Mannerist More Art

This drawing shows several studies of a donkey with a carriage. Its style is close to Flemish 17th century artists. On the passepartout one reads "Mathias Scheyer/ Jacob Weyer", both...

On offer is a classic Verdure tapestry, popular in the 17th and 18th centuries for its lush nature scenes. "Verdure" comes from the French word for greenery, focusing on forest and g...

Pierre Berchet, Drawing of Putti playing in a landscape, Painter of decorative history subjects; trained under La Fosse; worked in France and during the 1690s...

De Draeger, 1961 Bronze Medallion with book Numbered 1032 from the edition of 1500 Bronze Medallion: 3-1/8 inches (8 cm) diameter, numbered "1032" on verso of medallion Portfolio Siz...

Preparation for Carnival: a three day festival of insatiable eating, drinking and carousing that preceded the forty days of Lent, a period of penitence when the pious drank only wate...

Large late 20th Century shell encrusted grotto wall mirror in the style of Anthony Redmile of London. A magnificent and exuberant mirror created from sea ...

Two putti with symbols of war and victory (cannons, cannonballs, armour, anchor, lion's head, laurel branch/ olive branch, flag, staff with helmet) in pediment triangle. Probably a design for a painting or architecture Pen-and-ink drawing in black on brownish paper, black wash Plain gold moulding with UV glass Allegory of Victory, 18th Century, Old Master Drawing, By De Wit, Figurative Jacob de Wit...

An exceptionally beautiful antique French wood carving, made in the 17th century. It depicts Madonna standing with open offering arms .The...

The impressive life-size statue of St. Anthony (Lisbon, 1195 – Padua, 1231) used to be probably in a church or monastery of the mendicant order of the Franciscans. You can immediately recognize a Franciscan monk by his brown habit, brown hooded cloak...

Flowers in A Basket by Jean-Baptiste Monnoyer. A Still Life of flowers in a basket including jasmine, honeysuckle, dahlias, parrot tulips, delphiniums and white carnations.

Saint Erasmus or Saint Elmo (Antioch, ca. 240 – Formia, 303) was an Italian bishop and patron saint of the sailors. His attribute was the capstan, a winch on which the anchor chains were rolled up. He died as a martyr for his faith, and his bones were transferred to Gaeta in the 9th century, where they are kept in the cathedral to this day. The electric phenomenon of Saint Elmus fire is named after Saint Erasmus and the 16th C humanist Desiderius Erasmus. Little is known with certainty about Saint Erasmus' life. However, many legends may have been passed on orally until - no older writings are known with certainty. His birthplace was in present-day Syria. However, the persecution of Christians under Emperor Diocletian forced him to flee to Mount Lebanon...

Attentive observer, may I challenge you to find some unusual elements in this panel painting? One detail has to do with the symbolic use of color, the other with a later adjustment of the image. Indeed! The Blessed Virgin is not dressed in her usual sky blue cloak, which refers to her purity, but in a red robe. During the Late Middle Ages and early Renaissance, the Virgin often wore such a red garment to refer to the Passion of Christ. After all, the blessing Christ child with his orb would shed his blood for the redemption of mankind. The second strange element catches the eye when one looks closer at the little Jesus. It appears that he was originally depicted completely naked, but got on a transparent loincloth over time. In the past there were several times when nudity in art was subject to some form of censorship. For example, the supervision of Christian art was strongly encouraged by the Council of Trent (1545-1563). This assembly was dealing with the inner-ecclesiastical reform of the Roman Catholic Church. One of the important theologians who followed the council’s guidelines was Joannes Molanus (1533-1585). He did not consider the nakedness of the Christ Child to be edifying and pointed out that children could be endangered in this way. He may have been referring to the dangers of paedophilia. During the 19th century, puritanism emerged. A famous example of a moral preacher was Pope Pius IX...