1880s Figurative Paintings

Well painted English Victorian scene of two boats in a battle at night time, off the coast of England. Though signed little is known about the painter. The piece is typically English in its style and the scene looks like the coast of the South of England. The painting has a sort of folk art quality, which maybe why the artist is not a listed painter...

Exquisite, vibrant original oil on canvas painting of a French swordsman in an interior. Very finely done with exacting detail. Circa 1880. Signed lower left “Jean Lamaire”. Conditi...

JOSÉ GALLEGOS Y ARNOSA Spanish, 1857 - 1917 CORO DE MONAGUILLOS ENSAYANDO signed, located and dated "JGallegos / Roma 1883" (lower right) oil on...

Oil on canvas Signed, dated and dedicated (upper right) 46cm × 38cm (59cm × 51cm framed) Forichon was a pupil of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts de Paris and was taught by Jean-Léon Gérôme...

Large 19th century American Orientalist painting by Strain American, 1883 Canvas: Height 65cm, width 56cm Frame: Height 92cm, width 82cm, depth 8cm This impressive Orientalist oil p...

William Raymond Dommersen was a painter of genre and landscapes in and around Scotland and Northern England. His works are widely exhibited throughout the European and North American...

The painting "Halmstad Harbour Seen From the North" by Oscar Ohlson is a captivating snapshot of daily life and historical architecture, frozen in time from the year 1889. With a meticulous eye for detail, Ohlson has rendered approximately 25 boats in the harbor, each brimming with the quiet bustle of daily chores. The painting invites viewers to step into a moment where people converse, work, and seek respite from the sun under shared umbrellas, while wisps of smoke subtly rise from several boats, suggesting the presence of life and activity beyond the canvas. In this vibrant scene, a man carries a sack, perhaps fresh merchandise from one of the docked vessels, while others engage in conversation, highlighting the social tapestry of the harbor. Ohlson's masterful use of light reflects on the water, creating a shimmering path that leads the eye to the majestic Halmstad Castle, which adorns the right side of the painting. This historic building, beautifully situated by the Nissan river and not far from the sea, is a testament to Halmstad's past as a Danish territory. Constructed in the early 17th century during the reign of King Christian IV, the castle stands as a reminder of the town's rich history and cultural heritage. The first building to the right, once part of this historic tableau, has been removed to accommodate modern necessities, replaced by a road that now runs through its former site. This juxtaposition of past and present is a poignant commentary on the evolution of cities and the sacrifices made in the name of progress. Halmstad itself, a town that straddles the Nissan river, retains much of its early 20th-century character in its city core. Low brick and half-timbered houses, some dating back to the 17th century, dot the landscape. The town center on the west side of Nissan is bordered by remnants of early 17th-century fortifications, including the 1600s castle, Norre Port from 1601, and King Charles XI's path along the old fortress wall. At the heart of the town is Stora Torg with Carl Milles' Europa and the Bull fountain from 1926, and the town hall built in 1938. The city layout, influenced by Renaissance planning, converges at Stora Torg, which is also home to the town's sole medieval building, the brick hall church of St. Nikolai from the 14th century. Oscar Ohlson (1847-1912), a native of Linneryd, Småland, was a multifaceted individual. Beginning his career with a legal degree from Uppsala University in 1870, Ohlson's passion for the arts led him to pursue music studies before dedicating himself to art under the guidance of Alfred Wahlberg...

William Formby Halsall Crashing Waves at Sunset Signed lower right Oil on canvas 18 x 30 inches Marine painter William Formby Halsall was born in Kirkdale, England, in 1841. He was...

Jules Arsène Garnier (1847-1889) Portrait of a man, 1883 Oil on canvas Bears the mark “M.CHABOD - Md. de couleurs - toiles à tableaux - rue Jacob, 20” on the back Signed “Jules Garni...

An English river landscape with Swans, boats, barges on the banks of the Thames. A very interesting river landscape composition of figures working on a boat, near a barge on the River Thames, London, circa 1885. Robert Hamilton...

Outstanding Late Victorian English river harvest landscape. John Horace Hooper lived in London. Landscape painter. English School. A prolific artist evidenced by the frequent appea...

