Medium Landscape Paintings

The splendour of the tragic sea Francesco Guardi and maritime painting in Venetian art No Venetian painter was a stranger to the sea. After all, Venice was not only one of the most prominent ports of the Mediterranean, but indeed a city literally submerged in the ocean from time to time. Curiously however, the famous Venetian school of painting showed little interest in maritime motifs, favouring scenes from the iconic architecture of the city rather than seascapes. That is why this painting is a particularly interesting window into not only the painter Francesco Guardi himself – but to the significance of the element of water in art history, in absence as well as in the centre of attention. Whether it be calm, sunny days with stunning views of the palaces alongside the canals of Venice or – more rarely – stormy shipwrecking tragedies at sea, water as a unifying element is integral to the works of painter Francesco Guardi (1712–1793). During his lifetime, Venetian art saw many of its greatest triumphs with names like Tiepolo or Canaletto gaining international recognition and firmly establishing Venice as one of the most vibrant artistic communities of Europe. While the city itself already in the 18th century was something of an early tourist spot where aristocrats and high society visited on their grand tour or travels, the artists too contributed to the fame and their work spread the image of Venice as the city of romance and leisure to an international audience, many of whom could never visit in person. Still today, the iconic image of Venice with its whimsical array of palaces, churches and other historic buildings is much influenced by these artists, many of whom have stood the test of time like very well and remain some of the most beloved in all of art history. It was not primarily subtility, intellectual meanings or moral ideals that the Venetian art tried to capture; instead it was the sheer vibrancy of life and the fast-paced city with crumbling palaces and festive people that made this atmosphere so special. Of course, Venice could count painters in most genres among its residents, from portraiture to religious motifs, history painting and much else. Still, it is the Vedutas and views of the city that seems to have etched itself into our memory more than anything else, not least in the tradition of Canaletto who was perhaps the undisputed master of all Venetian painters. Born into his profession, Francesco lived and breathed painting all his life. His father, the painter Domenico Guardi (1678–1716) died when Francesco was just a small child, yet both he and his brothers Niccolò and Gian Antonio continued in their fathers’ footsteps. The Guardi family belonged to the nobility and originated from the mountainous area of Trentino, not far from the Alps. The brothers worked together on more challenging commissions and supported each other in the manner typical of family workshops or networks of artists. Their sister Maria Cecilia married no other than the artist Giovanni Battista Tiepolo himself, linking the family to the most renowned Venetian name of the time. During almost a decade, Guardi worked in the studio of Michele Giovanni Marieschi, sometimes simply known as Michiel, a painted similar in both style and motif. Canaletto is, however, the artist Guardi is most often compared to since they shared a mutual fascination for depicting the architecture and cityscape of Venice. During the course of his career, Guardi tried his hand in many different genres. He was as swift in painting landscapes, Vedutas of Venice, sacred motifs, interiors and architectural compositions as he was in a number of other motifs. His style is typical of the Venetian school but also distinct and personal once we look a little closer. There is an absolute certainty in the composition, the choice of which sometimes feels like that of a carefully calculated photograph – yet it is also very painterly, in the best sense of the word: fluid, bold, sensitive and full of character. The brushwork is rapid, intense, seemingly careless and extraordinarily minute at the same time; fresh and planned in a very enjoyable mixture. His interiors often capture the breath-taking spacious glamour of the palaces and all their exquisite decor. He usually constructed the motif through remarkably simple, almost spontaneous yet intuitively precise strokes and shapes. The result was a festive, high-spirited atmospheric quality, far away from the sterile and exact likeness that other painters fell victim to when trying to copy Canaletto. The painting here has nothing of the city of Venice in it. On the contrary, we seem to be transported far away into the solitary ocean, with no architecture, nothing to hold on to – only the roaring sea and the dangerous cliffs upon which the ships are just moments away from being crushed upon. It is a maritime composition evoking both Flemish and Italian precursors, in the proud tradition of maritime painting that for centuries formed a crucial part of our visual culture. This genre of painting is today curiously overlooked, compared to how esteemed and meaningful it was when our relationship to the sea was far more natural than it is today. When both people and goods travelled by water, and many nations and cities – Venice among them – depended entirely on sea fare, the existential connection to the ocean was much more natural and integrated into the imagination. The schools and traditions of maritime art are as manifold as there are countries connected to the sea, and all reflect the need to process the dangers and wonders of the ocean. It could symbolize opportunity, the exciting prospects of a new countries and adventures, prospering trade, beautiful scenery as well as war and tragedy, loss of life, danger and doom. To say that water is ambivalent in nature is an understatement, and these many layers were something that artists explored in the most wondrous ways. Perhaps it takes a bit more time for the modern eye to identify the different nuances and qualities of historic maritime paintings, they may on first impression seem hard to differentiate from each other. But when allowing these motifs to unfold and tell stories of the sea in both fiction and reality – or somewhere in between – we are awarded with an understanding of how the oceans truly built our world. In Guardi’s interpretation, we see an almost theatrically arranged shipwrecking scene. No less than five ships are depicted right in the moment of utter disaster. Caught in a violent storm, the waves have driven them to a shore of sharp cliffs and if not swallowed by the waves, crushing against the cliffs seems to be the only outcome. The large wooden ships are impressively decorated with elaborate sculpture, and in fact relics already during Guardi’s lifetime. They are in fact typical of Dutch and Flemish 17th century ships, giving us a clue to where he got the inspiration from. Guardi must have seen examples of Flemish maritime art, that made him curious about these particular motifs. One is reminded of Flemish painters like Willem van de Velde and Ludolf Backhuysen, and this very painting has indeed been mistakenly attributed to Matthieu van Plattenberg...

