Paintings

Signed lower left. Bio:: Known as a Hudson River School painter, especially of mountain landscapes, Arthur Parton was well established in the New York art world where he exhibited ...

Holy family with an angel, workshop Pieter Coecke Van Aelst (Alost, 1502 - Bruxelles, 1550) Faithful to the traditions of the late Gothic and early Renaissance, our painting depicts ...

Allegory of summer, personified by Ceres Workshop of Hendrick Van Balen Antwerp School, early 17th century. Oil on copper, Dimensions: h. 52 cm, l. 40cm Antic giltwood frame Framed dimensions: h. 74 cm, l. 60cm Very good condition Our delicately painted work is part of the pictorial tradition that is both allegorical and mythological in vogue in Antwerp, whose leaders are Jan Brueghel the Younger and Hendrick Van Balen. Numerous works emerging from their workshops illustrate mythological subjects, the seasons, the elements, the senses or intertwining the lush landscapes, animals and gods of Olympus. At the heart of a green landscape dominated in its center by a generous apple tree, the beautiful Ceres, partially dressed in a large blue drape, is wearing a crown of ears of wheat, her symbol of the goddess of the earth and harvests. She holds the sickle in her right hand and carries sheaves of wheat. To her right a nymph holds the cornucopia while puttis pick and offer flowers. In the foreground are the summer fruits: figs, cherries, apples and lemons. A squirrel munching on cherries symbolizes toil and foresight, themes that are echoed in the work of the harvesters on the wheat fields in the background. The background is composed of vegetation, on the right a wild rose bush with its branches erect against a tree trunk, in the center of the trees with silvery green foliage. Our painter, a student of Hendrick Van Balen, finds his inspiration in the works of the master such as this nymph in yellow drapery seen from behind, one of the figures which accompanies many of the master's paintings. The elegant gestures, the flesh...The indisputable influence of Jan Brueghel the Younger is revealed in the treatment of trees and flowers, wild roses, tulips as well as in the still life with the squirrel in the foreground. The craze for this type of virtuoso painting where the mythological figures are only a pretext to better illustrate the landscape and plant species surrounding them, then generated orders from all over Europe. Hendrick Van Balen, Flemish painter, born and died in Antwerp (1575-1632). A student of Adam Van Noort, he entered the guild of Saint-Luc in 1593, later trained in Italy and was Van Dyck's first master. He often painted small characters taken from scenes from the Bible or classical mythology, on paintings in which Josse de Momper...

Ascension Day in Venice 17th century Antwerp School Louis de Caullery (1582-1621) Oil on oak panel Dimensions: h. 12.8 in, w. 23.03 in (h. 32,5 cm, w. 58,5 c...

This lovely 18th century Old Master portrait oil painting is by noted British artist Francis Cotes. It was painted circa 1760 when Cotes was preferring oil as a medium and comparison...

Madonna and Child with Saint John the Baptist and angels Circle of Joos Van Cleve (1485 – 1541) 16th century Antwerp school Oil on oak panel Dimensions: h. 32 cm (13 in.), w. 28.5 cm...

Richard Bankes Harraden (1778-1862) Italian landscape with Monte Socrate (after Jan Both) Signed and dated 1823 on the reverse Oil on canvas Canvas size - 29 x 41 in Framed Size - 37...

The Military Encampment French Old Master, circa 1700 oil on canvas, framed framed: 20 x 27 inches canvas: 17.5 x 24 inches provenance: private collection, France condition: very goo...

Madonna and Child Enthroned, c. 1900 Oil/tempera on canvas 42 1/2 x 20 3/4 in. Framed: 45 3/8 x 23 1/2 x 4 1/4 in.

This exquisite portrait, presented by Titan Fine Art, was painted in the era of London’s Great Fire - a young woman has been depicted wearing the most luxurious attire and a fortune ...