Flower garden with children. Ramon Chirinos Venezuelan was born in 1950. Painter and draftsman. He studied drawing and painting with Professor Andrés Guzmán. In the mid-seventies, he obtained the title of professor of physics at the Pedagogical Institute of Barquisimeto, a profession he held for a time until he decided to dedicate himself completely to art. In its beginnings, its pictorial theme shows a deep interest in landscaping and traditional scenes such as cockfights, processions of the Divina Pastora...

Lovely painting by the artist. Several small areas of inpainting mostly around the top and edges, visible under black light only. Several small areas of paint loss in upper center (s...

Paul-Louis MARTIN des AMOIGNES (Saint Benin d’Azy 1850 – Nevers 1925) The Bohemians Oil on panel H. 37 cm; W. 23 cm Monogrammed lower left "PLM" Circa 1886 Provenance: Private colle...

Wonderful signed oil on panel cattle and figures in landscape by French impressionist painter Jean-Francois Raffaelli. The work depicts oxen being loaded onto ships in Honfleur, France en route to England. Signature: Signed lower right Dimensions: Framed: 18"x16" Unframed: 9"x8" Provenance: Exhibition Jean Francois Raffaélli held at Galerie Simonson, 19 Rue Caumartin Paris - October 1929 (number 44) Jean-François Raffaëlli's father was a failed Italian businessman and Raffaëlli himself was, among other things, a church chorister, actor and theatre singer. He then studied under Gérôme at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He travelled to Italy, Spain and Algeria and on his return to France settled in Asnières. In 1876, on a trip to Brittany, he first saw the potential of realist subject matter, if treated seriously. He became involved in meetings of artists at the Café Guerbois, where the Impressionist painters used to gather. As a result, Degas, contrary to the advice of the group, introduced Raffaëlli to the Impressionist exhibitions - according to one uncertain source as early as the very first exhibition, at the home of Nadar, and certainly to those of 1880 and 1881. In 1904, Raffaëlli founded the Society for Original Colour Engraving. He first exhibited at the Salon de Paris in 1870 and continued to exhibit there until he joined the Salon des Artistes Français in 1881, where he earned a commendation in 1885, was made Chevalier of the Légion d'Honneur in 1889 and in the same year was awarded a gold medal at the Exposition Universelle. In 1906 he was made Officier of the Légion d'Honneur. He was also a member of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts. In 1884, a private exhibition of his work cemented his reputation. He contributed to several newspapers such as The Black Cat (Le Chat Noir) in 1885 and The French Mail (Le Courrier Français) in 1886 and 1887. He published a collection entitled Parisian Characters, which captured his favourite themes of the street, the neighbourhood and local people going about their lives. In 1880 he participated, with Forain, on the illustration of Joris Karl Huysmans' Parisian Sketches (Croquis Parisiens). He also illustrated Huysman's Works. As well as working as an illustrator, he also made etchings and coloured dry-points. His early attempts at painting were genre scenes, but once he was settled in Asnières he started to paint picturesque views of Parisian suburbs. From 1879 onwards, his subject matter drew on the lives of local people. These popular themes, which he treated with humanity and a social conscience, brought him to the attention of the social realist writers of the time such as Émile Zola. In addition to his realist style, Raffaëlli's dark palette, which ran contrary to the Impressionist aesthethic, helped to explain the opposition of those painters to his participation in their exhibitions. More concerned with drawing than colour, he used black and white for most of his paintings. Towards the end of his life, he lightened his palette, but without adopting any other principles of the Impressionist technique. After painting several portraits, including Edmond de Goncourt and Georges Clémenceau, he returned to genre painting, particularly scenes of bourgeois life. Later in his career, he painted mainly Breton-inspired sailors and views of Venice. His views of the Paris slums and the fortifications, sites which have almost completely disappeared, went some way towards establishing a genre in themselves and perpetuated the memory of the area: The Slums, Rag-and-Bone Man, Vagabond, Sandpit, In St-Denis, Area of Fortifications. His realistic and witty portrayal of typical Parisian townscapes accounts for his enduring appeal. Born in Paris, he was of Tuscan descent through his paternal grandparents. He showed an interest in music and theatre before becoming a painter in 1870. One of his landscape paintings was accepted for exhibition at the Salon in that same year. In October 1871 he began three months of study under Jean-Léon Gérôme at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris; he had no other formal training. Raffaëlli produced primarily costume pictures until 1876, when he began to depict the people of his time—particularly peasants, workers, and ragpickers seen in the suburbs of Paris—in a realistic style. His new work was championed by influential critics such as J.-K. Huysmans, as well as by Edgar Degas. The ragpicker became for Raffaëlli a symbol of the alienation of the individual in modern society. Art historian Barbara S. Fields has written of Raffaëlli's interest in the positivist philosophy of Hippolyte-Adolphe Taine, which led him to articulate a theory of realism that he christened caractérisme. He hoped to set himself apart from those unthinking, so-called realist artists whose art provided the viewer with only a literal depiction of nature. His careful observation of man in his milieu paralleled the anti-aesthetic, anti-romantic approach of the literary Naturalists, such as Zola and Huysmans. Degas invited Raffaëlli to participate in the Impressionist exhibitions of 1880 and 1881, an action that bitterly divided the group; not only was Raffaëlli not an Impressionist, but he threatened to dominate the 1880 exhibition with his outsized display of 37 works. Monet, resentful of Degas's insistence on expanding the Impressionist exhibitions by including several realists, chose not to exhibit, complaining, "The little chapel has become a commonplace school which opens its doors to the first dauber to come along."An example of Raffaëlli's work from this period is Les buveurs d'absinthe (1881, in the California Palace of Legion of Honor Art Museum in San Francisco). Originally titled Les déclassés, the painting was widely praised at the 1881 exhibit. After winning the Légion d'honneur in 1889, Raffaëlli shifted his attention from the suburbs of Paris to city itself, and the street scenes that resulted were well received by the public and the critics. He made a number of sculptures, but these are known today only through photographs.[2] His work was also part of the painting event in the art competition at the 1912 Summer Olympics. In the later years of his life, he concentrated on color printmaking. Raffaëlli died in Paris on February 11, 1924 Museum and Gallery Holdings: Béziers: Peasants Going to Town Bordeaux: Bohemians at a Café Boston: Notre-Dame; Return from the Market Brussels: Chevet of Notre-Dame; pastel Bucharest (Muz. National de Arta al României): Market at Antibes; Pied-à-terre Copenhagen: Fishermen on the Beach Douai: Return from the Market; Blacksmiths Liège: Absinthe Drinker...