Frameless Jordi Pagans Montsalvatge began his artistic career in 1948. In 1956 he began to work in the studio of Josep Roca Sastre, an artist who decisive...

Duska Markotić (Croatia, 20th century) - Winter landscape. 50 x 50 cm without frame, 69.5 x 69.5 cm with frame. Oil on canvas, within passe-partout in wooden frame. - Work signed ...

This large-format acrylic painting on 300 g/m² paper, enriched with gold leaf details, portrays a surreal encounter between music, symbolism, and the reshaping of perception. The com...

American painter and illustrator Amos Carter Brinton was born in Wilmington, Delaware in 1888. He went on to have a successful career in illustrations, mainly maritime themed. Fishi...

Charles Martin Powell (Chichester 1775-1824) Dutch shipping in a choppy sea Signed 'CPowell' lower right Oil on canvas Canvas Size - 16 x 19 in Framed Size - 23 x 25 in Provenance: The Parker Gallery...

Nicely painted mid century abstract oil painting. Great color and composition. Framed.

The Farmers Dog English School, early 20th century signed oil on board, framed framed: 23 x 29 inches board : 18 x 24 inches Provenance: private collection, UK Condition: very good c...

Italian painter (18th century) - Arcadian landscape with flock and shepherds. 56 x 70 cm without frame, 63.5 x 79 cm with frame. Antique oil painting on canvas, in a wooden frame (...

Sweeping Big Sur landscape of rolling hills in beautiful pastel colors illuminated with sunlight, by California artist Kathleen Murray (American, 1958). Oil on artists canvas board (...

A wonderful depiction of an Autumn landscape in Kent, Connecticut from the Mid-20th Century with puffed trees by the country side. For this beautiful depiction, we find distinct elements that are unique to the earlier works of George Lawrence...

6010 Vintage Italian painting of Piazza San Marco as seen from the lagoon Gilt frame Signed

A charming Parisian scene oil on canvas painting by the French artist, Johannes Schiefer. This painting is a wonderful example of his work from the prime of his career. Capturing a v...

This is an original vintage oil painting on canvas depicting a nautical scene, with a large sailing ship in a choppy ocean. This is a classic maritime style, one that is so rarely ...

This enchanting original oil painting on canvas depicts a young Scandinavian peasant girl in traditional folk costume who has paused on a winding road to rest. The melancholic beauty...

The Old Fortress French School, mid 20th century indistinctly signed oil on canvas, framed in original period frame framed: 32 x 28 inches canvas : 26 x 22 inches Provenance: privat...

A Fine depiction of a 20th-century tonalist oil landscape by American artist Georgina Nemethy. A serene river scene with dramatic mountains in the background, lush trees, and other f...

Landscape Oil on Canvas Original Art Ready to Hang 65x50 cm 2023 ...My painting tells of the relationship between man, nature and time, the landscape, the sign and the trace, thr...

In creating this oil painting, I immersed myself in capturing the essence of a tranquil waterfront scene. With every brush stroke, I aimed to convey the serene atmosphere and the gen...

