Mid-18th Century Figurative Paintings

Provenance: Dukes of Marlborough Collection, Blenheim Palace until its sale at Christie's London on 26 July 1886 (lot 172) English private collection until its sale at Christie's London on 11 December 1992 (lot 363) Erna Weidinger Collection (1923 - 2021) - Austria Literature : Georg Scharf - A list of the pictures in Blenheim Palace - Catalogue raisonné Part 2 - London 1862 (page 166 - number 199 "after Palma Giovane") Charles Davies...

Venetian painter (18th century) - Allegory of Asia and Allegory of America. 60 x 53 cm unframed, 71 x 64 cm with frame. Pair of oil paintings on gold-ground panels, in carved and g...

Italian painter (18th century) - Portrait of a gentleman with aphorism. 92 x 68 cm. Antique oil painting on canvas, without frame (not signed). - Inscription: "There are more madm...

Attributed to Jacques DUMONT aka DUMONT LE ROMAIN (Paris 1701 - 1781) Presumed portrait of Louis-Joseph de Formanoir (?-1732) Oil on canvas H. 91.5 cm; L. 73 cm Signed on the helmet:...

The scene depicts a feast within a park enclosed by walls with arched gateways opening onto the countryside, and adorned on the right with an amphora on a small column and in the center, behind the figures, with a gushing fountain, with statues of cherubs and shells. Two couples of richly dressed ladies and gentlemen entertain themselves gallantly, surrounded by servants; one of the men is playing the violin, crouching in front of his lady, who, flanked by the damsel, follows the melody on the score held up by the dark-haired man at her side, while two musicians accompany the playing with flute and a mandolin; the other couple, in an attitude of intimate dialogue, listens on the left, while on the right the hunter returning from the hunt also observes the scene. Particularly prominent in the scene is the rich dress of the lady in the center, characterized by the wide back folds falling from her shoulders to create a cape. Such a dress corresponds to what was called "robe à la Watteau," named after the French painter Antoine Watteau who first portrayed ladies wearing this pattern. Antoine Watteau (1684 -1721), a French painter considered one of the most influential French exponents of Rococo painting, was the forerunner of the pictorial genre of gallant scenes, a genre that developed in France from the late 1600s and continued throughout the following century. The gallant scenes could be considered as the aristocratic version of the genre scene: characterized by music, dances, pleasant conversations between ladies and gentlemen surrounded by servants, they tended to enhance the costumes, fashionable clothes, and environments of the upper class, conveying a kind of detachment from the real times and places, projecting the viewer into an almost theatrical atmosphere of gestures, looks, colors and stage lights. Moreover, Watteau, along with the Fêtes galantes cycles, also distinguished himself for those inspired by the theater, absorbing his passion for the scenes and characters of that milieu from Claude Gillot...

Louis-Gabriel BLANCHET (Versailles, 1701 – Rome, 1772) Presumed self-portrait of the artist Oil on canvas H. 73 cm; W. 60 cm Circa 1730 Originally presented in a Restoration period frame with a "Mignard" cartouche, this beautiful painting initially appeared to us as a work from northern Italy. However, it exuded a rather French form of refinement, suggesting that its artist may have assimilated a dual influence from both sides of the Alps. We thank our colleague and friend Philippe Mendès for spontaneously and judiciously "bringing out" the name of Louis-Gabriel Blanchet, a Romanized French portraitist, whose spirit and stylistic characteristics we clearly recognize here. Blanchet's "French" years, before his final departure for Rome in 1728, following his winning of the second Grand Prix for painting after Subleyras in 1727, are extremely poorly documented. His father, Gabriel, was valet to Blouin, himself Louis XIV's first valet at the time. According to Thierry Lefrançois, Blanchet was one of the few students of Nicolas Bertin (1667-1736), whose studio he is said to have joined in the early 1720s. At a baptism on March 24, 1724, where he was godfather, he is mentioned as a painter in the picture store of the Duke of Antin, the director of buildings between 1708 and 1736. At this time, he was probably already married to Jeanne Quément, with whom he had a daughter also named Jeanne, who would marry Nicolas Aviet, the son of a valet in the queen's wardrobe, in Versailles in 1738. When Blanchet arrived in Rome in October 1728, he was accompanied by Subleyras, Trémolières, and Slodtz. He enjoyed the goodwill of Vleughels, the director of the Académie de France, which had been based at the Palazzo Mancini since 1725, even though the latter was not always kind to our resident. From 1732, he was under the protection of the Duke of Saint-Aignan when he took up his post as ambassador to Rome. Along with Slodtz and Subleyras, they formed a trio of friends, joined by Joseph Vernet shortly after his arrival in Rome in 1734. Slodtz and Blanchet, on the occasion of Subleyras's marriage in 1739, were there to attest that their friend was not bound by any marital commitment, and Blanchet was a witness at Vernet's wedding in 1745. It is most likely from these early years in Rome that our portrait of the artist dates, the expression and turn of his face irresistibly reminiscent of a self-portrait. The still relatively youthful features may correspond to Blanchet's thirty-something years, and the fluffy wig was still fashionable at this time. The painting fits well with the depiction of a young painter wanting to display both the beginnings of success and a certain simplicity or restraint. A slight smile expresses a form of assurance in this man with a gentle, sincere gaze and a face radiating a keen sense of wit. We find here the air of intimacy present in almost all of Blanchet's portraits, even those from the 1750s and 1760s, as well as an almost complicity with the viewer. The spirit of the painting is quite close to that of the presumed portrait of Bouchardon (painted around 1730) and the portrait of Pannini, painted in 1736, but it possesses a more natural quality, notably thanks to the absence of decorum. Our work exhibits the characteristics of Blanchet's paintings: elegance, luminosity (especially in the whites), vibrant and refined colors (here, the harmony of the garnet of the garment and the slate blue of the background, whose uniformity is tempered by a very sketched landscape and a grove of greenery), light complexions, rather rosy cheekbones, often full lips, and rather tight framing. According to the Academy's rules, Blanchet's stay should have ended in the spring of 1732, but, for reasons unknown, he remained in the Eternal City until his death, as did his friend Subleyras, with whom he shared accommodation until the late 1730s. The latter regularly called upon him to collaborate on his paintings, such as The Meal at Simon's. Through Saint-Aignan's intervention, Blanchet was employed in the late 1730s by the Stuart princely family, then exiled in Italy. He notably produced copies (now lost) after Liotard of the portraits of Charles Edward and Henry Benedict, the sons of James III Stuart. The latter also commissioned three other portraits (now in the National Portrait Gallery in London), whose more formal character contrasts with the intimate spirit of Blanchet's portraits. Blanchet frequented English painters, such as the landscape painter Richard Wilson, and studied with the Scottish portraitist Katherine Read...