This superb Victorian Scottish landscape oil painting is by noted landscape artist John MacWhirter. Painted circa 1880 the location is Glen Cloy, Arran, a very popular walking and holidaying destination along with the Fairy Glen. The composition is a stream in the foreground with a man and his dog approaching. Either side of them are rolling hills giving way to cloud enveloped mountains in the background. The palette of greens and brown of the flora and fauna is so rich and varied. An excellent example of Scottish Victorian art and of MacWhirter's work. Signed lower right. Provenance. Sotheby's 26.8.86 lot 694. Condition. Oil on canvas, 38 inches by 24 inches unframed, in good condition. Frame. Housed in a gilt swept frame, 50 inches by 37 inches in good condition. John MacWhirter RA (27 March 1839 in Slateford, Edinburgh - 28 January 1911 in London) was a Scottish landscape painter. John was the third of four children. One of his elder sisters, Agnes MacWhirter was also a noted artist of still lifes. He attended a school in Colinton, and after his father's death was apprenticed to Oliver & Boyd, booksellers in Edinburgh. He stayed there for only a few months and then in 1851 enrolled at the Trustees Academy under Robert Scott Lauder and John Ballantyne (1815–97). He spent long periods sketching and studying nature outdoors. His first painting to be exhibited at the Royal Scottish Academy at age 14, was 'Old Cottage at Braid'. In 1880, he was made an Honorary Member of the Royal Scottish Academy. Exploring and painting abroad he visited Italy, Sicily, Switzerland, Austria, Turkey, Norway and the U.S.A. - the Alps being a great inspiration. Of a drawing of wildflowers, Ruskin wrote i have never seen anything like it. Some of these sketches were later purchased by Ruskin and bequeathed to the Ashmolean, Oxford. He moved to London in 1867 and on 4 May 1893 was elected a Royal Academician. MacWhirter specialised in romantic landscapes with a great fondness for trees, spending much time in the hilly countryside of Perthshire. Initially, under the influence of John Everett Millais, he experimented with the detailed images of the Pre-Raphaelites, but later adopted a more sweeping style. His friendship with William McTaggart shows in his freedom of brush. With John Pettie...

