17th Century Figurative Paintings

Sebastiano Mazzoni Andata al calvario Olio su tela, Sec. XVI, cm 130x143; con cornice 167x153x9 Il dipinto rappresenta un episodio della Passione di Cristo cui accennano appena i Van...

A German painter from Baden, he was a student of J W Schirmer in Dusseldorf and Baden Court. Oil on Panel Signed and Dated 1865 Provenance: Private Collection, Austria

The Market in Piazza del Popolo is a work by the Flemish painter Jacob van Huchtenburg, born in Haarlem and present, in the early 1660s, in Rome, in close contact with his compatriot...

Fine huge 17th Century Italian/French Old Master Battle Scene of the Crusades, oil on canvas. Grand scale extensive landscape view of a battle from the 1670-80 period, with cavalry f...

Francesco Fracanzano (Monopoli 1612-Napoli 1656) Testa di vecchio Olio su tela, cm 66x52,5 La tela presenta la figura di un uomo anziano a mezza figura con lo...

Seguace di Peter Paul Rubens, Due teste di apostoli Metà del XVII secolo, Olio su tela, cm 47,5x61 Il dipinto raffigura due teste di anziani ed è collocabile in ambito fiammingo. Potrebbe trattarsi del ritratto di due sapienti dell’ antichità , e in particolare di due filosofi caratterizzati da atteggiamenti opposti: quello di sinistra con lo sguardo verso terra, potrebbe ricordare Aristotele; quello di destra, con lo sguardo rivolto verso il cielo, il suo maestro Platone. In alternativa va presa in considerazione l’ ipotesi, forse più probabile, che si tratti di uno studio su due teste di apostoli che trovano posto nella zona inferiore dell’ assunzione della Vergine. // Follower of Peter Paul Rubens, Two Heads of Apostles Mid 17th century, Oil on canvas, 47.5x61 cm The painting depicts two heads of elderly people and can be placed in the Flemish context. It could be the portrait of two scholars of antiquity, and in particular of two philosophers...

Stained glass with lead frame and soldering Height: 8 3/4 inches (22.25 cm) This is a beautiful small stained glass window showing John the Baptist, created with bright coloured glass and painted details in brown and gold stain. Here, John is shown holding a lamb, a common attribute given to St John to symbolise his recognition of Jesus as the Son of God. Indeed, when John baptised Jesus in the River Jordan he said 'Behold, the Lamb of God'. His reed cross and camel skin...

Roman ruins is an original old master artwork realized realized by a follower of the artist Giovanni Paolo Panini and attributed to Francis Harding (1730-1766). Mixed colored oil on canvas. Includes frame. The work is a replica of Panini's canvas made around 1740, made known by Ferdinando Arisi in his 1986 monograph (Cat.456) as belonging to the Galleria Taccani in Milan and recently reappeared on the London market...

An engraving by Jerónimo Wierix after Marten de Vos's Saint Michael the Archangel (Iglesia de San Miguel, Córdoba) may have been a source f...

Traveller in a Duch Village Meerhoud Jan Gorinchem 1633 – 1677 Amsterdam Dutch School Golden Age Signature: Signed bottom left Medium: Oil on panel Dimensions: Image size 21 x 25 c...

Born in Antwerp, Artus Wolffordt received his training in Dordrecht where he became a master in 1603 at the age of twenty-two. He returned to his native city in 1615 and initially worked as an assistant to Otto van Veen...

Mocking of Christ, with all around in grisaille: the Crucifixion, the Resurrection, God the Father, Mankind after the Fall,; in the corners the four evangelists. J. Dijkstra ao, cat. The paintings of Museum Catharijneconvent, Utrecht (Museum Catharijneconvent) 2002, p. 196, pict., as Frans Francken...

Provenance: Robert L. and Bertina Suida Manning, New York, until 1996 Private Collection, USA One of the leading artists in Genoa during the second half of the seventeenth century, Domenico Piola came from a successful family of artists, renowned for their many illusionistic ceiling programs throughout Genoese churches and palaces. A prolific draughtsman and painter, Domenico oversaw an extremely productive studio. In addition to his collaborations with numerous other artists, Domenico also provided many designs for book illustrations and prints that circulated throughout Europe, earning him international exposure and high acclaim in his own day. As Dr. Anna Orlando has indicated (written communication), the present work is an early work by Piola, datable from the late 1640s. At this time the young artist came strongly under the influence of Castiglione and Valerio Castello, while admiring the works of Giulio Cesare Procaccini. Piola’s works from this period are exuberant and fluid, and the artist’s love of portraying children is evident from the angels and putti that populate both his altarpieces and more intimate paintings. The present work depicts three angels...

