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Old Masters Figurative Paintings

OLD MASTERS

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.

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Style: Old Masters
Color:  Brown
18th century French Old Master Portrait of a woman - Female Oriental Queen
Located in Antwerp, BE
French 18th century old master portrait of a majestic and elegant lady. The aristocratic lady gazes at the viewer with a kind and enigmatic smile and twinkling eyes. In comparison w...
Category

1740s Old Masters Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

19TH CENTURY CONTINENTAL SCHOOL OIL PAINTING WOOD PANEL STUDY OF A SAINT
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
19th Century Continental School A study of a saint Medium ; oil on panel Size: 26" x 12" inches
Category

19th Century Old Masters Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

18th Century by Matteo Bonechi Presentation of Jesus Painting Oil on Canvas
Located in Milano, Lombardia
Matteo Bonechi (Florence 1669 - Florence 1756) Presentation of Jesus Oil on canvas, cm. 75 x 49 – with frame cm. 89,5 x 65 Shaped, carved and gilded wooden box frame Expertise: Sandro Bellesi Publications: Bozzetti, modelletti, sketches: dalla collezione di Giorgio Baratti (From the Giorgio Baratti Collection) curated by Anna Orlando, Agnese Marengo and Annalisa Scarpa, Genova, 2022, pp. 20, 21. The present painting is a very interesting testimony of the creative process of Matteo Bonechi, one of the leading artists on the Tuscan art scene in the early 18th century. The canvas in question is in fact the last preparatory model made by Bonechi before he executed an altarpiece for the church of San Filippo Neri in Cortona in 1716. The scene presented here is that of the Presentation of Jesus, when, forty days after his birth, the child is ransomed through an offering in the temple and placed in the hands of Simeon, who prophesies his future: the coming of the Messiah...
Category

Early 18th Century Old Masters Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Crossing The Ford An Oil Study for the Original by W Mulready, Tate Britain
By William Mulready
Located in Lincoln, GB
‘Crossing the Ford’ by William Mulready (1786-1863) Oil Sketch. Size: 28cm x 23cm framed. Image size: 17cm x 13cm William Mulready was born in Ennis, County Clare...
Category

19th Century Old Masters Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

19th century oil Devon coastal scene William Shayer Snr (Circle of)
Located in York, GB
19th century oil Devon coastal scene William Shayer Snr (Circle of) A very attractive oil on canvas of cockle gatherers on the Devon coast The painting depicts a busy scene with people gathering their cockles with horses/donkeys laden with baskets ready to take to market. The painting Bears signature, also inscribed and dated 1833 (lower right) The size overall is 95 x 130cm whilst the image is 64 x 104cm (25 x 40¾ in.) Housed in the original heavy gilt frame Provenance: The property of a lady and gentleman , removed from a Cheshire country house William Shayer (1787–1879) was an English landscape painter and figure painter who became prominent during the Victorian era. A self-taught artist, who began by painting decorations on rush-bottom chairs. He moved on to painting carriages in the town of Guildford, after which he started doing heraldic painting...
Category

19th Century Old Masters Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

COUNTRY SCENE- Italian School - Figurative Italian Oil on Canvas Painting
Located in Napoli, IT
Country scene - Oil on canvas cm.80x120, Giovanni Santaniello, Italy 2002 Gold gilded wooden frame available on request The painting by Giovanni Santaniello depicts a scene of return...
Category

Early 2000s Old Masters Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

17th Century Dutch Old Master Oil on Panel, Ladies Gathering Flowers
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Artist/ School: 17th Century Dutch School Title: Ladies Collecting Flowers Medium: oil painting on panel, framed Oval : 6.75 x 9.25 inches, frame...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

A red chalk study sheet by Baldassare Franceschini, known as Volterrano
Located in PARIS, FR
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...
Category

Mid-17th Century Old Masters Figurative Paintings

Materials

Chalk, Paper

18th Century by Giuseppe Bonito The Painter's Studio or Allegory of Painting
Located in Milano, Lombardia
Giuseppe Bonito (Castellammare di Stabia, 1707 - Naples 1789) The Painter's Studio or Allegory of Painting Oil on canvas, cm.40,5 x 64 - with frame cm....
Category