Piedmontese painter of the eighteenth century Pendant of paintings Landscape with wild boar hunting scene Landscape with pastoral scene Oil on canvas, 66 x 132 cm, framed 68 x 134 We show you this pleasant pendant of paintings, characterized by a clear atmosphere and a delicate chromatic harmony, in perfect harmony with the rocaille taste of the Savoy capital of the full of the second half of the 18th century, and can be compared to a Piedmontese painter, presumably active in Turin in that period. The first work, with a pastoral and Arcadian character, shows a small group of shepherds, intent on guarding their animals: the romantic theater that sees a shepherd on horseback singing a song to cheer the rest of the companions to make the scene affected. In the second work, however, the composition is centered on the lively and rich group of figures of hunters who, armed with swords and spears and with the help of hunting dogs, surrounded the wild boars. The style of our two canvases, as well as the type of subject represented, evokes the compositions of Vittorio Amedeo Cignaroli (Turin, 1730 - 1800) with the illustrative tradition repeatedly addressed by the author, the main landscape painter of Piedmontese Rococo, as recalled in the canvases made for the Palazzine di Stupinigi and Racconigi. His technical ability and his rigorous craft earned him the esteem of the Savoy court and consequently of the Piedmontese nobles. His workshop expanded considerably due to the numerous commissions, inducing him to avail himself of the help of a considerable number of workers, apprentices and professional painters who deal with the landscape, figures or costumes according to their specialization, so it becomes difficult to establish whether a work is a workshop or an independent painter. Paintings of this format and of these subjects, often made in groups, were commissioned to be placed in palaces or in small Piedmontese and Lombard castles. Shape and size would suggest that the canvases were originally placed as over the door...

This charming 18th century Old Master cartouche portrait oil painting is attributed to the circle of Philip Mercier. Painted circa 1740 the composition is a three quarter length portrait of a young girl holding a wicker basket of flowers. She is clothed in a white dress and beautiful blue silk shawl and is situated in a landscape. A very lovely British Old Master portrait oil painting. Provenance. Christies. Condition. Oil on canvas, 30 inches by 25 inches and in good condition. Frame. Housed in an ornate gilt carved 18th century frame, 38 inches by 33 inches and in good condition. Philippe Mercier (also known as Philip Mercier; 1689-1760) was a French painter and etcher, who lived principally and was active in England. He was born in Berlin of French extraction, the son of a Huguenot tapestry-worker. He studied painting at the Akademie der Wissenschaften of Berlin and later under Antoine Pesne, who had arrived in Berlin in 1710. Later, he travelled in Italy and France before arriving in London—"recommended by the Court at Hannover"—probably in 1716. He married in London in 1719 and lived in Leicester Fields. He was appointed principal painter and librarian to the Prince and Princess of Wales at their independent establishment in Leicester Fields, and while he was in favour he painted various portraits of...

Bon Boullogne (Paris, 1649 - Paris, 1717) workshop of Episodes from the myth of Diana oil painting on canvas Dimensions: 84 x 114 cm. with antique frame 100 x 132 cm. The beautiful painting proposed shows a series of episodes taken from the myth of the divinity Diana, the Roman divinity of hunting, forests and wild animals, masterfully captured in this valuable painting, which shows a luxuriant wood, a favorite place of the divinity, as a theater of his adventures. The composition opens, on the left, with a sort of presentation of the divinity, portrayed as an attractive young girl, surrounded by her faithful Nymphs, one of whom holds her quiver with arrows, and by one of her beloved dogs. hunting her. The 'story' continues in the central part where we can see the divinity during a wild boar hunt...

David Morier (1705-1770) Portrait of a gentleman in red military uniform Oil on canvas Canvas Size - 32 x 24 in Framed Size - 39 1/2 x 31 in Provenance: Sale, Christie's London, 21s...