Surrealist acrylic painting on heavyweight Fabriano paper featuring a lone figure beneath a radiant sunset sky. Created by Gozo Collective, this original composition explores solitud...

A dreamy, lush, atmospheric abstract landscape with a flowing waterfall and poetic space. Won't you lay down with me? On the forest floor? Among the newly born green and mist from t...

Impressive American modernist winter landscape. Detailed and well painted skating scene. Oil on canvas. Nicely framed.

Elisée Maclet (1881-1962) Houses by the River, c. 1960 Oil on panel Signed lower right Countersigned and dated on the back On panel: 46 x 38 cm (c. 18 x 18 in) Presented with the wo...

Artist/ School: Dutch School, late 20th century, signed Title: At the Close of Day Medium: oil painting on board, framed framed: 21.5 x 25 inches board: 15.5 x 19.5 inches Proven...

Antique American modernist beach scene oil painting. Oil on board. Framed. Image size, 16L x 20H.

2901 City Landscape ,acrylic on canvas Displayed in a custom gilt wood frame Image size 18x24" overall 21x26.5" Signed Varen

Remember the snow ball fights, life sized snowmen and sledding. Then came toboggans, down hill skiing, cross country skiing, skating and hockey. ...

George Gách (American, 1909-1996) The Old Tree in Glenwood Landing, 1957 Oil on canvas 23 x 27 in. Framed: 26 x 29 1/2 in. Singed lower right: Gách 1957 Provenance: Garden City Galleries, Garden City, NY Includes brochure. Born in Hungary, George Gách, the son of sculptor Stephen Gách (1880-1962), was noted for sculpture, impressionist painting and teaching. His subjects included animals, people, florals, nudes, cowboys, sports and scenes of Long Island, Bermuda, Mexico, Florida and upstate New York. Among his sculpture subjects are portrait busts of prime ministers, governors, corporate presidents and soccer stars. He served as a commercial pilot from 1939 to 1952. and in 1944, was shot down and given up as dead. He was also in prisoner of war camps twice during World War II and then in 1947, was almost imprisoned by the communists in Hungary. Gách graduated form the Academy of Fine Arts in Budapest in 1939, and then immigrated to the United States. He located his studio in Roslyn Heights Long Island, and at one point set a goal...

Title: Trees In Autumn Medium: Oil on canvas Size: 27 x 27 inches Frame: Framing options available! Condition: The painting appears to be in excellent condition. Note: This pai...

Title: Port of Mahón Artist: Joan Vives Llull (Mahón, 1901 – 1982) Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: 46 x 61 cm (18.1 x 24 in) Dimensions with frame: 60 x 75 cm (23.6 x 29.5 in) ...

John F. Carlson Hyannis Pond, 1940 Signed lower left Oil on board 16 x 20 inches Provenance Vose Galleries Private Collection, New Jersey The native Swede John Fabian Carlson beca...

This evocative landscape by Otto Lindberg captures the quiet beauty of a forest at dusk. The most striking feature is the luminous pink and violet glow of the fading sunlight, master...

Francesco Zuccarelli (Pitigliano 1702 - Florence 1788) - River landscape with knights and medieval village. 53 x 70 cm without frame, 64.5 x 80.5 cm with frame. Antique oil paintin...

The painting "Werdenberg in the Evening" is an oil on canvas artwork measuring 60x70 cm and takes the viewer to a magical moment of a quiet evening in the Swiss town of Werdenberg. I...

Naples - Ettore Ferrante Italia 2005 - Oil on canvas cm. 30 x 80. In this wonderful canvas E. Ferrante depicts the beach of Posillipo. Ferrante was inspired by the masters of the Posillipo School, including Antonio Pitloo and Giacinto Gigante...

The Woodland Path circle of George Turner (English 1841-1910) oil painting on canvas, framed framed: 19 x 25.5 inches canvas: 14 x 21.5 inches condition: very good provenance: privat...

Artwork sold with frame (83 x 101.5 x 5 cm ) Josep Meneses Tapias (born 1930) is a Spanish painter recognized for his vibrant, impressionistic landscapes and urban scenes. Born in B...

"The place where I vacationed in May 2024 is located in a very beautiful, quiet area of ​​Los Angeles with private dollhouses and beautiful gardens in front of them," said Anna Shest...

Contemporary abstract landscape painting in oil on linen mounted on panel with carefully ordered patterns, geometric shapes and delicate lines in prismatic colors against a light pin...