Mid-18th Century Old Masters Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

18th Century Neoclassical Oil Painting of the Trojan War: Briseis & Achilles
By James Thornhill
Located in London, GB
James Thornhill (1674-1735) Oil on canvas 12 x 14 inches; 16 ½ x 18 ½ in. Inc. frame The subject matter and inclusion of herms on both sides shows the influence of Louis...
Category

Early 18th Century Old Masters Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Modello for the Virgin of the Rosary, a drawing by Francesco Vanni (1563 - 1610)
Located in PARIS, FR
Francesco Vanni is one of the last representatives of the long Sienese pictorial tradition. In this masterly composition in pen and ink wash, he presents the Virgin of the Rosary, holding the Child Jesus on her lap, surrounded on her right by Saint Dominic and on her left by Saint Catherine of Siena. The presence of these two emblematic saints of the Dominican order is a reminder of the devotion of this order to the Rosary. 1. Francesco Vanni, a Sienese painter of the Counter-Reformation Francesco Vanni was the most important Sienese painter of the late sixteenth century and a key Italian Counter-Reformation painter. He developed a very specific style, inspired not by Florentine models but rather by the Roman, Bolognese and Marche schools, and in particular by the work of his contemporary Federico Barocci (Urbino 1535 - 1612), despite the two artists never meeting. Francesco Vanni was born in Siena around 1563-1564. His father died in 1567 and his mother remarried Arcangelo Salimbeni (1536 - 1579), then one of Siena’s leading painters. His half-brother Ventura Salembini (1568 - 1613) also became a well-known painter. He continued his apprenticeship in Bologna and Rome, where he joined the painter Giovanni de Vecchi’s (1536 - 1614) studio, where he was greatly influenced, like other Tuscan painters of the time, by the art of Federico Barocci. He devoted himself mainly to religious painting, following the canons of the Counter-Reformation. Travelling between Siena, Rome, Bologna and Parma, in 1604, he settled in Siena, where he ended his life. Vanni was also an important member of the Confraternity of the Sacro Chiodo, renowned for its demanding religious practices. His legacy also includes some important engraved work. 2. Description of the artwork The Virgin is depicted enthroned in majesty, slightly taller than the other figures that she dominates from her pedestal. Her wide robe with marked folds evokes Renaissance statuary. She is crowned by two angels in the sky. These two angels are a reminder of the custom of adding angels to crown 13th century icons which was frequent at Vanni’s time. The Child Jesus is standing on the Virgin’s right knee. With her left hand she holds out a rosary to Catherine of Siena, identifiable by a branch of lily in her hand. In a symmetrical gesture, the Child Jesus also holds out a rosary to St Dominic. Two of St Dominic’s attributes are to be found at the foot of the Virgin: a book and a branch of lilies. Vanni gives particularly delicate treatment to St. Dominic's long and slender hands. The two outstretched rosaries form the link between the heavenly register of the Virgin and the Child Jesus and the earthly register of the two Dominicans who are not crowned with a halo. This and the fact they are followed by a large crowd, indicates that they are both represented as part of the multitude of the living called to pray to the Rosary. According to the classical iconographic tradition, it would be plausible to consider that the figure looking at the viewer on the extreme left of the drawing could be a self-portrait of the painter. Francesco Vanni's face is known to us from a self-portrait kept in the Pinacoteca Nazionale in Siena. The squaring of the drawing suggests that it was used for a larger-scale altarpiece, probably for a church dedicated to St Dominic or for a Dominican convent. As of today, we have not identified the painting for which this drawing served as a preparatory modello. The Madonna of the Rosary in the Cathedral of Pitigliano (painted by Francesco Vanni in 1609) differs quite significantly from our drawing by the addition of Pope Pius V, and the inclusion of St. Dominic and St. Catherine in the celestial register. We believe that our drawing predates this painting because of its more symmetrical composition, and less Baroque influence. The presence of Saint Catherine of Siena, particularly venerated in his native town, to which Francesco Vanni returned frequently from 1590 onwards, leads us to propose a date of around 1590 - 1600 for this drawing. 3. The Rosary and the Dominican Order In order to clarify the iconographic meaning of this artwork, it is worth recalling the role of Saint Dominic in the spread of the Rosary prayer. Dominic Nuñez de Guzman was born around 1170 in Caleruega (near Burgos) in Spain and died in 1221 in Bologna, Italy. He was the founder of the order of friar preachers, commonly known as the Dominicans. He was canonised by the Church in 1234 and has since been celebrated under the name of Saint Dominic. After three days of prayer in the forest of Bouconne, near Toulouse, Dominic is said to have received the Rosary as a means of converting the Cathar population. The Dominicans subsequently made a special effort to promote this form of meditative prayer. Pope Pius V, a Dominican, included the feast of the Rosary (on October 7th) in the liturgical calendar in 1571. Rosary prayer has evolved over the centuries and traditionally consists of the recitation of three rosaries (four since St John Paul II). Each rosary consists of five tens of "Hail Mary...
Category