German School (18th century) A German Pointer with hunting Equipment Oil on canvas Canvas Size 42 x 35 in Framed Size 48 x 41 in

This charming British Old Master Regency pastel portrait is attributed to John Russell RA. Painted circa 1790 the composition is a blonde woman in pretty mob cap with a blue ribbon. A really lovely image. Provenance. Oxford estate. Condition. Oil pastel on paper, 23 inches by 19 inches unframed and in good condition but has line in paper in middle. Frame. Housed in a fine frame, 30 inches by 26 inches framed and in good condition. John Russell RA (1745-1806) was an English painter renowned for his portrait work in oils and pastels, and as a writer and teacher of painting techniques. Russell was born in Guildford, Surrey, the son of John Russell Snr., book and print seller and five times mayor of the town; his father was something of an artist, and drew and published two views of Guildford. Russell was educated at the Royal Grammar School, Guildford, and soon showed a strong inclination for art. He trained under Francis Cotes RA (of Cavendish Square, London), one of the pioneers of English pastel painting, and, like Cotes, was an admirer of the pastel drawings of Rosalba Carriera whose methods influenced his technique of "sweetening". At the age of 19 he converted to Methodism, which was the cause of tension with his family and with his teacher; he made no secret of his strong evangelical leanings and would attempt to preach and convert at every opportunity. Russell set up his own studio, in London, in 1767. He made the acquaintance of the notorious Dr. William Dodd, whose portrait he painted in 1768. He was introduced to Selina, Countess of Huntingdon, who unsuccessfully attempted to persuade him to give up painting and attend her Methodist ministers' training college at Trevecca in Wales. On 5 February 1770, he married Hannah Faden, daughter of a Charing Cross print and map seller...

'Dutch Canal' is an original oil painting by an artist in the school or circle of Dutch Golden Age painter Aert van der Neer. Based on the labels on the artwork, the painting has bor...

Tower of Babel, Colorado Canyon 12 ⅞" x 14 ½" 20 ¾" x 22 ¾" x 4 ¼" framed Verso sketch of fall trees on a hillside. Provenance: The estate of Samuel Colman. Purchased by private c...

This charming 17th Century half length portrait by Charles Jervas is believed to be of Henrietta Pelham–Holes, Duchess of Newcastle. The sitter is wearing a blue silk gown. Circa 1700 Oil on Canvas 27 x 19 1/2 inches 68.5 x 49.5 cm In a fine gilded carved wood frame. ABOUT THE SUBJECT: The sitter of svelte poise depicts grace and style. Stylistically taking the fancy of the moment with clearness and brilliancy in his flesh tints. Jervas work follows the English eighteen century tradition of portrait painting, epitomized by the likes of Kneller and Dahl. Henrietta "Harriet" Pelham-Holles, Duchess of Newcastle upon Tyne, was the wife of British statesman and prime minister Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle. She was the daughter of Francis Godolphin, 2nd Earl of Godolphin, and Henrietta Churchill, 2nd Duchess of Marlborough. She was also the granddaughter of Sidney Godolphin, 1st Earl of Godolphin, as well as John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, and Sarah Churchill...

Marshmallows Oil on Canvas 31 1/8 x 31 1/8 in 79 x 79 cm adf0358 "Overtime, French Le-Roy became heavily influenced by the Dutch and Spanish still life painters, particularly the work of Williem Kalf and Luis Melendez. This took his work from a contemporary style to a more traditional genre. This proved popular, leading to more commissioned work, and a second successful exhibition." Irish still life painter David French...

Antique American landscape oil painting. Oil on canvas. Framed. Image size, 11L x 9H.

Work on canvas Plaster and gilded wood frame 66 x 59 x 9 cm Fragile frame for transport. It is possible that it is damaged during the journey.

17th century Dutch Old Master oil painting "The delighted Smoker" This painting is a very enigmatic one with an equally thrilling story. We acquired this work some time ago as attri...

This Beautiful British 18th century British Old Master portrait oil painting is by noted artist Joseph Highmore. Painted circa 1740 it is a half length portrait of a young woman, Eli...

This superb exhibited British 18th century Old Master Italian landscape oil painting is by noted artist Thomas Barker of Bath. Painted in 1794 and exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1...