Oil painting on canvas. It is a vintage copy of the engraving of the same name made by Annibale Carracci (1560-1609), which had immediate success and gave rise to a series of printed replicas and painted copies. It presents the moment of the Passion in which Christ is crowned with the crown of thorns, the object of torture, the disparaging symbol of his proclamation as King of Kings. The act is performed by two figures, the Roman soldier and the Jew, representing the two people who they took part in Christ's death sentence. The figures, vigorous and sanguine, those of the two tormentors paler and more inert than the victim, create an intertwined composition of bodies, with that of the central Jesus joining the other two, uniting them in the shared responsibility of what they are doing; placed sideways, Jesus has his head bent forcibly to the left by the soldier who imposes the crown of thorns on him, while the Jew on the right places the bamboo cane in his hand, replacing the scepter. The scene is dominated by gloomy and dark colors, among which only the bright red of Christ's robe stands...

Amazing painting of Cleopatra oil on canvas with a gilt wood frame. Attributed to Giuseppe Diamantini (Fossombrone 1621-Venice 1705) The dramatic subject of the painting depicts th...

"Cherubs" (A) Pen and Ink drawing of Putto Italian School Late 17th early 18th century. Pen and ink on paper 6 ½ x 17 ½ (22 ½ x 11 ½) inches Antique scenes of putto and a faun cele...

Oil painting on canvas. Lombard school of the seventeenth century. The large scene presents in the center the seated Madonna proposing her breast to the Baby Jesus, who instead stretches out to try to pick a fruit from the basket that St. John gives him, standing under them; around, five figures of saints, recognizable by their iconographic attributes. From the left you have: St. Paul, holding the sword, St. Anna, lovingly watching over his daughter and grandson, St. Peter holding the keys to the Kingdom, St. Joseph with his stick and a carpenter's tool at his waist , and finally, last on the right, San Carlo Borromeo...

Giulio Benso (Genoa, 1592 - 1668) Nineteenth-century shaped and gilded wooden frame The marvellous canvas, a masterpiece by Giulio Benso, a 17th-century Genoese painter, depicts the...

Studio of Sir Anthony Van Dyck (1599-1641, Flemish) Study of a Head of Man Circa 1627-32, Van Dyck’s second Antwerp period Oil on paper, laid down on canvas Dimensions 15 x 14 inches...

Mannerism, derived from the Italian term "maneria," which simply means "style," was an artistic movement that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance, around 1520, and extended into the early 17th century. It is often referred to as the "stylish style" due to its emphasis on self-conscious artifice rather than realistic depiction. Historians debate whether Mannerism should be classified as a style, a movement, or a period. In contrast to the harmonious ideals embraced by renowned artists such as Raphael, Michelangelo, and Leonardo da Vinci, Mannerist painters took a step further and created compositions that were almost bizarre. They introduced fresh color schemes, elongated proportions, and exaggerated anatomy of figures, portraying them in convoluted and serpentine poses. These artists skillfully exhibited their techniques and abilities, aiming to evoke a sense of sophisticated elegance. Among the notable Mannerist painters are Jacopo da Pontormo, Bronzino, Lavinia Fontana...

This painting is added to the corpus of Jans Frans Van Bloemen by an expertise of professor Giancarlo Sestrieri. The Van Bloemen were a family of painter. Jans, born in Antwerp, prob...

Jacob Ochtervelt (Workshop) The Grape Seller There are two known versions of this subject. This is a reduced variant of Ochtervelt's signed and dat...

Oil painting on canvas. French school of the seventeenth century. The scene, set at night in the garden of a villa, of which you can glimpse the ornate facade on the right and in which the fountain gushing with cherubs stands out, under a dark sky and further obscured by heavy clouds, proposes two figures who entertain each other in conversation : an elderly modestly dressed is sternly admonishing a seated young man, richly dressed, who seems instead to make the gesture of mea culpa with his hand. The physiognomy and the gestures of the two characters, together with the style of the clothes, would refer to the philosopher Aristotle who was called to the court of Macedon to be the tutor...