Attributed to John Nost Sartorius (1759–1828) Fox Hunter and Hounds Oil on canvas, circa 1810 Provenance: Ackermann & Johnson, London A fine and spirited example of early 19th-centu...

The Labourers French School, mid 20th century oil on canvas, unframed canvas: 24 x 29 inches provenance: private collection, Marseille condition: very good and sound condition

Porfirio Salinas (1910-1973) San Antonio Artist Image Size: 25 x 30 Frame Size: 34 x 39 Medium: Oil on Canvas Circa 1950 "Lazy Day Blues" Texas Bluebonnet Biography Porfirio Salinas (1910-1973) Porfirio Salinas was a self-taught artist who painted landscapes of Central Texas with an emphasis on the vast bluebonnet fields that grow there in the springtime. Born in 1910 in Bastrop, Texas, he attended public schools in San Antonio. He also observed works in progress by the director of the San Antonio Art School, Jose Arpa, as well as landscape painter, Robert Wood. Wood is said to have paid Salinas five dollars a picture to paint bluebonnets because "he hated to paint bluebonnets". Salinas served in the military from 1943 to 1945. Although he was assigned to Fort Sam Houston, he was allowed to live at home. At the fort, Colonel Telesphor Gottchalk assigned him to paint murals for the officer's lounge and various other projects, and Salinas continued to be able to paint during his entire conscripted period. Even before he achieved notoriety among galleries, dealers, and museums, Salinas was widely followed and appreciated by many Texans, including former President Lyndon B. Johnson, who may be considered responsible for launching Salinas popularity beyond the boundaries of Texas. In 1973, Texas capital, Austin, honored Salinas for having "done much to bring the culture of Mexico and Texas closer together with his paintings". Salinas died in April 1973 in San Antonio, Texas. From the years of the Great Depression through President Lyndon Johnson's Great Society of the 1960s, Texan Porfirio Salinas (1910-1973) remained one of the Lone Star State's most popular artists. Today, his works remain popular with Texas collectors and those who love landscapes of the beautiful "Hill Country" that lies in the center of the state. One of the first Mexican American painters to become widely recognized for his art, Salinas was a favorite of President Lyndon Johnson and his wife, Lady Bird Johnson, as well as of Sam Rayburn, the longest-serving Speaker of the House of Representatives, and Texas Governor John Connelly. In fact, President Johnson was so enamored with his Salinas paintings that the artist will forever be associated with America's first Texas-born President. Works by Porfirio Salinas is in a number of museum collections, grace the halls of the Texas State Capitol and the Governor's Mansion in Austin, and are included in virtually every major private collection of Early Texas Art. Porfirio Salinas was born on November 6, 1910, near the small town of Bastrop, Texas, about thirty miles from Austin. His father, Porfirio G. Salinas (1881-1967), and his mother, Clara G. Chavez, struggled to make a hardscrabble living as tenant farmers, but eventually were forced to give up farming. The family moved to San Antonio, where Salinas' father was able to get a job working as a laborer for the railroad, but the scenic area around Bastrop, with its pine trees and the wide expanse of the Rio Grande River, would forever remain a touchstone for the artist. For the rest of his life, Salinas and his brothers went back frequently to visit their grandmother in her little farmhouse. When in Bastrop, Porfirio painted on the banks of the Rio Grande or in the groves of pine trees. The Salinas family was close-knit, and Porfirio was the middle child of five children, so he had an older brother and sister as well as a younger brother and sister. His mother was a native of Mexico, so throughout his childhood the family made the long drive to Mexico to visit Clara Salinas' family. As a child growing up in the bi-lingual section of San Antonio, Salinas drew and painted incessantly and by the time he was ten, he was already producing work that was mature enough to sell to his schoolteachers. Many years later in an article in the New York Times he was described as a "boy whose textbooks were seldom opened and whose sketchbook was never closed." Instead of studying, the young artist spent his spare time watching artists paint in and around San Antonio. As an aspiring painter, Salinas was fortunate to grow up in the historic city, which had the most active art scene in Texas. It was his exposure to older, professional painters that encouraged the precocious young painter to leave school early in order to help his family and pursue a career as a professional artist, despite his father's inability to see art as a career with any future for his son. When Salinas was about fifteen he came to know the artist Robert W. Wood (1889-1979). He met Wood while he was employed in an art supply store and he soon began to work as an assistant to the English-born painter, who had moved from Portland to San