This interesting painting is a British Old Master late 18th century or early 19th century oil painting attributed to Thomas Barker of Bath. It is stylistically very similar to his ot...

Dusk Landscape British School, 18th century oil on canvas, unframed painting: 32 x 41 inches provenance: private collection, UK condition: very good and...

The Prodigal Son Among Courtesans Attributed to Hieronymus Francken II (Antwerp 1578-1623) Early 17th century Antwerp school Oil on oak panel, Dimensions: H. 52.5 cm (20.67 in), W. 74 cm (29.14 in) Flemish-style moulded wood frame Frame: h. 78 cm (h. 30.70 in.), w. 100 cm (39.37 in.) At first glance, this festive and joyful painting depicts a group of elegantly dressed people dancing to the sound of an orchestra in a richly decorated interior with a wide opening onto a rural exterior. However, the real theme is cleverly concealed by the painter and is only discernible through the artifice of a small scene in the background where we see a half-naked man, in the company of the pigs next to a makeshift shelter. In fact, beyond the pleasant and apparently superficial character of the painting, it is a subject taken from the parable of the prodigal son in the Gospel. The illustrated episode is the prodigal son among courtesans. Even if the viewer's attention is drawn to the central couple (prodigal son embracing a pretty courtesan) doing the dance steps, the artist takes care in a narrative approach of all the groups and ancillary scenes in order to create a rich and varied composition. Thus the musicians seated on a raised platform are depicted with great skill, their faces animated, their clothes abundantly varied. The theme of music, which has always been associated with that of sensuality and physical love, helps to exacerbate licentious pleasures. The merry company dances "Spanish pavane", a slow court dance from the sixteenth century, danced close to the ground by couples arranged in a procession, which was probably introduced to the south of the Netherlands around 1600 during the governance of Albrecht VII and the daughter of the King of Spain Isabella Clara Eugenia in Brussels. The interior of the house is also carefully elaborated, the embossed leather dyes on the walls, the middle sideboard (typical in Francken interiors), where the rich gold and silver crockery is placed in front of the painting "Andromeda chained to the rock and Perseus arriving to rescue her". The inclusion of a contemporary and probably extant pictorial work is also one of the characteristics of the Francken family, among them Frans Francken the Younger...

The Crucifixion of Christ with the Virgin, Mary Magdalene and St. John the Evangelist, attributable to Giovanni Camillo Sagrestani (Florence, 1660 - 1731) Technique/dimensions: oil on canvas (106 x 79 - in frame 118 x 90 cm.) This work, of excellent quality, depicting the intense scene of the Crucifixion of Christ, is set in a nocturnal atmosphere dense with pathos but refined, with a dark background irradiated by a few glimpses of sunset light. The composition is articulated according to a canonical compositional scheme, with the dying Jesus seated on the cross, while at his bedside are the three key figures of the epilogue of his earthly life in an attitude of prayer, namely his Mother, Mary Magdalene and St. John the Evangelist. The Virgin, standing on the left, prays with folded hands, while Mary Magdalene, beautiful, is at the foot of the cross, kneeling with the ampoule of perfumed ointments; finally, the Apostle John, gazes at the Lord and prays for him. The luminosity, which envelops the characters in a skilful chiaroscuro, as well as the use of intense colour, capable of constructing a scene full of energy, are elements of clear Venetian ancestry. The setting is traversed by an intense glow, dominated by an evocative sunset sky, which irradiates the characters, emphasising a particularly vivid colour range. Observing the work and entering into its attributive collocation, the particular features link its origin to the most felicitous production of the late Tuscan Baroque; in particular, the stylistic and pictorial traits allow us to liken it to the hand of Giovanni Camillo Sagrestani (1660-1731), one of the most intriguing and charismatic artistic figures in the Tuscan artistic pantheon of the 17th century. The style shows the painter's peculiar effects of light and Venetian chromaticism, influenced by the examples of Luca Giordano, Giuseppe Maria Crespi...