Oil on canvas Image size: 22 x 33 1/2 inches (56 x 85 cm) This is a half portrait of two choir boys wearing white ruffs at their necks, looking down as the...

Oil painting on canvas. Northern Italian school of the 17th-18th century. On the back this label of the Art Gallery with the indication "Venetian School of 1600". The Gospel episode of the deposition of...

Circle of Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, called Guercino (Italian, 1591 – 1666) An annunciation Oil on canvas 30 x 45 in. (76.2 x 114.4 cm.)

Artist/ School: 17th Century Dutch School Title: Ladies Collecting Flowers Medium: oil painting on panel, framed Oval : 6.75 x 9.25 inches, frame...

This rare mural was painted in China over four centuries ago, and is an exquisite example of Buddhist art. The enlightened Buddha is shown standing at the center of the painting, dre...

This fresh sanguine sheet presents various studies placed next to each other in no apparent order. Two of the feet studies are preparatory to the first major commission received by the young Baldassare Franceschini, shortly after his installation in Florence, the frescoes for the Medici Fastes. This cycle was executed between 1636 and 1646 for the Villa La Petraia, a Medici villa on the outskirts of Florence, which allows us to date this sheet to the artist's youth. 1. The Medici Fastes, the first major commission for a young artist Born in Volterra in 1611, the town from which he took his nickname, Baldassare Franceschini apprenticed with his father, a sculptor of alabaster, one of his home town's specialities, and studied with Cosimo Daddi (1540-1630), a local artist. The Marquis Inghirami, who spotted his talent, sent him to the workshop of Matteo Rosselli (1578 - 1650) in Florence, which was also attended by Francesco Furini (1603 - 1646). In 1636, Lorenzo de' Medici, the youngest son of Ferdinand Ier and Christine of Lorraine, chose the 25-year-old artist, again on the advice of the Marquis Inghirami, to decorate with frescoes the loggias of the inner courtyard of the Villa La Petraia, which he had just inherited on the death of his mother. The project lasted about ten years and included ten scenes placed symmetrically in two loggias on either side of the courtyard: four main scenes and six placed above the doors, each to the glory of a member of the Medici family. This decoration was his major secular project, but Volterrano also executed several religious frescoes and a few easel paintings, often with less success. Among the religious commissions, we can cite the dome of the Colloredo chapel dedicated to Saint Lucy...

The painting depicts Jephthah and his daughter, two Old Testament biblical characters. The girl is depicted in profile,dressed in the clothing of a seventeenth-century Venetian lady: the low-cut dress, tightened at the waist by a golden belt...

This is a masterfully rendered and brilliantly designed scene from the Arabian Nights. page 33 from Random House. We are not sure if this is by Gustaf Tenggren. ( Gustaf Tenggren At...

A very nice painting of a Holy Family, oil on canvas.

"Cherubs" (B) Pen and Ink drawing of Putto Italian School Late 17th early 18th century. Pen and ink on paper 6 ½ x 17 ½ (22 ½ x 11 ½) inches Antique scenes of putto and a faun cele...

Oil painting on canvas. Northern Italy school. The depiction of the Nativity is seen here as a contemplative moment of the Holy Child, by Mary and Joseph, accompanied by little angel...

Oil painting on canvas. The large canvas recounts an episode taken from the Gerusalemme Liberata by Torquato Tasso, in which the young Erminia, princess of Antioch secretly in love w...

Giovan Battista Beinaschi (Fossano, 1636 - Naples 1688) Saint Bartholomew Oil on canvas, cm. 96 x 71,5 – with frame cm. 108 x 86 Shaped and gilded ...

Knights is an original old masters artwork realized in the first half of the 17th century by Peter Van Lear (called Il Bamboccio). Mixed colored oil painting on canvas. The artwork includes frame: 43x84.5 cm Pieter Bodding van Laer...