16th Century Old Masters Figurative Paintings

Materials

Pen, Ink

Early 19th century English Antique Still life of peaches, grapes, melon outdoors
By George William Sartorius
Located in Woodbury, CT
Wonderful Early 19th-century Still life of different fruits on an earth bank. Very much painted in the same way as George William Sartorius painted his still lives this piece has al...
Category

1810s Old Masters Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Lucretia, by Giacomo Raibolini Francia. Detto il Francia. Oil on panel, framed
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Giacomo used to paint with his brother Giulio, identifying their works with the monogram «I I». The strong influence of his father, Francesco, is undeniable in all his works, althoug...
Category

16th Century Old Masters Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Wood Panel

18th century English scene of a man on his horse with his dog in a landscape
Located in Woodbury, CT
Wonderful 18th century English gouache on paper of a 18th century English scene of a man on his horse with his dog in a landscape One of a set of five all framed in Hogarth frames. ...
Category

1780s Old Masters Figurative Paintings

Materials

Gouache, Paper

Five mid 20th century Italian oil landscapes with figures, castles, Churchs
Located in Woodbury, CT
A very interesting set of five mid-20th-century Italian oils on copper. All five are classical landscape subjects and are signed Roger, though we don't know which artist with the n...
Category

1950s Old Masters Figurative Paintings

Materials

Copper

17th Century by Giovanni Battista Beinaschi Saint Bartholomew Oil on Canvas
By Giovanni Battista Beinaschi
Located in Milano, Lombardia
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 ...
Category

Mid-17th Century Old Masters Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Waterloo Battlefield with 3 Monuments - Butte du Lion, Antique Oil Painting
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
The Battlefield of Waterloo English School, 19th century original oil painting on canvas, framed canvas: 12 x 15.5 inches framed: 17.5 x 20.5 inches condition: overall very good and presentable, some former restoration and signs of retouching visible. provenance: from a private collection A very rare and historically important early painting, depicting the Waterloo battle...
Category

Early 19th Century Old Masters Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

17th Century By Domenico Maria Canuti Toilet of Venus with Cupids and Satyrs
Located in Milano, Lombardia
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...
Category

Late 17th Century Old Masters Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Cotton Canvas, Oil

Battle Scene - Painting - 18th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Battle Scene is an original old masters' artwork realized in the 18th century. Mixed colored oil painting on canvas. The artwork includes frame: 58 x 90 cm.
Category

18th Century Old Masters Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

17th Century by Simone Cantarini Adoration of The Magi Painting Oil on Canvas
Located in Milano, Lombardia
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...
Category

Early 17th Century Old Masters Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Cotton Canvas, Oil

17th Century by Giuseppe Assereto Portrait of an Elderly Woman Oil on Canvas
Located in Milano, Lombardia
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...
Category

Early 17th Century Old Masters Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Oriental School Late 18th Century Chinoiserie Huge Oil Figures Fishing Pond
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Artist: Oriental School, 18th century Title: Chinoiserie scene, figures fishing by a pond Medium: oil painting on canvas, unframed canvas: 29.25 x 52.25 inches Provenance: from a pri...
Category

18th Century Old Masters Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Cardinal with Missive - Painting by Unknown - 17th Century
Located in Roma, IT
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...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