Georges DEVY (Active at the end of the 19th century) Oil on canvas 86 cm x 65 cm (96 x 76 cm with the frame) Signed and dated lower left "G. Devy / 1883" Very good condition with a f...

Louis-Alexandre CABIE (Dol-de-Bretagne 1853 - Bordeaux 1939) Landes in Pessac - Gironde Oil on panel H. 31 cm; L. 55 cm Signed lower right Louis Cabié, re...

Niczky Edouard (1850 – 1919) Love date in 19th century Oil on canvas signed low left Old original frame gilded with leaves Dim canvas : 61 X 52 cm Dim frame : 76 X 66 cm Certificate of authenticity Niczky Eduard (1850 – 1919) German painter 19th century Birth on July 17th, 1850 in Kassel Died on May 16th, 1919 in Munich Painter of genre scenes, portraitist, landscapes and flowers. Eduard Niczky...

Hendricks Hallett Ships at Sunset Signed lower left Oil on canvas 22 x 27 inches Hallett, originally from Massachusetts, pursued his studies in Antwerp and Paris. He is primarily r...

James Brade Sword Mending the Nets at Sunset Signed lower left Oil on canvas 12 x 20 inches James Brade Sword was born in Philadelphia, but from aro...

Oil on panel, measures 17" x 21" painting and with frame 24" x 27.5". Signed and dated 1885 lower left. Charles Green studied at Leigh’s School of Fine Art and under the engraver, J W Whymper, before quickly establishing himself as a painter and illustrator. Specialising in genre pieces, he joined the Langham Sketching Club and was elected to the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours (ARI 1864; RI 1867). His elder brother, Henry Towneley Green, was also a member. His contribution of contemporary subjects to the early numbers of The Graphic were admired by Van Gogh, but he was best known for his depiction of period settings and for his illustrations to The Old Curiosity Shop...

The painting up for sale is probably one of the nicest first tier paintings any collector can purchase on firstdibs! The quality and the detail of this painting is in the same leagu...

A fun genre painting with students in a classroom being students by American artist George Henry Story (1835-1923). Story was born in New Haven, CT, and after studying a year in Euro...

Allegories of Carnal Love and Chaste Love by Paul GRANDHOMME (1851-1944) and Alfred GARNIER (1848-1908) Very important plaque in translucent and opaque polychrome enamel on copper, with gold spangles and gold highlights. Set in its original silver setting. Presented in its original morocco leather box...

JUAN GIMÉNEZ MARTÍN Spanish 1855 - 1901 THE MANDOLIN SERENADE signed & located "Gimenez-Martin, Roma" lower left watercolour on cardboard 21-1/4 x ...

MARTIN DES AMOIGNES, Paul Louis (1850-1925) Puppet theatre on the village square Oil on canvas signed low right Dated 14th of July 1884 Old original f...

Date: 1880 Medium: Oil on Board Dimensions: 18.20" x 24.00" Signature: Signed Lower Right

LESSER URY 1861-1931 Międzychód, Poland 1861 - 1931 Berlin (German) Title: The Sculptor’s Studio Das Bildhauer Atelier, 1883 Technique: Hand Signed and Dated Oil on Canvas Pape...

Ferdinand V.L. Roybet (1840-1920) "The Cellist" c. 1880s Oil on Panel Site: 20 x 14 inches Framed Size: 28 x 14 inches Ferdinand Roybet is considere...

Framed Dimensions: 36.00" x 48.00" Signature: Signed Lower Right J.G Brown's "Monopolist" was listed in 1885's Spring Exhibit catalogue of M.A. It was displayed on a panel in The We...