Here Gaspard Dughet offers us an idyllic vision of the Roman countryside. The stages follow one another in a perfectly structured composition, revealing here a lake, there travellers walking along, gradually leading our eye to the blue horizon. But behind its classical composition, this landscape is particularly interesting because of three anthropomorphic details that the artist has hidden, opening the way to a radically different interpretation... 1. Gaspard Dughet, a landscape artist in the light of Poussin Gaspard Dughet was born on June 4th, 1615 in Rome where his father, of French origin, was a pastry cook. He was probably named Gaspard in honour of his godfather Baron Gaspard de Morant, who was, or may have been, his father's employer. His older sister Jeanne married the painter Nicolas Poussin (1594 - 1655) on September 1st, 1630. The young Gaspard was apprenticed with his brother-in-law at the beginning of 1631, which led his entourage to name him Gaspard Poussin. The first preserved works of the painter date from the years 1633-1634 and were painted in Poussin’s studio. Around 1635, Gaspard Dughet became emancipated and began to frequent the Bamboccianti circle. In 1636, he became friends with the painter Jean Miel (1599 - 1656), but also with Pier Francesco Mola (1612 - 1666) and Pietro da Cortona (1596 - 1669). This was also the time of his first trips throughout Italy. The painter, although of French origin, appears never to have visited France. In 1646 he settled permanently in Rome. A recognized painter with a solid book of orders, he remained faithful to landscape painting throughout his life, alternating between cabinet paintings and large decorative commissions, using both oil and fresco. Nailed to his bed by rheumatic fever at the age of 58, he died on May 25, 1675. 2. Discovering an idealized landscape Beyond a relatively dark foreground that takes us into the landscape, we discover a vast bluish horizon: a plateau surrounded by deep ravines advances to the right, overhanging an expanse of water that sparkles below. A road winds through a mountainous mass as if leading us to the fortress that crowns it; another town appears in the distance at the foot of three conical mountains. The composition is rigorous, mineral, and structured by geometric volumes. The various stages in the landscape lead one to the next attracting the eye towards the horizon located in the middle of the canvas. The general impression is that of a welcoming and serene nature. In many places the paint layer has shrunk, or become transparent, revealing the dark red preparation with which the canvas was covered and accentuating the contrasts. Human presence is limited to three jack players, leaning against a mound in the foreground. Their long garments, which may evoke Roman togas, contribute to the timelessness of the scene. Close examination of the canvas reveals two other travellers on the path winding between the rocks. Made tiny by the distance, their introduction in the middle register, typical of Dughet's art, lengthens the perspective. While it is difficult to date the work of a painter who devoted his entire life to the representation of landscapes, it is certain that this painting is a work from his later years. The trees that occupied the foreground of his youthful compositions have been relegated to the sides, a stretch of water separates us from the arid mountains counterbalanced by two trees represented on the opposite bank. The introduction of this stretch of water in the middle of the landscape betrays the influence of the Bolognese and in particular of the Dominiquin (1581 - 1641) A number of similarities with a drawing in the British Museum might suggest a date around 1656-1657, since, according to Marie-Nicole Boisclair , it has been compared with the Prado's Landscape with the Repentant Magdalene, painted at that period. 3. Three amazing anthropomorphic details While some late Renaissance landscapes offer a radical double reading, allowing one to see both a face or a human body behind the representation of a landscape, it seems interesting to us to hypothesize that Gaspard Dughet had fun here by slipping in a few details that, taken in isolation, evoke human or animal figures. We will give three examples, looking closely at a cloud, the trunk of a broken tree and the top of a cliff. The main cloud could thus evoke a Christ-like face or that of an antique god...

Wonderful genre painting from 18th Century of pipe smoker. Signed lower right edge with monogram "I I E". Oil paint on copper. Condition: good: minor wear/rubbing from frame's rabbet...

Domenico Maria Canuti (Bologna 1626 - 1684) Toilet of Venus with Cupids and Satyrs Oil on canvas, cm. 79x98 - with frame cm. 102x121 Original gilded wo...

Portrait of Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583-1643) Attributed to Antiveduto Della Grammatica (1571-1626) Oil on Canvas 1605-1609 Framed in a Nineteenth Century gild and composite frame 44....

Simone Cantarini (Pesaro 1612 - Verona 1648) Adoration of the Magi Oil on paper applied to canvas, cm. 16,5 x 24 – with frame cm. 22 x 29 Antique sh...

Giuseppe Assereto (Genova - 1626 ca – Genova 1656/57) Portrait of an elderly woman, possible portrait of Maddalena Massone, wife of Gioacchino Assereto Oil on canvas, cm. 65,5 x 51,5...

