Early 18th Century Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Red chalk on cream laid paper, 6 3/8 x 7 inches (160 x 176 mm), the full sheet. In very good condition with minor toning and some modern notations in pencil on the verso, as well as ...

A charming watercolor Baroque architectural study. Unsigned. Presented in a gilt frame and wash line mount. On Laid paper.

Red chalk on cream laid paper, 7 1/4 x 9 3/8 inches (182 x 236 mm), the full sheet. In very good condition with minor toning and two small nicks in the top sheet edge. Some modern no...

A miniature English School portrait of two children holding a loving embrace. Well presented in a charming bird's-eye maple frame with internal gilt slip and glazing. Unsigned. On pa...

Framed 18th-century pen and ink drawings of elaborate capital and base supports, inspired by Ancient Greek architecture and design. Well presented in a fluted gilt-effect frame. Unsi...

Signed to the lower left. Presented in a gilt frame with foliate detailing. On paper.

Signed and dated indistinctly under the mount. Presented in a gilt frame and wash-line mount. On paper.

Attributed to Charles-Joseph NATOIRE (Nîmes 1700 – 1777 Gandolfo) Academy Study of a Seated Male Figure Seen from the Back (Youthful study executed around the 1720s–1730s, likely du...

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...

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...

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) Unsigned 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...

This widely referenced pair of paintings is one of Francesco Conti’s most successful productions. Francesco Conti is one of the finest painters of 18th-century Florence. In the shimmering colors typical of his best work, he represents two opposite characters from the Bible: the virtuous Judith, whose courage saves her people by cutting off the head of the invader Holofernes, and the depraved Salome, who under the influence of her mother becomes responsible for the beheading of the prophet John the Baptist. The artist's talent lies in his ability to treat these two macabre subjects with a light touch, presenting us with two attractive women who seem to twirl with glee amidst the severed heads... 1. Francesco Conti, the “Florentine Tiepolo” Francesco Conti is a major painter of the Florentine school of the 18th century; he can even probably be considered, along with Giovanni Domenico Ferretti (1692-1768), as one of the two main painters of the second quarter of the Florentine 18th century. Born in Florence in 1682, Francesco Conti began his apprenticeship in the workshop of Simone Pignoni (1611 - 1698), a disciple of Francesco Furini; he was also influenced by the Venetian Sebastiano Ricci. A protégé of Marquis Riccardi, he accompanied him to Rome between 1699 and 1705, where he frequented Carlo Maratta's studio. He settled permanently in Florence in 1705. Painted exclusively on canvas, the majority of his work consists of religious subjects, altarpieces or private devotional works. It is likely that Conti himself was a devout churchgoer, as evidenced by his affiliation, in the third decade of the eighteenth century, to the Society of the Disciples of Saint-John-the-Baptist, and his entry, at the end of his life, into the fraternity of the Venerable Society of the Holy Trinity. In Florence, Conti worked for the Grand Duchy's major patrons, including the last Medici - in particular Giangastone and Annamaria Luisa, Electress Palatine - and confirmed his role as a reference painter under the Lorraine Regency, as master of the Public Drawing School, which was closely linked to the institute responsible for the manufacture of semi-precious stone mosaics, then located in the Uffizi complex. Matteo Marangoni, an art critic of the early 20th century, praised his "brushwork full of elegance and true spirit of the 18th century", pointing out that Conti was "probably one of the best colorists" of the Florentine school of his time. These two characteristics led the art historian Paolo dal Poggetto to nickname him the "Florentine Tiepolo". 2. Judith and Salome, two biblical characters opposing each other These two paintings form a pair presenting two biblical episodes, which have in common the depiction of a "heroine" carrying the severed head of a man. While the Salome episode might at first appear to be an echo of the Old Testament story of Judith, each character is the exact opposite of the other. Judith, whose story is told in the Book of Judith, is a beautiful young widow from Bethulia who, accompanied by her maid, went into the camp of the invading Assyrians and won the confidence of Holofernes, the general commanding the enemy army. Invited to a great feast on the fourth evening, she took advantage of Holofernes' drunkenness to cut off his head. “She went up to the bedpost near Holofernes’ head, and took down his sword that hung there. She came close to his bed, took hold of the hair of his head, and said, “Give me strength today, O Lord God of Israel!” Then she struck his neck twice with all her might, and cut off his head. Next she rolled his body off the bed and pulled down the canopy from the posts. Soon afterward she went out and gave Holofernes’ head to her maid, who placed it in her food bag...

