18th Century and Earlier Figurative Paintings

Without frame. Expertise by Prof. Antonio Vannugli A brightly lit gash opens up in the middle of the sky; within it appears the figure of the Virgin with the Child and beside her a...

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...

Saint Jerome in the desert Cercle of Lambert Van Noort (1520-1571, Antwerp) Antwerp School, mid-16th century Oil on oak panel. Dimensions: panel h. 69 cm (27.16 in), l. 52.5 cm (20.6...

With a "cassetta" frame in gilded and carved wood. Publications: - Expertise by Prof. Egidio Martini; - G. M. Guidetti, in From Sacro to Profano. The Giorgio Baratti...

Late 17th Century Italian School. The Return of the Ark on the Covenant, Oil on Canvas, in a Fine 17th Century Italian Frame, canvas: 40.25" x 49.75" (102.3 x 126cm) Fine quality and rare 17th century Italian Old Master...

This interesting grisaille […] of a high standard of quality and in an excellent state of conservation, represents an interesting derivation with slight variations from an engraving,...

Half Length Portrait of Mr. Robertson Sir. Henry Raeburn ( Scottish 1756 - 1823 ) Half Length Portrait of Mr. Robertson 29x 24 Purchased, J Leger & Son,...

Large antique oil painting of Samson and Delilah after Anthony van Dyck Dutch, 17th Century Height 165cm, width 233cm This very large artwork ...

Charles Jervas Possibly Frances Thynne, Lady Worsley 1673-1750 Oil on Canvas Picture Size: 50 x 40" Outside Frame Size: 58 x 48" 1675 – 1739 Charles Jervas, who was born in Clonli...

Charles Jervas Possibly Arthur, 6th Viscount Irwin (Temple Newsam) Oil on Canvas Picture Size: 50 x 40" Outside Frame Size: 58 x 48" 1675 – 1739 Charles Jervas, who was born in Cl...

Dipinto antico olio su tela raffigurante ritratto di Maria Giovanna Battista di Savoia Nemours con cornice in legno dorato coeva allo stesso. La nobildonna di alta estrazione social...

Attributed to Dutch artist, youngest Jan Van der Meer (1656-1705) or his circle. Pastoral scene with little livestock and figures of reclining shepherds by town walls, castle or cath...

17th century Portrait of a lady, possibly from the Caulfeild family, seated in a luxurious landscape holding a basket of flowers The sitter is looking sweetly at the spectator, whil...

A Venetian Gentleman 18th Century Venetian School oil painting on board, framed framed: 7.25 x 6 inches board: 5.25 x 4 inches provenance: private collection, UK condition: sound bu...

17th Century French School Saint John the Baptist in a landscape oil on copper 17 x 11.5 cm In good condition except very small loss of painting in the lower left part In a modern f...

Ritratto del Re di Sardegna Vittorio Amedeo III di Savoia. Ambito di Giovanni Panelalbo. Ritratto di Vittorio Amedeo III di Savoia (Torino, 26 giugno 1726 – Moncalieri, 16 ottobre 1...

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...

The Knight is an original oil painting on canvas realized during the XVII century by an anonymous artist. Provenance: Pecci-Blunt collection. Good condition...

Italian painter (early 18th century) - Four Evangelists. 25.5 x 19 cm without frame, 29 x 22.5 cm with frame. Ancient oil painting on panel. in wooden frames. Condition report: In...

Lorenzo Gramiccia (Cave 1702/1704 - Venice 1795) - Two Venetian interiors. 45 x 60 cm without frame, 55 x 70 cm with frame. Pair of antique oil paintings on canvas, in carved and g...

Antique oil on canvas painting depicting the mystical marriage of St. Catherine. The work is rich in iconographic invention and intoned in full-bodied, ringing colors, with effects ...

Circle of Thomas Hudson (1701-1779) British. 18th Century Bust Portrait of a Lady, Oil on Canvas, Inscribed on a label verso, canvas: 30" x 25" (76.2 x 63.5cm). frame: 30 x 25 in...

Francesco Annicini (Rome 1632 - post 1679) - Still life with greengrocer. 73.5 x 98.5 cm without frame, 90 x 115 cm with frame. Antique oil painting on canvas, in a carved and gild...

Venetian painter (18th century) - Gallant scene with masked characters. 80 x 63.5 cm without frame, 87.5 x 70.5 cm with frame. Antique oil painting on canvas, in a wooden frame. C...

17th century old master, Hagar and the Angel In Genesis 16, Hagar, Sarah's maidservant, fled into the wilderness after facing mistreatment. There, she encountered an angel who instr...

Artist/ School: Italian School, 18th century Title: Figures/ Travellers walking through a Baroque landscape admiring the ancient classical, Roman ru...

Portrait of a Gentleman wearing a Ruff Collar Dutch/ French artist, 18th century oil painting on copper, unframed copper board : 6.75 x 5 inches provenance: private collection, UK co...

Oil on canvas Image size: 12 x 10 inches (30.5 x 25.5 cm) Period hand carved gilt frame This 17th century Dutch genre painting depicts a young woman holding a jug with a landscape l...

Dimensions: 41 x 32 cm without frame - 47 x 55.5 cm with frame Antique box frame made of solid wood and walnut burl. Publications: unpublished The painting by Bernardino Detti (14...

Dimensions: 165 x 123 cm without frame - 194 x 152 cm with frame Black painted, carved, sculpted and guilloché wooden frame, gilded parts in the inner groove. Publications: unpubl...