18th Century European Portrait of a Child Saint John the Baptist
Located in SANTA FE, NM
18th Century European Portrait of a Child Saint John the Baptist Oil on Canvas 19 x 14 1/4 inches This lovely and sensitively painting has been examined by a professional restorer w...
Category

18th Century Old Masters Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

19th CENTURY FRENCH ANTIQUE OIL ON PANEL - FRENCH SOLDIERS MAKING CAMP
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Artist/ School: French School, 19th century Title: The Soldiers Camp Medium: oil painting on thick wooden panel, with a bevel edge Size: painting: 12.5 x 22 inches, frame: 16.5 ...
Category

19th Century Old Masters Figurative Paintings

Materials

Wood, Oil

The Parade of Swiss Guards a painting on canvas by Gabriel de Saint-Aubin
Located in PARIS, FR
In this painting, Gabriel de Saint-Aubin, the great chronicler of the reign of Louis XV, takes us to the annual parade of the Swiss Guards at the Plaine de...
Category

1760s Old Masters Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

18th Century English Oil Landscape Painting: Elegant Figures alongside River Wye
By Attributed to William Marlow
Located in London, GB
Attributed to William Marlow (English, 1740-1813) Elegant Figures alongside the River Wye 1790 131 x 152 cm, inc. frame This quiet bucolic scene shows figur...
Category

Late 18th Century Old Masters Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Portrait of Lady Bagot - Niece to the Duke of Wellington
Located in Miami, FL
The sitter is Mary Charlotte Anne Wellesly-Pole, eldest daughter of William, 4th Earl of Mornington and niece to the Duke of Wellington. This is one of Hoppner's best works. The sitt...
Category

1780s Old Masters Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Peasants in a Cornfield (Boer in het veld) by David Teniers the Younger
Located in Stockholm, SE
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...
Category

Late 17th Century Old Masters Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

An Architectural Capriccio with the Preaching of an Apostle
By Giovanni Paolo Panini
Located in New York, NY
Provenance: Santambrogio Antichità, Milan; sold, 2007 to: Filippo Pernisa, Milan; by whom sold, 2010, to: Private Collection, Melide, Switzerland De Primi Fine Art, Lugano, Switzerland; from whom acquired, 2011 by: Private Collection, Connecticut (2011-present) Literature: Ferdinando Arisi, “Ancora sui dipinti giovanili del Panini,” Strenna Piacentina (Piacenza, 2009): pp. 48, 57, 65, fig. 31, as by Panini Ferdinando Arisi, “Panini o Ghisolfi o Carlieri? A proposito dei dipinti giovanili,” Strenna Piacentina, (Piacenza, 2010), pp. 100, 105, 116, fig. 101, as an early work by Panini, a variant of Panini’s painting in the Museo Cristiano, Esztergom, Hungary. This architectural capriccio is one of the earliest paintings by Giovanni Paolo Panini, the preeminent painter of vedute and capricci in 18th-century Rome. The attribution to Panini has been endorsed by Ferdinando Arisi, and a recent cleaning of the painting revealed the artist’s signature in the lower right. Like many of his fellow painters working in Rome during his day, Panini was not a native of the Eternal City. He first trained as a painter and stage designer in his hometown of Piacenza and moved to Rome at the age of 20 in November 1711 to study figure painting. Panini joined the workshop of Benedetto Luti (1666-1724) and from 1712 was living on the Piazza Farnese. Panini, like many before and after him, was spellbound by Rome and its classical past. He remained in the city for the rest of his career, specializing in depicting Rome’s most important monuments, as well as creating picturesque scenes like this one that evoked the city’s ancient splendor. The 18th century art historian Lione Pascoli, who likely knew Panini personally, records in his 1730 biography of the artist that when Panini came to Rome, he was already “an excellent master and a distinguished painter of perspective, landscape, and architecture.” Panini’s earliest works from this period still show the evidence of his artistic formation in Piacenza, especially the influence of the view painter Giovanni Ghisolfi (1623-1683). However, they were also clearly shaped by his contact in Rome with the architectural capricci of Alberto Carlieri...
Category