Oil on the table. Northern European school of the 17th century. The scene depicts an episode in the life of Scipio narrated by Tito Livio and Valerio Massimo. Publius Cornelius Scipi...

Cardinal with missive is an original old master artwork realized in the 17th Century. Mixed colored oil painting on canvas. Provenance: Italy. Avery precoius artwork depicting a ca...

Juan Alfonso Abril (active in the 17th century in Valladolid) Head of Saint Paul Oil on canvas, cm. 48,5 x 62 - with frame cm. 63 x 76,5 Shaped wooden f...

St. Nicholas of Tolentino (1245-1305) Italian School, 17th century oil painting on canvas, canvas: 10 x 8 inches provenance: private collection, Germany Very fine and rare 17th century Italian Old...

Cornelis Schut, atrributed to (1597 - Antwerp - 1655) Mary with Child, St. Elisabeth and John the Baptist en grisaille Oil on wood, 33,5 x 26,5 cm Co...

Virgin Mary and Jesus is an original old masters' artwork realized by the Flemish painter Theodor Mathon (1606-1676) in the 17th century. Mixed ...

The figure of the Magdalene emerges from the darkness, leaning to follow the curve of the stone support; it is depicted vaulted with an interrogative air towards the dark, as if in an attitude of listening, the left hand raised and the other leaning on the "memento mori" very shortened. In front of her a scourge and the jar of ointment. Painted en pendant, Saint John the Baptist is depicted as a young man, with a lamb at his feet, in his hand the processional cross with the banner "exception agnus dei", while with his right hand he draws from the source of water, recalling the episode that will see Jesus Christ baptized. In both paintings the figures stand out in a strong and incisive way thanks to the black that characterizes the slate plate on which they are depicted. Historical-critical analysis: We are faced with two examples of oil painting on stone. The beginnings of this particular technique are to be placed in the first half of the sixteenth century: after some fifteenth-century experiments it is with Sebastiano del Piombo that the genre takes hold in the sixteenth century. There were different types of support used, also linked to their availability: amethyst, marble in various colors, alabaster and blackboard. The reasons underlying this technical choice refer to Renaissance artistic theories: it is no coincidence that the painter who most often experimented with oil painting on marble...

Peter Paul Rubens (circle of) An Apostle circular 15.15 inches (38.5 cm) oil on canvas Provenance: Bukowskis Auctions, lot 725149, as "Peter Paul Rubens, circle of".

Spanish school, 17th Century The Holy Trinity Oil on canvas laid on board 18 x 12.3/8 in. (48.2 x 31.5 cm.) Framed in a blackwood moulding with gilt slip

Artist/ School: 17th Century Italian School Title: The Presentation of the Virgin in the Temple Medium: oil painting on canvas, framed Size: canvas: 21” x 16” (53.3 x 40.8cm) Pro...

Already in the collection of Emperor Rudolf II in the first decade of the 17th century this composition was famous. The original is by Parmigianino and Rudolf's court painter Joseph Heintz...

Abraham van CUYLENBROCH (1620-1658) Diana With Her Attendants in a Grotto 1651 signed oil on panel 12.2 in x 15.7 inches, inc. frame; 31 x 40 cm Provenance: Sale of Sotheby's Lo...

Christian Charity is an original Old Master Painting realized in the first half of the XVII Century, most probably in the 1630s, by one of the pupils of the Italian artist Bernardo Strozzi...