The Battle of the Novogorodians with the Suzdalians 16th century Size 50.5 x 47.5 x 3 cm. The icon is located in the Russian Federation. There is an expert opinion from leading R...

Oil on panel Signed lower right At the forefront, a child barely reaching the height of the table, sits upon a modest chair, engaged in her simple meal. Her youthful visage captivat...

Oil on canvas, 62 x 51 cm (without the frame) Even if on the background there is an attribution to “Francesco Gessi pupil of Guido Reni” by the bolognese art historian Guido Zucchini (dated 1945), recent studies are tending to add it to the corpus of Girolamo Negri called Il Boccia (Bologna 1648-1718) due to lots of similarities with his style (the pale and warm palette chosen, the profile) The painting represents a lady on profile wearing a brown turban, a yellow clock...

Figure with Cherubim in Wilderness Italian School, 17th century oil painting on wood panel framed 13 x 11 inches condition: overall for its age very good, though the work is most likely a preparatory...

In questa “Madonna col Bambino”, Francesco Solimena esprime diversi elementi della sua poetica con una delicatezza pienamente rococò. Il pittore campano, variando i toni del chiaros...

Sassoferrato (Giovanni Battista Salvi) 1609-1685 Italian Madonna Addolorata Oil on canvas Celebrated Italian artist Sassoferrato and his moving religious imagery are the epitome ...

Large 17th century Italian old master - Noli me tangere - Christ in the garden with Mary Magdalene The Italian art historian Federico Zeri has conserved a painting in his archives w...

Oil on Canvas. The identification of the saint is given by the presence of the large wooden wheel, symbolic of the instrument of her martyrdom. Usually the saint is depicted with a ...

Oil on Canvas. The sacred figures are depicted in glory, that is, seated in the heavens and surrounded by angels . Mary, crowned with stars, holds on her knees the Child Jesus, who e...

Giovanni Maria DELLE PIANE, known as IL MULINARETTO (Genoa, 1660 – Monticelli d'Ongina, 1745) Portrait of a man Oil on oval canvas H. 108 cm; L. 83 cm Provenance: Nino Ferrari Colle...

“Timete Deum et date Illi honorem quia venit hora iudicii Eius” (Fear the Lord and honour Him, for the hour of His judgement has come): the passage from John's Apocalypse (chapter 14...

Jacques STELLA (Lyon, 1596 - Paris, 1657) The Annunciation Oil on alabaster (single old break perfectly restored) H. 25 cm; W. 30 cm Son of François Stellaert, a painter of Flemish ...

Formerly Canesso Collection, Paris. Publications: Bozzetti, modelletti, sketches: dalla collezione di Giorgio Baratti (From the Giorgio Baratti Collection) curated by Anna Orlando, ...

Portrait of a Lady English School, 18th century oil on canvas, unframed canvas : 31 x 25 inches provenance: private collection, UK condition: good and sound condition

The Penitent Saint Italian artist, 17th century oil on copper panel, framed framed: 10 x 8 inches copper panel : 7.5 x 5 inches provenance: private collection, France condition: very...

Circle of Bernhard Keilhau, known as Monsù Bernardo (Helsingør 1624 - Rome 1687) - Maddalena. 64 x 79.5 cm without frame, 82 x 98 cm with frame. Antique oil painting on canvas, in ...

Painting oil on canvas, measuring 78 x 110 unframed and 97 x 122 cm with coeval frame depicting the family of Darius with Alexander the Great, from the Roman school of the second hal...

98 x 36 cm each without frame - 112 x 50 cm with frame Antique gilded and shaped wooden box frames Expertise by Prof. Giancarlo Sestieri This marvellous pair of flower vases has b...

Figures in a Chateau Parkland Court Setting Dutch Golden Age, early 1600's period circle of David Vinckboons (Dutch 1576-1632) oil painting on canvas, unframed canvas measures: 55 x ...

Italian master (17th century) - David and Bathsheba bathing. 49.5 x 64.5 cm without frame, 68 x 84 cm with frame. Antique oil painting on canvas, in an antique carved and gilded wo...

Oil on Canvas. Northern European school of the 18th century. The allegorical scene presents a discreet woman seated on a man's lap at a table set with a pitcher, a goblet, a snuff bo...

Painting, oil on canvas, with dimensions of 105 x 120 cm without frame and 125 x 140 with a beautiful carved frame depicting the 'allegory of charity and love with a woman with three...

‘St. James’ Day’ by Richard Morton Paye (1750-1820). This very large and important 18th century oil on canvas depicts a diverse crowd of Londoners at an oyster stand on a summer’s ev...

During a festive bacchanal a big satyr is eating grapes, lying on the ground and surrounded by a large group of putti who, with festoons and vine leaves, fill and populate the pictor...

Mother & Child British artist, late 18th century after the painting by Sir Anthony van Dyke oil on canvas, unframed canvas : 20 x 18 inches provenance: private collection, Berkshire,...

Very well executed mid-18th century artwork, rather oil study, depicts resting family sheltering from the scorching midday sun in grotto shape arch in ruined part of town. Mother fee...

Very important copper of the XVII century. Great conservation and super quality, very probably painted by Guido Reni.

Artist/ School: Italian Old Master, 18th century Title: Angel and Saints appearing to figures, one dressed in a white ruff collar. Medium: oil on canvas...