18th Century Old Masters Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

School of Liege, The Martyrdom of St Paul, A Religious Portrait
Located in Lincoln, GB
School of Liège, mid-17th century The Martyrdom of St Paul oil on canvas 57 3/4 by 42 3/8 in.; 146.8 by 107.6 cm. PROVENANCE J.J. Chapuis (red wax seal...
Category

Mid-17th Century Old Masters Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Monumental 17th Century Landscape Painting with Figures in an Arcadian setting
Located in London, GB
Enormous 17th Century Italian landscape with figures in Arcadia. Unframed at present. Excellent condition.
Category

17th Century Old Masters Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

18th Century, Antique Oil Painting, Old Master. Portrait of Mother with child.
Located in Berlin, DE
18th century, antique painting, oil on canvas, old master. Mother with child. Relined canvas. Stretcher frame also renewed. Artist unknown.
Category

18th Century Old Masters Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Grand 19th Century English Marine Painting in Stunning Light
By John Wilson Ewbank
Located in London, GB
John Wilson Ewbank (1799 - 1847) Shipping in the Harbour, South Shields Oil on canvas 39.5 x 58 inches unframed 47.75 x 66.5 inches framed Provenance: Christie's October 2002; Lot 11. Fine Art Society; Private Collection This marvellous up to scale Ewbank is full of light and warmth and almost certainly his greatest work of the sort rarely - if ever - seen on the market. John W. Ewbank (4 May 1799–28 November 1847), was an English-born landscape and marine painter largely operational from Scotland. The Humber river is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. Life Ewbank was born at Darlington on 4 May 1799, the son of Michael Ewbank, an innkeeper. He was adopted as a child by a wealthy uncle who lived at Wycliffe, on the banks of the River Tees, in the North Riding of Yorkshire. Intended for the Roman Catholic priesthood, he was sent to Ushaw College, from which he absconded. In 1813 Ewbank was apprenticed to Thomas Coulson, an ornamental painter in Newcastle. In around 1816 he moved with Coulson to Edinburgh, where he had some lessons with Alexander Nasmyth. He found work both as a painter and a teacher. He was nominated in 1830 one of the foundation members of the Royal Scottish Academy. In 1833 he is listed as living at 7 Union Street on the eastern fringe of the New Town in Edinburgh. Works His sketches from nature were especially admired, and a series of 51 drawings of Edinburgh by him were engraved by W. H. Lizars for James Browne's Picturesque Views of Edinburgh (1825). He also made a reputation with cabinet pictures of banks of rivers, coast scenes, and marine subjects. As an illustrator he illustrated some early editions of Scott's Waverley Novels and one edition of Gilbert White...
Category

19th Century Old Masters Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Holy Family with the Infant St. John the Baptist
Located in New York, NY
Lubin Baugin (Pithiviers 1610 – 1663 Paris) Holy Family with the Infant Saint John the Baptist Oil on canvas 22 x 42 ¼ inches (55.9 x 107.3 cm) Provenance: Marcello and Carlo ...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

19th Century Landscape Oil Painting - Deer by the Banks of a Lake
By Jacob Thompson
Located in London, GB
Jacob THOMPSON (1806 – 1879) Deer by the Banks of a Lake 1842 oil on canvas 18.9 x 27.6 inches; 22.5 x 31 inches Inc. frame Jacob Thompson (1806–1879) was an English landscape-pa...
Category

1840s Old Masters Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Peasants Playing Bowls Outside an Inn, 17th Century Oil on Oak Old Master
Located in London, GB
Studio of David Teniers the Younger 1610 - 1690 Peasants Playing Bowls Outside an Inn Oil on oak cradled panel, signed Image size: 16 ½ x 22 ½ inches Gilt s...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

17th Century, Old Master, "King Basileus Alexander of Macedon Magnus, the Great"
Located in Berlin, DE
Very decorative, 17th century, old master painting, oil on canvas, King Alexander Magnus, the great. Illustration of two children, putti, with wreaths of flowers on a board (or maus...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Figurative Painting. Still-life with a profile portrait, and old instrument
Located in Segovia, ES
Still-life with a profile portrait was painted by Spanish artist Goyo Domínguez in 1994. Acrylics in a 65 cm by 54 cm wooden panel. Using a classical style with renaissance reminisc...
Category