Georg Philipp I RUGENDAS (1666-1742) Frederick I of Prussia Red chalk, ink and brown wash on paper 45x42 cm This drawing has been long considered representative of Charles VI. In r...

An 18th century Florentine study of a head, circa 1700 Red crayon on light-weight laid paper with a partial Pro Patria watermark with Hollandia and a rampant lion, 5 5/8 x 7 1/2 inc...

Pen and sepia ink on cream laid paper, 8 3/4 x 5 3/8 inches (222 x 136 mm). Scattered paper tape repairs on the verso in the area of the upper left corner, and along the right sheet...

Figures and cattle rest in the foreground beneath the commanding presence of the castle in this atmospheric eighteenth, possibly nineteenth-century watercolour. In the distance, ligh...

A romantic late 18th century pastel rendered in the manner of Francois Boucher (1703-1770), portraying two lovers tenderly embracing in a moonlit forest. Beside them, their loyal dog...

Two figures stand amidst the ruins of Wolvesey Castle, framed by a crumbling arch. The artist employs careful, fine brushwork in this late eighteenth-century watercolour. Inscribed w...

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:...

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...

A delicate 18th century sepia watercolour depicting The Infant Bacchus with Goats. Beautifully presented in a period gilt frame with sgraffito decoration. Much of the artist's graphi...

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...

Allegorical Scene is an original modern artwork attributed to the Louis Fabricius Dubourg in the first half of the XVIII Century. Original sepia drawing...

A fine 18th century portrait in watercolours, depicting a blind man seated in an expansive country landscape. The artist delicate brushwork and monochrome pa...

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...

Landscape is a beautiful artwork realized by Jan Peter Verdussen. In good condition. illegible Hand-signed on the lower right margin. passepartout included ( 49 x 69 cm). The artwork represents a landscape river in sanguine drawing...

This fine renaissance study, attributed to Bolognese painter Prospero Fontana (1512-1597), depicts two cherubs seated in clouds, playing with the arms of Mars. Elegantly mastered in ...

Rev. William Henry Barnard (Co. Donegal or Co. Derry 1767-1818 London) The Radcliffe Camera from the Great Quadrangle of All Souls College, Oxford Pen and brown ink and watercolour, on paper 30 x 44 cm Signed with initials 'H.B.' (lower right) Rev William Henry Barnard was an extremely well-connected artist and clergyman -being first cousin of Prime Minister George Canning...

A heartwarming sepia study of a shepherdess comforting her young baby. Well-presented in a contemporary gilt-effect frame. Unsigned. On paper.

A delightful watercolour study depicting a young woman wearing a dress and smock. She points to her left hands showing her palm to the viewer. The artist captures her with a delicate...

Due Angeli is an original artwork realized by Andrea Brustolon. Mixed media, ink and watercolor. The artwork rapresents two baroque angels, study realized by Brostolon for a sculpt...

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...

The Baker is an original watercolor on ivory-colored paper, realized by Michela De Vito in the first half of XIX century. Good conditions except for a very light shading on right s...

Follower of Zacharias Wagener (1614-1688) Tamanuâguasû (Giant Anteater) On Italian 17th or 18th-century paper, H. 28 x W. 43.5 cm ​The present painting is a copy after Wagener’s painting of the anteater, Tamanduá-bandeira, which is illustrated in his “Thier Buch”, with 109 drawings of Brazilian fish, birds and mammals, published in Amsterdam c. 1641, in German. ​ Zacharias Wagener, or Wagenaer in Dutch, (Dresden 1614 – Amsterdam 1668) was a real adventurer who became Opperhoofd on Deshima and Governor of the Cape of Good Hope in the service of the VOC. During the Thirty-Year War in Germany Wagener tried his luck in Amsterdam where he worked for the map-maker Willem Blaeu. In 1634 he joined the WIC and left for Dutch Brazil where he worked as writer and painter, together with Frans Post...

Procida is an original watercolor on ivory-colored paper, realized by Michela De Vito in the first half of XIX century. Good conditions except for two little foxings. The title is...

Il disegno rappresenta, come riportato a penna in basso al centro del foglio, il ritratto del celebre pittore dell'Emilia Romagna Francesco Albani, uno dei massimi rappresentanti del...

This rare drawing by Nattier is part of a set of preparatory studies executed in 1717 for one of the painter's first commissions, the painting commissioned by Tsar Peter I of Russia ...

Italian School Around 1700 Beheading scene in front of an enthroned king, probably a martyr scene Black pencil 21.5 x 28 cm 29.5 x 39 cm Provenance: Fryszman collection, sale on 01...