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
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
Figure of Breton Woman - Drawing by J. P. Verdussen - End of 18th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Figure of Breton Woman is a beautiful ink and watercolor original drawing on wire rod and watermarked paper realized at the middle of XVIII century by Jan Peter Verdussen.
This ori...
Category
Early 18th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper
L'Annunziata in S. M. - Drawing by Giovanni Fontana - 16th Century
Located in Roma, IT
L'Annunziata in S. M. sopra Minerva is an original old master artwork realized by Giovanni Fontana.
Ivory colored sheet attached on an ivory colored cardboard ( cm 35.8 x 26.7)
Bea...
Category
16th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Pencil
Marinajo del Molo- Watercolor by M. De Vito - 1820 ca.
Located in Roma, IT
Watercolour on paper, 1820 c.a.
Hand-titled "Marinajo del Molo" (Sailor of the pier), hand-signed on lower-left margin. Very good conditions. Including an ivory colored cardboard p...
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
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
Member of the Military Band - Drawing - 19th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Member of the military band is a beautiful pencil drawing on cream-colored paper, realized during the XIX century by an Italian Master.
Hand-signed on the right side of the artwork....
Category
19th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Pencil
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
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
Tarantella - Watercolor by M. De Vito - 19th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Tarantella is an original watercolor on ivory-colored paper, realized by Michela De Vito in the first half of XIX century.
Good conditions except for shading and light stains along...
Category
1820s Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor
Woman in Typical Italian Costumes - Watercolor by M. De Vito - 1820 ca.
Located in Roma, IT
Watercolour on ivory colored paper, 1820 c.a. Representing a woman in typical Italian costumes of XIX century. Good conditions with burnished margins and some stains.
Very beautiful...
Category
1820s Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor
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
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
Woman in Typical Costumes - Watercolor by M. De Vito - 1820 ca.
Located in Roma, IT
Watercolour on ivory colored paper, 1828. Representing a woman in typical Italian costumes of XIX century. Good conditions with some light stains. The year of composition is hand-wri...
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
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 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
Woman - Original Ink Drawing and Watercolor by G. Dura - 19th Century
By Gaetano Dura
Located in Roma, IT
Woman is an original watercolor artwork realized in the XIX century by Gaetano Dura.
Good conditions except for yellowing of the paper, some folds on the higher and right margin, a...
Category
19th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Watercolor
Martyrdom of Saint Bartholomew - Drawing - 17th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Martyrdom of Saint Bartholomew is a precious original drawing (black and red chalk, pen and China ink on laid paper, laid down on canvas) realized by...
Category
17th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Charcoal, Ink, Watercolor
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
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
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
Costume di Ciociara - Watercolor by M. De Vito - 1820 ca.
Located in Roma, IT
Watercolour on ivory colored paper, 1820 c.a. Hand-signed on lower-right. Hand-titled "Costume di Ciociara", with autograph caption black ink "Provincia di Basilicata nel Regno di Na...
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
18th Century School, Courtyard of a palazzo, Architectural Capriccio, drawing
Located in Paris, FR
18th Century french School,
Courtyard of a ruined palazzo, An Architectural Capriccio,
Pen and black ink and black ink wash on paper
17 x 12 cm
In good condition
Framed : 32 x 26 c...
Category
1780s Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink
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
Paper, Chalk
Louis Lesueur (1746-1803) Landscape with ruins, 1789, drawing signed and dated
Located in Paris, FR
Louis Lesueur (1746-1803)
A Fantasy Landscape with ancient ruins, 1789,
signed and dated "L Lesueur 1789" in the bottom centre
Pen and ink and ink wash on paper
14.8 x 22 cm
In goo...
Category
1780s 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
Allegory of the Treaty of Angoulême, a drawing attributed to Donato Mascagni
Located in PARIS, FR
We would like to thank Mrs. Ursula Verena Fischer Pace for suggesting the attribution to Donato Arsenio Mascagni.
We were immediately seduced by the rich tonalities of this allegory...
Category
1620s Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink
H F Gravelot (1699-1773) Two Allegories, Faith and Vigilance, Pen and Ink
By Hubert-François Gravelot
Located in Paris, FR
Hubert-François Gravelot (1699-1773)
Two Allegories : Vigilance and Faith
Pen, black Ink, and black wash on paper
7.9 x 4.8 each one
Framed 22 x 26 cm
Old framing that needs to be...
Category
1760s Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink
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 "Boitard (...) fecit (...)"
28 x 44 cm
Pen and ink on yellow prepared paper
I...
Category
Early 1700s Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink
The Torture of Saint Concordia
By Domenico Piola the Elder
Located in Paris, Île-de-France
Circle of Domenico Piola (Genoa 1627 – 1703)
The Torture of Saint Concordia
Black chalk, brown ink and brown wash on two sheets of paper, 40.5 x 42 cm
Provenance:
Estate of James I...
Category
17th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink
Draped Woman Holding A Branch
Located in Paris, Île-de-France
CARLO URBINO
(Crema 1525 - after 1585)
Draped Woman Holding a Branch
Pencil and brown ink on laid paper
13.6 x 7.7 cm
16th century
Mounted on 20th-century paper
Handwritten inscri...
Category
16th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink
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
Monumento al Popolo - Drawing by Giovanni Fontana - 16th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Monumento al popolo is an original drawing realized by Giovanni Fontana in the 16th century.
Ivory colored paper attached on an ivory colored sheet.
Includes frame: 48.5 x 1 x 44 c
Beautiful drawing in graphite, representing the funeral monument...
Category
16th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Pencil
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
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
16th Century by Andrea Boscoli The payment of the duty Pen and ink on paper
Located in Milano, Lombardia
Andrea Boscoli (Florence, Italy, 1564 – Rome, Italy, 1608)
Title: 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘺𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘶𝘵𝘺, 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘗𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘥𝘰𝘳𝘰 𝘥𝘢 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘢𝘨𝘨𝘪𝘰
Medium: Pen and brow...
Category
16th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Ink, Cardboard, Pen
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
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
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
Costume di Fraine - ìWatercolor by M. De Vito - 1820 ca.
Located in Roma, IT
Watercolor on ivory colored paper, 1820 c.a.
Hand-titled "Costume di Fraine" with a caption "Provincia d'Abruzzo nel Regno di Napoli" in black ink on lower margin at the center. Han...
Category
1820s Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
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
Costume drawings for ‘Ambassadeur de Siam’ and ‘La Sultana Reine’
Located in Amsterdam, NL
Joseph-Marie Vien (1716-1809)
‘Ambassadeur de Siam’ and ‘La Sultana Reine’
Both titled lower centre, the drawing of the ambassador inscribed with colours intended for the prints, e...
Category
Mid-18th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Pencil
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
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 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 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
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
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.