1990s Old Masters Figurative Paintings

Materials

Acrylic, Wood Panel

19th Century Roman Landscape oil on canvas with Giltwood Frame
Located in Rome, IT
Amaizing 19' century Roman landscape depicting a part of Villa Borghese with Trinità dei Monti. With a finely carved gilt wood coeval frame. Measurements with frame cm 65 x78 wit...
Category

19th Century Old Masters Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Winged Putti Paint Oil on canvas Baroque 17th Century Mitological Michelangelo
Located in Riva del Garda, IT
Attributed to Giovanni Battista Merano (Genoa 1632 - Piacenza 1698) Pair of winged cherubs with chains Genoese school, around 1670-80 Oil on canvas, 67 x 57 cm. Framed 89 x 78 cm. This pleasant painting, depicting a pair of winged cherubs, is attributed to Genoese Giovan Battista Merano (Genoa 1632 - Piacenza 1698), trained in Genoa first in the workshop of Giovanni Andrea De Ferrari, and then of Valerio Castello, of whom he became one of the best students. It was probably the latter who advised the student to stay in the then Duchy of Parma to study Correggio and Parmigianino, as he had done in his time. During this first stay in Parma Giovanni Battista worked on the fresco decoration of the oratory...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Revue à Longchamp
Located in Paris, FR
Paul Emile Perboyre 1826-1914 French Revue à Longchamp, Oil on panel Signed lower right Panel: 27 1/2" high x 45 1/4" wide Fame: 40 1/8" high x 57 1/2" wide Paul-Emile Léon PERBOYRE: painter of battles born in Horbourg near Colmar in 1826, died in 1907. Painter of history, battles. He was a pupil of Leon Bonnat. He exhibited in Paris at the Salon of French Artists, in which one he became a member in 1909. He obtained an honorable mention in 1908. Perboyre was well known for his many paintings of...
Category

19th Century Old Masters Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Calèches au Bois de Boulogne
Located in Paris, FR
Paul Emile Perboyre 1826-1914 French Calèche au Bois de Boulogne, Circa 1880 Oil on panel Signed lower right Panel: 12 5/8" high x 18 1/8" wide Fame: 19...
Category

19th Century Old Masters Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

INSIDE SCENE - Carlo Passarelli Italian figurative oil on carboard painting
Located in Napoli, IT
INSIDE SCENE - Italian figurative oil on carboard painting, cm.17x29, Carlo Passarelli, 1900s
Category

Early 1900s Old Masters Figurative Paintings

Materials

Cardboard, Oil

17th Century, Old Master Painting, Oil on Canvas, "The Rest with the Horses".
Located in Berlin, DE
17th century, old master painting, oil on canvas, "The rest with the horses". Relined canvas. The stretcher was also renewed once. The painting is rather dark, like i.a. on photo n...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Portrait of Mr. Bagnal Sir Godfrey Kneller and Studio
Located in Miami, FL
Sir Godfrey Kneller with the studio, Inscribed Mr. Bagnal Lower left. Godfrey Kneller and studio, relined, old cleaning. Old Frame. The frame was repainted and has some chipping an...
Category

1710s Old Masters Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Early 18th Century Oil After Francis Wheatley, The Taming of The Shrew
Located in London, GB
After Francis Wheatley, circa 1800 The Taming of the Shrew Oil on canvas; held in a period style frame. Dimensions refer to size of frame Artists and patrons in the eighteenth ...
Category

Early 1800s Old Masters Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

A Large 18th Century Hunting painting of Duck Flighting
Located in London, GB
Attributed to James Ross Snr. A Large 18th Century Hunting painting of Duck Flighting oil on canvas 36.5 x 45 inches, inc. frame This l...
Category

18th Century Old Masters Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Le Voyage - Halte au bord de l'Oued
By Georges Washington
Located in Paris, FR
Georges Washington 1827-1910 American Le Voyage - Halte au bord de l'Oued Oil on canvas Signed lower right Canvas: 16 7/8" high x 23 5/8" wide Frame: 29...
Category

Late 19th Century Old Masters Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Juliet and her Nurse with the Page Peter from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Henry Perronet Briggs, Attributed to, English (1793 - 1844) Title: Juliet and Her Nurse with the Page Peter from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet Year: circa 1820 Medium: Oil o...
Category