Antonio Alberti (1603 - 1649) Portrait of Cardinal Antonio Marcello Barberini (Florence 1569 – Rome 1646) Inscription on the bottom: F.M D.D ANTONIUS BARBERINUS ROM. O. CAP. S.R.E. ...

This lovely 17th century Old Master religious oil painting is from the Italian School. The subject is Joseph in prison interpreting the dreams of Pharoah's Baker and Butler. The bars...

This stunning Old Master 17th century oil portrait painting is attributed to Francesco Fieravino, an artist famous in his day for still lifes and carpets. This painting which dates t...

Late 17th, early 18th century old master oil painting depicting an allegory of Lady Justice holding demons at bay Our painting, likely a sketch for a much larger work,, conveys a pr...

George Frederick Morse Hubbard Park, Crescent City, Florida, 1906 Oil on canvas 17 x 12 inches A landscape and marine painter from Portland, Maine, George Morse was a founding membe...

This superb Dutch Golden Age Old Master landscape oil painting is attributed to Jacob van der Croos. Painted circa 1670 it is an Italianate landscape with figures and their animals i...

This lovely 17th century Old Master floral oil painting is attributed to the circle of noted Franco Flemish artist Jean-Baptiste Monnoyer. Painted circa 1670 it is a still life of a ...

Antichità Castelbarco SRLS is proud to present: The Angel Appears to Hagar and Ishmael Circle of Abraham Govaerts (Antwerp 1589 - 1626) Oil on panel 33 x 50 cm. - with gilded woode...

Revelry in a Classical Landscape Italian School, early 18th century (circa 1700) oil painting on canvas, laid on board, unframed board: 20 x 36 inches provenan...

Antichità Castelbarco SRLS is proud to present: Painter active in Rome late 16th - early 17th century Andromeda and the monster Oil on canvas 137 x 102 cm. - In frame 152 x 118 cm. The subject of the painting, derived from Ovid's Metamorphoses, is inspired by the myth of the princess Andromeda, daughter of the King of Ethiopia Cepheus and Queen Cassiopeia. The heroine's misfortune was to have a mother who praised her beauty as superior even to that of the Nereids, the sea nymphs daughters of the god Poseidon. According to mythology, the girl was therefore chained to a cliff and offered as a sacrifice to the terrible monster sent to appease the wrath of the nymphs, offended by Cassiopeia's unforgivable pride. Consider that the depiction of this myth, and in particular its climax with Andromeda offered to the monster, had great fortune in Roman Baroque painting...

Ferrara school of the late sixteenth century - circle of Giuseppe Mazzuoli known as Bastarolo (Ferrara 1536 - 1589) St. Jerome penitent in the cave ...

George Henry Smillie was an American painter and etcher. He became a member of the National Academy of Design in 1882. He often painted both in oils and in water colour. His favourit...

