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 An Illuminated manuscript folio...
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 ...
Pigment
$14,130Sale 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
Elise Ansel, Study for After Fools Rush In, Oil on Canvas
By Elise Ansel
Located in London, GB
Oil on Canvas 30.5 x 40.6 cm 12 x 16 in ---- Ansel deconstructs pictorial language and authorial agency in order to excavate and liberate meanings buried beneath the surface of the works from which her paintings spring. Old Master paintings were, for the most part, created by men for men. Abstraction allows her to interrupt this one sided narrative and transform it into a sensually capacious non-narrative form of visual communication that embraces multiple points of view. The title of the exhibition yes I said Yes is carved from the last line...
Canvas, Oil
$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
$1,500
H 24.5 in W 28.5 in D 2 in
A dynamic futurist inspired painting with a color-filled pallet
Located in Colfax, CA
A dynamic abstract painting from the 1950s. The work appears to be signed, Nicotine, Nicotina, or Vicotina? The artist was clearly influenced by earlier styles of abstraction, includ...
Oil
$1,996Sale Price|20% Off
H 42 in W 44 in D 2 in
Large Scale Antique American Abstract Expressionist Signed Original Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American modernist abstract oil painting. Oil on canvas. Signed.
Canvas, Oil
$1,765
H 18.51 in W 18.51 in D 0.79 in
Blue landscape, Abstract Countryside, Contemporary, Oil on canvas, French
Located in LANGRUNE-SUR-MER, FR
(40 x 40 cm — 47 x 47 cm framed / approx. 15.7 x 15.7 in — 18.5 x 18.5 in framed) Frame options: black or natural wood Artist Context Sophie Dumont is a French contemporary painter ...
Oil
$3,450
H 39.38 in W 31.5 in D 1.19 in
Ocean Whispers - abstract art underwater nude human figurative painting
Located in London, Chelsea
We offer complimentary worldwide shipping and cover all tariffs and import taxes for this artwork. This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet C...
Canvas, Oil
$5,200Sale Price|35% Off
H 30 in W 35.75 in D 1.5 in
"Night Mountain Landscape, 1974" – Signed Abstract Oil by Ralph Rosenborg
Located in Miami, FL
RALPH ROSENBORG – "NIGHT MOUNTAIN LANDSCAPE, 1974" Oil on Canvas ⚜ Signed Lower Left and on Verso ⚜ Custom Conservation Frame A VIVID ABSTRACT VISION OF MOUNTAINOUS NIGHTSCAPE In "N...
Canvas, Oil
$5,534
H 31.5 in W 31.5 in D 0.79 in
Reflets d'ailleurs Abstract Landscape, Countryside, Contemporary, Modern French
Located in LANGRUNE-SUR-MER, FR
Choose 2 colors of frame: wood or black Sophie Dumont is a highly regarded artist whose work has captured the attention of collectors worldwide. Known for her distinctive appro...
Oil
Sold|$950
H 13 in W 15 in
Abstract Landscape, Oil on Masonite by Female Artist Miriam Bromberg
Located in Long Island City, NY
Abstract Landscape Miriam Bromberg Date: circa 1960 Oil on Masonite Size: 7.5 x 9.25 in. (19.05 x 23.5 cm) Frame Size: 13 x 15 inches
Masonite, Oil
$3,413
H 26.38 in W 26.38 in D 1.38 in
Meanders of Blue sand, Abstract, Oil on canvas, textured, Landscape, French art
Located in LANGRUNE-SUR-MER, FR
Dimensions outside frame: 60 x 60 x 2 cm (23.62 x 23.62 x 0.79 in) Dimensions with frame: 67 x 67 x 3.5 cm (26.38 x 26.38 x 1.38 in) Framing: Light wood or black (collector's choice)...
Oil
$1,150
H 23.63 in W 23.63 in D 1.58 in
Quiet Sky-original oil abstract landscape oil painting-contemporary artwork
Located in London, Chelsea
We offer complimentary worldwide shipping and cover all tariffs and import taxes for this artwork. This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet C...
Canvas, Oil
$3,000
H 32.5 in W 46.25 in D 1.5 in
"The Rose Garden" Mid Century Oil Painting on Canvas Abstract Landscape & Figure
Located in New York, NY
An abstract Mid-Century piece with lighter color tones accentuated with the use of basic colors, blue, red and yellow. In this abstract composition we see a figure, tending to their ...
Canvas, Oil
$2,600
H 24 in W 18 in
Mod French Oil Painting Semi Abstract Colorful Composition Israeli Nissan Engel
By Nissan Engel
Located in Surfside, FL
Hand signed by artist lower left Guerriers (the Warriors) Oil on board Dimensions: 24 x 18 in. Circa 1950's-1960's NISSAN ENGEL Israel, b. 1931 Multidisciplinary Israeli French art...
Mixed Media, Oil, Wood Panel
Dye Painting #15
Located in Santa Monica, CA
Interested in communicating ideas of history, place and nature in her painting practice, Jennifer Wolf utilizes natural dyes and minerals to feature a historically significant palett...
Silk, Dye, Acrylic, Wood Panel, Pigment
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
Elise Ansel, Revelations IX, Oil on Linen
By Elise Ansel
Located in London, GB
Oil on Linen 45.7 x 35.6 cm 18 x 14 in. ---- Ansel deconstructs pictorial language and authorial agency in order to excavate and liberate meanings buried beneath the surface of the works from which her paintings spring. Old Master paintings were, for the most part, created by men for men. Abstraction allows her to interrupt this one sided narrative and transform it into a sensually capacious non-narrative form of visual communication that embraces multiple points of view. The title of the exhibition yes I said Yes is carved from the last line...
Linen, Oil
Elise Ansel, Infidelity V, Oil on Canvas
By Elise Ansel
Located in London, GB
Oil on Canvas Framed 37 x 37 cm 14.5 x 14.5 in ------ Ansel deconstructs pictorial language and authorial agency in order to excavate and liberate meanings buried beneath the surface...
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