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.
Russian Orthodox Church, Middle 19th Century
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Unknown Russian Artist Russian Orthodox Church, Middle 19th century Unsigned Illuminated in red, yellow blue and green pigments and gold leaf on paper ...
Pigment
Russian Orthodox Church, Middle 19th Century
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Unknown Russian Artist Russian Orthodox Church, Middle 19th century Unsigned Illuminated in red, yellow blue and green pigments and gold leaf on paper An Illuminated manuscript folio...
Pigment
$14,328Sale Price|20% Off
Raquel. Figurative woman's portraits on abstract background.
Located in Segovia, ES
Raquel. Images of woman on abstract background. Mixed media on panel. Measurements: 81 x 65 x 0.5 cm / Framed 103 x 87 x 5 cm In inches: 31.89 x 25.59 x 0.2 " / Framed 40.55 x 34.25 x 1.97 " "Raquel" was painted by Goyo in 1999 ( signature and date in right down corner) using a mixed technique. On abstract background that plays with colors, shapes, and volumes, Goyo portrays a beautiful woman's face with a penetrating gaze. There, almost like a collage, an academic female...
Wood Panel, Mixed Media
$12,800Sale Price|20% Off
Classical Ruins
By William Louis Sonntag Sr. 1
Located in Miami, FL
William Louis Sonntag Sr. was an American Landscape painter and a member of the Hudson River School movement. He was an Academician of the National Academy of Design. His work is in ...
Oil
$2,560Sale Price|26% Off
H 31.5 in W 41.5 in
Village Oil Painting, Impressionist Style, 20th Century, Signed
Located in Belgrade, MT
This oil painting is original and signed by the artist. I have owned this piece since the early 1970's. The oil depicts a village and is vibrant in color.
Oil
$445
H 12 in W 12 in
Memories Cast Adrift - Original Figurative Mixed Media Surrealist Inspired Art
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Robert Lebsack creates artworks using mixed media with ink, acrylic, and charcoal on archival copies of newspapers, textbooks, and sheet music. As a visionary artist, Lebsack weaves ...
Paper, Charcoal, Ink, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Wood Panel
$4,000
H 5.25 in W 6.58 in
Landscape: the Uplands by Massachusetts artist Robertson Mygatt
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Robertson K. Mygatt (American, 1862-1919) Uplands Oil on panel, 5 1/4 x 6 5/8 inches FRAMED: 9 x 10 1/2 inches (approx.) Exhibition label on verso: "Salamagundi Club/Thumb-box Exhibi...
Oil, Panel
$7,000
H 21 in W 25 in D 2 in
Seashore Town- Mid-Century Modernist Gouache and Oil Painting
Located in Marco Island, FL
A dramatic painting of a seaside town done in bright colors. The abstract American scene style captures the moody sky, and the reflection of water captures the viewer's attention. ...
Oil, Gouache, Board
$5,625
H 24 in W 54 in D 1.5 in
Joy Bomb Triptych, Colorful Abstract Landscape, Oil on Boards Ready to Hang
Located in Versailles, KY
Three colorful oil paintings on finished boards and ready to hang by Alex K. Mason. Lush foliage, vivid sky, bees circling flowers "Joy Bomb Tripytch" is painted in vivid pinks, blu...
Oil, Board
Tanker
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This work serves as a tactile bridge between the architectural and the geological. Eschewing traditional paints for the raw weight of earthen plaster, the artist employs a unique, ma...
Plaster, Pigment
$2,240Sale Price|25% Off
H 18 in W 24 in
France - Cityscape, Impressionist Oil Painting, 20th Century, Signed
Located in Belgrade, MT
This painting by Lucien Durand is part of my private collection. It is one of a kind, original and signed on the back by the artist.
Oil
$650
H 17.43 in W 17.43 in D 1.38 in
"An Impulse Budding" (abstract, flora, energetic, calm, rose, blush, pink)
Located in Paris, IDF
AN IMPULSE BUDDING 2024 Paris, France This piece is formed first with a pink dye underpainting on canvas, with white acrylic and green oil painted on top. The notion of the title, "...
Canvas, Acrylic, Dye, Oil
KALIMAT AWAL: TEMPLE FOR NO PILGRIM
Located in Badung, ID
This work reflects Satria Nugraha’s intuitive and experimental approach to making, where everyday life, human connection, and the surrounding environment quietly inform the image. Wo...
Linen, Charcoal, Ink, Pigment
Belport NY, Landscape, archived number 3784
Located in La Canada Flintridge, CA
Painting sizes is 27x34 in., oil on canvas. Signed lower right. The Pinajian estate certificate is included. About twelve years ago, Professor William Innes Homer (1929-2012), the f...
Oil
$2,370Sale Price|40% Off
H 18 in W 24 in
Country Seaside Impressionist Oil Painting, 20th Century, Signed
Located in Belgrade, MT
This piece is artist signed , very vibrant colors, and is a part of my private collection since the 1970's.
Oil
$2,400Sale Price|25% Off
H 20 in W 24 in
Impressionist City in France Oil Painting, 20th Century, Unframed
Located in Belgrade, MT
This painting by Lucien Durand is an original and part of my private collection since the 1970's.
Oil
Sold
H 33 in W 43 in
19th century German romantic landscape painting - Temple Valley Sicily Italy
By Andreas Achenbach
Located in Aartselaar, BE
Huge 19th century romantic painting depicting a sunset over the Temple Valley in Agrigento, Italy This magnificent painting depicts the famous Temple Valley in Sicily. We have visited the site to find out from which viewpoint the painter painted this beautiful work. Fortunately, the site remains largely unchanged from how it was in 1856 and we found out that the painter depicted the temples of Hera (on the left) and Concordia (in the distance). He (or she) likely sat on top of the hill next to the temple of Hera while he sketched the magnificent scenery of the sun setting in the sea behind the temple of Concordia. The present painting is topologically correct, however the artist might have taken some artistic liberty in rearranging the remains of the columns of the Hera temple to create a better perspective and direct the gaze of the viewer to the focal point of the composition; the temple of Concordia. Although the painting was long believed to have been created by an American painter, as the dramatic light and magnificent landscape are quite reminiscent of Hudson River School paintings, it is more likely that the painting has been created by a German romantic...
Canvas, Oil
Russian Orthodox Church, Middle 19th Century
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Unsigned An Illuminated manuscript folio from a Russian Old Believers manuscript with Neumes, from the Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom. Illuminated in red, yellow blue and ...
Pigment
LANDSCAPE
Located in Napoli, IT
LANDSCAPE - Oil on canvas cm.120x80 by Massimo D'Orta, Italy 2008
BLUE GEOMETRIES
Located in Napoli, IT
Blue geometries - Alfonso Pragliola Italia 2014 - Oil on canvas cm.80x130
Canvas, Oil