This lovely Dutch Old Master oil painting is attributed to noted Dutch artist Nicholaes Berchem. Painted circa 1665 it is a charming pastoral scene of a shepherd and his animals including sheep, goats, donkey and cows and of course his trusty dog. They are all resting beneath trees while he looks on attentively. The light in the sky and the light and shadows on the animals is beautiful. A really superb example of Dutch Old Master art with great detail. Provenance. Surrey estate. Christies stamp verso. Condition. Oil on canvas, 38 inches by 32 inches and in good condition. Frame. Housed in a complementary gilt frame, 46 inches by 30 inches and in good condition. Nicolaes Pieterszoon Berchem (1620-1683) was a highly esteemed and prolific Dutch Golden Age painter of pastoral landscapes, populated with mythological or biblical figures, but also of a number of allegories and genre pieces. He was a member of the second generation of "Dutch Italianate landscape" painters. These were artists who travelled to Italy, or aspired to, in order to soak up the romanticism of the country, bringing home sketchbooks full of drawings of classical ruins and pastoral imagery. His paintings, of which he produced an immense number, (Hofstede de Groot claimed around 850, although many are misattributed), were in great demand, as were his 80 etchings and 500 drawings. His landscapes, painted in the Italian style of idealized rural scenes, with hills, mountains, cliffs and trees in a golden dawn are sought after. Berchem also painted inspired and attractive human and animal figures (staffage) in works of other artists, like Allaert van Everdingen, Jan Hackaert, Gerrit Dou, Meindert Hobbema and Willem Schellinks. Born in Haarlem, he received instruction from his father Pieter Claesz, and from the painters Jan van Goyen, Pieter de Grebber, Jan Baptist Weenix, Jan Wils and Claes Cornelisz. Moeyaert. According to Houbraken, Carel de Moor told him that Berchem got his name from two words "Berg hem" for "Save him!", an expression used by his fellows in Van Goyen's workshop whenever his father chased him there with the intent to beat him. No trip or Grand Tour by Berchem was documented by Houbraken though he mentioned another story about the "Berg hem!" nickname which came from Berchem's conscription as a sailor; the man in charge of impressment knew him and sent him ashore with the words "Save him!". Today his name is assumed to come from his father's hometown of Berchem, Antwerp. According to the RKD he traveled to Italy with Jan Baptist Weenix, whom he called his cousin, in 1642–5. Works by him are signed both as "CBerghem" and "Berchem". In 1645 he became a member of the Dutch reformed church and married the year after. According to Houbraken he married the daughter of the painter Jan Wils, who kept him on a short allowance, but to finance his collection of prints he would borrow money from his pupils and colleagues and pay them back from the proceeds of paintings that he didn't tell her about. Around 1650 he travelled to Westphalia with Jacob van Ruisdael, where a dated piece showing Burg Bentheim is recorded. Maybe Berchem went to Italy after this trip and before he moved to Amsterdam - he is not clearly documented in the Netherlands between 1650 and 1656. Around 1660 he worked for the engraver Jan de Visscher designing an atlas. In 1661-1670 he is registered in Amsterdam and in 1670 he moved back to Haarlem, but was living back in Amsterdam by 1677, where he died in 1683. He was a popular teacher and his pupils were Abraham Begeyn, Johannes van der Bent, his son Nicolaes, Isaack Croonenbergh, Simon Dubois, Karel Dujardin, Johannes Glauber, Pieter de Hooch, Jacob van Huchtenburg, Justus van Huysum...

Follower of Pietro da Cortona (18th-19th century) - Venus appears to Aeneas as a huntress. 50 x 60 cm without frame, 80.5 x 90 cm with frame. Antique oil painting on canvas, in a c...

Colonial School, Mexico, XVIII Century "Virgen del Carmen" Oil on canvas 70 x 40 in

This stunning 18th century Dutch Old Master Golden Age floral oil painting is attributed to a circle of Simon Pietersz Verelst. Painted circa 1720 it is a still life floral of a mixe...

Richard Clague was sent to school in Geneva to study painting with Jean-Charles Ferdinand Humbert (1813-1881) where Richard developed a preference for landscape painting. Following his father's death in December, 1836, he received a substantial inheritance which allowed him to continue his studies. After completing his studies, he travelled to Morocco, Algiers and other destinations in the Middle East where he kept a sketchbook (now in the New Orleans Museum of Art, Louisiana) and developed an interest in Oriental subject matter. Although he was largely trained in Europe, he settled in Louisiana, becoming part of the "Bayou School".He regularly painted with William Buck...

Venetian painter (19th century) - Padua, Porta Liviana. 37.5 x 48.5 cm without frame, 50.5 x 60 cm with frame. Oil on canvas, in a carved wooden frame. Condition report: Good stat...

Wall was born in Ireland and arrived in New York in 1812. He was already a well trained artist and soon became well known for his watercolor views of the Hudson River Valley and surr...

Pieter Boel, Flemish Old Master, painted this stunning 17th century still life oil painting. Painted circa 1660 it is a large and impressive still life with dead game surrounded by f...