Antique French painting from the mid-18th century. Oil on canvas artwork depicting a Madonna with child of good pictorial quality. Painting of excellent proportion and small size, ea...

Jacopo Amigoni (Venice 1682 - Madrid 1752) - Madonna and Child. 82 x 62 cm unframed, 104.5 x 66.5 cm with frame. Oil on canvas, in a carved and gilded wooden frame (not signed). -...

- ANNA CATERINA GILLI or GILLI Anna Caterina Turin 1729- 1751 Her paintings recorded in Turin as a decorative artist for the Royal Palace and the Stupinigi, working in a simil...

- ANNA CATERINA GILLI or GILLI Anna Caterina Turin 1729- 1751 Her paintings recorded in Turin as a decorative artist for the Royal Palace and the Stupinigi, working in a simil...

Flemish Baroque painting. Romantic scene. Signed and dated. J. HOREMANS 1760. This 100% authentic painting captivates with its powerful colors. A real eye-catcher. Dimensions witho...

Antique Italian painting from the 18th century. Artwork oil on canvas depicting a bucolic landscape, pastoral scene with chariot of good pictorial quality. Small painting adorned wit...

Giambattista Piazzetta (Venice 1683 - Venice 1754) circle of - Six Half-Length Apostles. 62.5 x 52.5 cm unframed, 72.5 x 62.5 cm with frames. Group of six oil paintings on canvas, ...

Pietro Bardellino (Naples, Italy, 1731 – 1806) Title: Mary Magdalene Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: without frame 75 x 60 cm – with frame 97 x 82 cm Antique shaped and carved wood...

This brilliant study sheet, of which we present here a counterproof, is a souvenir of Fragonard's return journey from Italy. Between April and September 1761, he accompanied the abbot of Saint-Non on his way back to France. Three studies after the masters taken from the Pitti Palace’s gallery in Florence are gathered on this sheet. Although The Ecstasy of Saint Margaret...

Painting oil on canvas depicting a soldier handing the crown to Saint Joseph, measuring 76 x 61 cm without frame and 95 x 80 cm with frame by an Italian School of the second half of ...

Giuseppe Bonito (Castellammare di Stabia, Italy, 1707 - Naples, Italy, 1789) Title: The Painter's Studio or Allegory of Painting Medium: Oil on canvas ...

Sin firmar, de autor anónimo Se presenta enmarcada la obra con un marco posterior a la pintura Comentar que la tela está reentelada Medidas obra: 65 x 49 cm. Medidas marco: 82 ...

18th-Century Pastoral Scene Dutch School, 18th century oil on canvas, framed Framed: 22 x 25.5 inches Canvas : 18.5 x 22 inches Provenance: private collection, France Condition: very...

Giuseppe Zais (Forno di Canale 1709 - Treviso 1784) - Landscape with shepherds and spinner. 48 x 63.5 cm without frame, 59 x 74.5 cm with frame. Oil on canvas, in a carved and gild...

Atul Bose - Portrait of a Young Man Pencil on Paper 8 x 6 inches, 1935 (Unframed & Delivered) In this delicate pencil portrait, Atul renders the profile of a young man with remarkab...

Circle of Giambattista Piazzetta (Venice 1683 - Venice 1754) - San Tommaso. 62.5 x 52.5 cm without frame, 72.5 x 62.5 cm with frame. Antique oil painting on canvas, in a contempora...

The panels were designed ad decorations for 18th century french drugstores, and can be compared to those designed by the same Peyrotte (who was painter and furnitures designer for th...

Gian Domenico Tiepolo Follower Period Italian Painting A beautiful and important painting fan-shaped on parchment produced by an 18th century Venetian artist from the circle of Gian ...

Antique English painting from the second half of the 18th century. Framework oil on canvas depicting genre scene with characters of good pictorial quality. Large size and impact pain...

Refined Italian painting from the first half of the 18th century. Oil on canvas artwork depicting a splendid landscape with a capriccio of classical ruins and figures. Painting of re...

Delicate and caring Madonna with child, oil on copper, measuring 23 x 16 cm without frame and 32 x 25 cm with frame. Sweet colors and intimate attitudes for this painting that posse...

Ancient Italian painting from the 18th century. Oil on canvas framework depicting landscape and folk scene with children of good pictorial quality. Painting of beautiful size and ple...

Painting done in oil on canvas. The figure of Magdalene is depicted here, in keeping with tradition, with long red hair; with a gesture of sorrowful dedication she fixes her gaze on ...