1820s Old Masters Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Archery - Oil on Canvas by an Anonymous French Master end of 18th/Early 19th
Located in Roma, IT
Archery is a beautiful oil on canvas realized by an anonymous French artist of the end of XVIII century and the beginning of XIX century. This marvelous genre scene is very detailed...
Category

Late 17th Century Old Masters Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Antique, decorative oil painting, 18th century. Christian scene.
Located in Berlin, DE
Antique, decorative oil painting, 18th century. Christian scene. Canvas relined. With a beautiful wooden frame. Dimensions without frame.
Category

18th Century Old Masters Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Portrait of Mr. Bagnal ( Pair with Mrs. Bagnal ) Sir Godfrey Kneller and Studio
Located in Miami, FL
Sir Godfrey Kneller with studio, Inscribed Mr. Bagnal Lower left. Godfrey Kneller and studio , Unlined, old cleaning. Old Frame. Frame was repainted and has some chipping and a fe...
Category

1710s Old Masters Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

19th Century English Antique, Two Country farmers drinking beer in a landscape
Located in Woodbury, CT
Attributed to George Morland. 19th Century English Antique, Two Country farmers drinking beer in a landscape. Wonderful early 19th-century original oil on canvas. A classic 'Morland' composition as the painter was a big fan of English Pub scenes...
Category

Early 1800s Old Masters Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Set of Five late 19th century Italian or French portraits of Putti or Angels
Located in Woodbury, CT
Set of Five late 19th century Italian or French portraits of Putti or Angels A unique set of five oils on board depicting either Cherubs or Putti, ...
Category

1890s Old Masters Figurative Paintings

Materials

Board, Oil

Early 19th century Antique English landscape with cows in a cowshed
Located in Woodbury, CT
Wonderfully painted early 19th-century English rural landscape with cattle in a cowshed. Very similar to the work of Edward Williams who was a very well-known English landscape pai...
Category

1820s Old Masters Figurative Paintings

Materials

Wood Panel, Oil

Study of a dog
Located in Amsterdam, NL
Study of a dog Oil on paper laid down on panel, 17.5 x 25.5 cm Provenance Private collection, the Netherlands Note: We are grateful to Mr Fred Meijer for his attribution to Ludolf de Jongh Ludolf de Jongh was the son of a shoemaker. When his father moved to Rotterdam, the young Ludolf decided to learn art rather than shoemaking and became a pupil of Cornelis Saftleven. Later he studied under Anthony Palamedes in Delft and still later with Jan van Bijlert in Utrecht. In 1635 he travelled to France with Francis Bacon. Seven years later, in 1642, he returned to the Netherlands when he heard that his mother had fallen ill. He set up a shop in Rotterdam, and his earliest signed paintings date from that year. According to Houbraken, his travels had caused him to speak French so fluently, that his parents had to learn French in order to speak with him. De Jongh’s work shows a strong influence from the Utrecht school of Caravaggio admirers, especially Jacob Duck...
Category

Mid-17th Century Old Masters Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Paper, Wood Panel

Study of a dog
Study of a dog
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The Inappetent Owl - Grotesque Scene with Owl and Swan - Late 17th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Two masterpieces by the Master of the Fertility of the Egg, nearly impossible to find in homogeneous pairs on the private market, both in terms of style and dimensions. They represen...
Category

Late 17th Century Old Masters Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Old Masters figurative paintings for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Old Masters figurative paintings available for sale on 1stDibs. Works in this style were very popular during the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artists have continued to produce works inspired by this movement. If you’re looking to add figurative paintings created in this style to introduce contrast in an otherwise neutral space in your home, the works available on 1stDibs include elements of blue, yellow and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Antonio Savisio, Goyo Dominguez, Paul Emile Léon Perboyre, and William Anderson. Frequently made by artists working with Paint, and Oil Paint and other materials, all of these pieces for sale are unique and have attracted attention over the years. Not every interior allows for large Old Masters figurative paintings, so small editions measuring 4.53 inches across are also available. Prices for figurative paintings made by famous or emerging artists can differ depending on medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $384 and tops out at $1,495,000, while the average work sells for $4,898.

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