Antichità Castelbarco SRLS is proud to present: Paolo Caliari known as Veronese (Verona 1528 - Venice 1588) Workshop/cercle Idyll between Venus and Adonis with Cupid Oil on canvas ...

A rare depiction of Lake Mohonk, this painting by Hudson River School artist Nelson Augustus Moore (1824-1902) features Sky Top Tower and the serene natural surroundings of the historic Mohonk Mountain House. This 19th century oil painting on canvas measures 12 x 17.75 inches. The painting is signed and dated at the lower right, signed again and titled "Lake Mohonk" on the verso. The painting is framed is ready to hang. Nelson Augustus Moore was born on August 2, 1824, in Kensington, CT. His artistic studies began under the tutelage of Thomas Cummings and Daniel Huntington in New York City. After returning home to Connecticut, Moore taught drawing classes and also opened a photography business. He and his brother operated this daguerreotype studio in Hartford, CT until 1864 when Moore chose to return to landscape painting. His landscapes consisted mostly of New England subjects. He kept a studio in New York, painting in the same building as Arthur Fitzwilliam Tait, James Hart and William Hart. Nelson Augustus Moore, while sharing in many ideologies with his contemporaries, felt no need to travel vast distances in search of grandiose and spectacular landscapes. He held a particular delight in the peaceful harmony of the local American countryside...

Roman painter (18th century) - Landscape with wayfarers. 43.5 x 34.5 cm without frame, 58.5 x 49.5 cm with frame. Antique oil painting on canvas, in carved and gilded wooden frame....

This lovely 18th century Old Master portrait oil painting is attributed to the circle of noted portrait artist Enoch Seeman. Seeman came from Poland to England as a youngster with hi...