Remembering the magic of everyday life moments in the art of David Teniers: The art of David Teniers the Younger (1610–1690) coincided with the heyday of the Flemish Baroque and captured a great variety of motifs of his time. In this painting of a seemingly simple peasant scene lies keys to understanding both the imaginative mind of Teniers as well as why this time period produced some of the most iconic works in all of art history.  As indicated by the name, Teniers was more or less born into his profession. As the son of David Teniers the elder, himself a painter who studied under Rubens, the younger David received training in art from a very young age and had no less than three brothers who also became painters. Because of his father’s frequent financial failures that even at times saw him imprisoned, David the younger helped to rescue the family from ruin through painting copies of old masters. Essentially, the young Teniers was confronted with painting as both a passion and creative expression as well as a necessity during difficult times, an experience that would shape much of his capacity and sensitivity in his coming life. Despite the hardships, the talent and determination of Teniers was recognized and quickly expanded his possibilities. He had already spent time in France and possibly also England when he was hired by his father’s former teacher Rubens to help with a prestigious commission with mythological paintings, now considered lost, for Philip IV the king Spain. In 1644–54 Teniers was appointed dean of the Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke, manifesting his esteemed position within the artistic community. A few years afterwards he took an important step when relocating to Brussels, where Teniers yet again found new career opportunities that would prove to be very successful. As the keeper of the collections of Archduke Leopold Wilhelm, a role similar to what we now refer to as an art advisor, Teniers purchased hundreds of important artworks that manifested the prominent status of the Archduke’s collection while at the same time providing an unusual access to inspiration and knowledge for Teniers himself. Since he kept on painting during the same time, his creative scope must have seemed almost bewildering in the great variety of images and stories that he surrounded himself with.  Regardless of how glamorous and culturally stimulating the career of Teniers was, he was as open to the charm and existential importance of everyday life as he was to works of great masters and luxurious collectibles. In his impressive repertoire of genres with everything from exquisite royal portraits, interiors, landscapes and history paintings he always added something new and inventive, highlighting the possibilities of art and importance of an experimental and intuitive mind. It is difficult to single out one aspect or genre to summarize his legacy, since it lies much more in the broad virtuosity across many motifs, although he is particularly remembered for farm scenes and meticulously depicted interiors where other paintings and artworks are captured with an astonishing precision. However, the fact that he is still today one of the most known and celebrated names of the Dutch Golden Age is a proof to the magic of his work, which continues to spark dialogue and wonder in the contemporary viewer of his works. The farm boy in the field in this painting, which likely dates to the mature part of his career, is a wonderful entry into the mind of Teniers. In the tightly cropped motif, we see him standing right in the middle of the busy harvest when men, women and everyone capable were sent out in the field to collect the crop that formed the very core of their diet and survival. In the background we see a fresh blue sky interspersed with skillfully painted clouds, some trees reaching their autumnal colours and in the far distance the glimpse of a small church and village. The presence of a church in a landscape, so typical of Dutch art, served both a symbolic and visual function as a representation of faith while at the same time defining scale and distance. In the field, the work is in full action with the farmers spread out in various positions, all in the midst of hard and sweaty labour. While they are portrayed as having nothing else than the work on their mind, our farm boy seems to have his attention directed elsewhere. Standing there with his white, half open shirt, flowy curls and strong, sturdy body; his gaze is directed away, out of the picture and the scythes in his hands. He looks almost smirking, expressed with tremendous subtlety in the slight smile of his lips and big eyes, being just in the middle of losing focus on the work. What is it that steals his attention? What has he seen, or realized, or felt – to break him free of the arduous task of harvesting, if but for a moment? Here starts the wondering and the questions that are the hallmark of a great piece of art. Instead of explicitly locking in the motif in overly clear symbolism Teniers has chosen an open ended, subtle yet striking moment for us to consider. While it of course can be related to numerous other farm scene depictions of this time, and clever usages of gazes and real-life scenes to underscore various moral or symbolic meanings, the painting can be much more of a contemplation than an explanation or illustration. The ordinary nature and understated yet emotionally textured composition of the motif gives greater space for our own reactions and thoughts. Has he seen a pretty farm girl just passing by? Is he fed up with the farm life, joyously dreaming away for a minute, imagining another future? Or is he simply in need of distraction, looking away and ready for anything that can steal his attention? One quality that never seem to have escaped Teniers was that of curiosity. During all of his career he constantly investigated, expanded and experimented with not only the style and technique of painting, but with the vision of art itself. Being credited with more or less introducing farm motifs for a broader audience not only tells us of his ability to understand the demand for different motifs, but the sensitivity to transform seemingly ordinary parts of life into deep aesthetic experiences, far beyond their expected reach. The farm boy in this painting is, of course, exactly that. But with the help of one smirk the entire picture is charged with a different energy, awakening many contrasts and relationships between the calm landscape, the hard work and his own breach of effectivity, holding sharp scythes while thinking or seeing something else. It is no wonder Teniers chose to work with farm scenes as a way of investigating these intricate and delicate plays on expectations and surprises, clarity and ambivalence. It invites us to an appreciation of human everyday life that connects us with the people of 17th century...

The 39-year-old gentleman had himself portrayed as an aristocrat in an idyllic landscape. At the time, parks and forests were environments associated with the lands and pastimes of t...