist's notebooks, Pajou presents us with a composition freely inspired by antiquity, as a souvenir of a visit to th...
Category
1750s Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink
Self Portrait
Located in London, GB
Pen and ink, ink wash and pencil on paper, signed and dated (lower right), 38cm x 29cm (65cm x 55cm framed).
This penetrating and wonderfully executed self-portrait, is all the mor...
Category
1910s Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Carbon Pencil, Ink
Portrait of a Slave Ship: 'Le Negrito à l’ancre. Dans le port de la havanne'
Located in Amsterdam, NL
FRANÇOIS MATHURIN ADALBERT, BARON DE COURCY (1805-1839)
'Le Negrito à l’ancre. Dans le port de la havanne'
Indistinctly signed lower left
Titled on the mount
Pencil and watercolour, heightened with white, on paper, 24.8 x 34.6 cm
Literature:
The present watercolour will be illustrated in:
- Prof. Manuel Garcia’s projected book on the disease and the slave trade provisionally titled “Fighting the Yellow Demon of Fever: The Struggle against Disease in the Illegal Slave Trade”.
- Prof. Micael Zeuske’s forthcoming Global history of slave trade.
Exhibited:
Mexico City, 1998, Palacio Virreinal, El Barón de Courcy, illustrationes de un viaje, 1831-1833, no. 108
Note:
Baron de Courcy was in the Caribbean in late 1832 and early 1833, following his tour of Mexico in 1832, on the last leg of his “Grand Voyage...
Category
Mid-19th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Watercolor, Gouache, Pencil
Study for a Frontispiece, a baroque drawing by Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini
By Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini
Located in PARIS, FR
This masterly frontispiece study, executed with a very sure hand, testifies to the survival of the great Baroque taste in 18th century Venice. It could be one of the very last works by Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini: the few lines that cross the papal arms evoke those of Benedict XIV, who became pope in 1740, one year before the artist's death.
1. Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini and the European influence of Venetian history painting in the 18th century
Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini was born in Venice in 1675 and trained in the studio of the Milanese painter Paolo Pagani (1655 - 1716). Pagani, who had been living in Venice since 1667, took him to Moravia and Vienna from 1690 to 1696. After a stay in Rome from 1699 to 1701, Pellegrini married Angiola Carriera in 1704, the sister of the great pastelist Rosalba Carriera.
From 1708 onwards, Pellegrini left Venice and began an extensive tour of Europe: he worked in England between 1708 and 1713, where he met great success, particularly at Kimbolton Castle and Castle Howard. He then worked in Germany and the Netherlands, then in Bohemia and Austria, before returning briefly to England in 1719. In 1720 he was in Paris where he decorated the ceilings of the Royal Bank for John Law...
Category
1740s Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink
Study for « The Chinese Masquerade » by Jean-Baptiste Pierre (1714 - 1789)
By Jean-Baptiste Pierre
Located in PARIS, FR
Arriving in Rome in June 1735 as a resident at the Royal Academy, Pierre was unable to attend the Winter Carnival festivities of 1735, which he nevertheless immortalised in an engrav...
Category
1730s Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Graphite
A Study for the Angel of Saint-Severin church in Paris, by Paul Flandrin
Located in PARIS, FR
After the restoration of the Saint-John chapel’s frescoes at the Saint-Severin church in Paris in 2022, the drawing presented here is a moving testimony to their creative process. It...
Category
1840s Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Chalk
Eighteenth century Old Master drawing - St Jerome
Located in London, GB
Pen, ink and wash
Framed dimensions: 9 ½ x 11 ¼ inches
Drawn c. 1763
This small, powerful study shows St Jerome contemplating the bible with a cross and sk...
Category
18th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Pen
Old Masters figurative drawings and watercolors for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Old Masters figurative drawings and watercolors 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 figurative drawings and watercolors created in this style to introduce contrast in an otherwise neutral space in your home, the works available on 1stDibs include elements of orange and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Michela De Vito, Jan Pieter Verdussen, Jan Peeter Verdussen, and Augustin de Saint-Aubin. Frequently made by artists working with Paint, and Watercolor 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 figurative drawings and watercolors, so small editions measuring 1.89 inches across are also available. Prices for figurative drawings and watercolors 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 $121 and tops out at $50,000, while the average work sells for $1,001.