This vigorous drawing has long been attributed to Polidoro da Caravaggio: The Abduction of the Sabine Women is one of the scenes that Polidoro depicted between 1525 and 1527 on the façade of the Milesi Palazzo in Rome. However, the proximity to another drawing inspired by this same façade, kept at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, and to other drawings inspired by Polidoro kept at the Musée du Louvre, leads us to propose an attribution to Biagio Pupini, a Bolognese artist whose life remains barely known, despite the abundant number of drawings attributed to him. 1. Biagio Pupini, a Bolognese artist in the light of the Roman Renaissance The early life of Biagio Pupini, an important figure of the first half of the Cinquecento in Bologna - Vasari mentions him several times - is still poorly known. Neither his date of birth (probably around 1490-1495) nor his training are known. He is said to have been a pupil of Francesco Francia (1450 - 1517) and his name appears for the first time in 1511 in a contract with the painter Bagnacavallo (c. 1484 - 1542) for the frescoes of a church in Faenza. He then collaborated with Girolamo da Carpi, at San Michele in Bosco and at the villa of Belriguardo. He must have gone to Rome for the first time with Bagnacavallo between 1511 and 1519. There he discovered the art of Raphael, with whom he might have worked, and that of Polidoro da Caravaggio. This first visit, and those that followed, were the occasion for an intense study of ancient and modern art, as illustrated by his abundant graphic production. Polidoro da Caravaggio had a particular influence on the technique adopted by Pupini. Executed on coloured paper, his drawings generally combine pen, brown ink and wash with abundant highlights of white gouache, as in the drawing presented here. 2. The Abduction of the Sabine Women Our drawing is an adaptation of a fresco painted between 1525 and 1527 by Polidoro da Caravaggio on the façade of the Milesi Palace in Rome. These painted façades were very famous from the moment they were painted and inspired many artists during their stay in Rome. These frescoes are now very deteriorated and difficult to see, as the palace is in a rather narrow street. The episode of the abduction of the Sabine women (which appears in the centre of the photo above) is a historical theme that goes back to the origins of Rome and is recounted both by Titus Livius (Ab Urbe condita I,13), by Ovid (Fasti III, 199-228) and by Plutarch (II, Romulus 14-19). After killing his twin brother Romus, Romulus populates the city of Rome by opening it up to refugees and brigands and finds himself with an excess of men. Because of their reputation, none of the inhabitants of the neighbouring cities want to give them their daughters in marriage. The Romans then decide to invite their Sabine neighbours to a great feast during which they slaughter the Sabines and kidnap their daughters. The engraving made by Giovanni Battista Gallestruzzi (1618 - 1677) around 1656-1658 gives us a good understanding of the Polidoro fresco, allowing us to see how Biagio Pupini reworked the scene to extract this dynamic group. With a remarkable economy of means, Biagio Pupini takes over the left-hand side of the fresco and depicts in a very dense space two main groups, each consisting of a Roman and a Sabine, completed by a group of three soldiers in the background (which seems to differ quite significantly from Polidoro's composition). The balance of the drawing is based on a very strongly structured composition. The drawing is organised around a median vertical axis, which runs along both the elbow of the kidnapped Sabine on the left and the foot of her captor, and the two main diagonals, reinforced by four secondary diagonals. This diamond-shaped structure creates an extremely dynamic space, in which centripetal movements (the legs of the Sabine on the right, the arm of the soldier on the back at the top right) and centrifugal movements (the arm of the kidnapper on the left and the legs of the Sabine he is carrying away, the arm of the Sabine on the right) oppose each other, giving the drawing the appearance of a whirlpool around a central point of support situated slightly to the left of the navel of the kidnapper on the right. 3. Polidoro da Caravaggio, and the decorations of Roman palaces Polidoro da Caravaggio was a paradoxical artist who entered Raphael's (1483 - 1520) workshop at a very young age, when he oversaw the Lodges in the Vatican. Most of his Roman work, which was the peak of his career, has disappeared, as he specialised in facade painting, and yet these paintings, which are eminently visible in urban spaces, have influenced generations of artists who copied them abundantly during their visits to Rome. Polidoro Caldara was born in Caravaggio around 1495-1500 (the birthplace of Michelangelo Merisi, known as Caravaggio, who was born there in 1571), some forty kilometres east of Milan. According to Vasari, he arrived as a mason on the Vatican's construction site and joined Raphael's workshop around 1517 (at the age of eighteen according to Vasari). This integration would have allowed Polidoro to work not only on the frescoes of the Lodges, but also on some of the frescoes of the Chambers, as well as on the flat of Cardinal Bibiena in the Vatican. After Raphael's death in 1520, Polidoro worked first with Perin del Vaga before joining forces with Maturino of Florence (1490 - 1528), whom he had also known in Raphael's workshop. Together they specialised in the painting of palace façades. They were to produce some forty façades decorated with grisaille paintings imitating antique bas-reliefs. The Sack of Rome in 1527, during which his friend Maturino was killed, led Polidoro to flee first to Naples (where he had already stayed in 1523), then to Messina. It was while he was preparing his return to the peninsula that he was murdered by one of his assistants, Tonno Calabrese, in 1543. In his Vite, Vasari celebrated Polidoro as the greatest façade decorator of his time, noting that "there is no flat, palace, garden or villa in Rome that does not contain a work by Polidoro". Polidoro's facade decorations, most of which have disappeared as they were displayed in the open air, constitute the most important lost chapter of Roman art of the Cinquecento. The few surviving drawings of the painter can, however, give an idea of the original appearance of his murals and show that he was an artist of remarkable and highly original genius. 4. The façade of the Milesi Palace Giovanni Antonio Milesi, who commissioned this palace, located not far from the Tiber, north of Piazza Navona, was a native of the Bergamo area, like Polidoro, with whom he maintained close friendly ties. Executed in the last years before the Sack of Rome, around 1526-1527, the decoration of Palazzo Milesi is considered Polidoro's greatest decorative success. An engraving by Ernesto Maccari made at the end of the nineteenth century allows us to understand the general balance of this façade, which was still well preserved at the time. The frescoes were not entirely monochrome, but alternated elements in chiaroscuro simulating marble bas-reliefs and those in ochre simulating bronze and gold vases...

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