Antonio in 1924. Although the diminutive Englishman was already an established professional artist, he did not have a great deal of formal art training and so he was then studying with the academically trained Spanish painter Jose Arpa (1858-1952) in order to augment his knowledge and give his work a more polished look. Salinas was an eager young man, and while working in Wood's downtown San Antonio studio he learned to stretch canvases, frame paintings and to sketch in larger compositions from small plein-air studies for the English artist. He began to accompany Wood and Arpa to the hills outside San Antonio, where they painted small Plein-air studies of fields of blue lupin - the state flower, the famous "Bluebonnets" of Texas - in the springtime and scenes of the gnarled Red Oaks as they changed color in the fall. He was soon assisting Wood in the tedious work of painting the tiny blue flowers that collectors wanted to see in the landscapes they purchased of central Texas. According to a 1972 newspaper story, "Legend has it that one day in the 1920s artist Robert Wood decided he could not bear to paint another bluebonnet in one of his landscapes. He hired young Porfirio Salinas to paint them in for him at five dollars a painting." Whether this story is accurate or apocryphal isn't clear, but the ambitious and independent young Salinas wasn't destined to be anyone's assistant for very long. The formative event of Porfirio Salinas' teenage years was the Texas Wildflower Competitive Exhibitions, a Roaring-Twenties dream of the eccentric oilman Edgar B. Davis (1873-1951). These competitive shows of paintings of wildflowers and Texas life were mounted in San Antonio from 1927 to 1929. Held at the newly opened Witte Museum each spring, the exhibition featured large cash prizes donated by the philanthropic Davis, which were an inducement for artists to travel from all over the United States to paint in the Hill Country of Texas. The "Davis Competitions," as they were known, helped to cement San Antonio's reputation as an art center, a legacy that remains with the "River City" today. The shows generated a great deal of excitement in the area, helping to make celebrities of the some of the artists who had already settled there and encouraging others to make San Antonio their home. Over the three years that the wildflower competitions were held, more than 300 paintings were exhibited, and many thousands of viewers saw the paintings at the Witte Museum and on tours throughout the state and in New York. Each year Davis would generously purchase the winning paintings and then donate them to the San Antonio Art League. Young Porfirio Salinas would have been able to not only watch his two mentors - Robert W. Wood and Jose Arpa - paint the works that they entered in the Davis Competitions, he would have been able to see Arpa take several of the major prizes, receiving the judge's accolades for "Verbena," "Cactus Flower" and "Picking Cotton," works that are still on view at the San Antonio Art League Museum today. Unfortunately, Davis eventually put his donations to work in other charitable endeavors, bringing to an end the wildflower events, but only after they inspired Salinas and other young painters and had helped to make wildflower paintings the most sought-after subject for traditionalist Texas collectors. In 1930, when he was only twenty, Salinas hung out a shingle and began to paint professionally, augmenting the sales of his easel paintings with what little business he could garner by painting signs for local concerns. It was a struggle for the young artist to make a living, as the effects of the Great Depression were settling in. His early works are very similar to those of Robert Wood's, both in subject matter and treatment. Salinas did small paintings of Bluebonnets for the tourists who visited San Antonio to see the famous Alamo as well as paintings of the Texas missions...

Late 19th/early 20th century oil on canvas painting in the manner of Abraham Hulk the Younger (1851-1922), this painting was acquired by Saltire Gallerie with a larger painting signed by Hulk the Younger, (just SOLD). Presented in a period decorative gilt frame, the painting is of a cottage in a woodland with cattle by a pond, a little black dog and man and a woman standing by. In the distance is a glimpse of a river and grasses, framed by trees and an overcast sky. Hulk is renowned for his treatment of the changing season from summer to autumn, and the golden leaves and fading greens in this painting suggest this changing time of year. Hulk is the son of a well known Dutch maritime...

An original oil painting by the British artist John Haskins (b.1938). Entitled 'Summer Rain, Hertfordshire'. The scene depicts a father and son walking a dog on a woodland trail. Sig...

Artist: Florent Chade (French, 1896-1985) Title: Chamonix, le Mont Blanc Year: Circa 1950 Medium: Oil on canvas board board size: 15 x 18.25 inches Sig...

Author: Josep Sarquella i Escobet (Llagostera, 1928 – Palamós, 2000) Title: View of Cadaqués Year: 1996 Technique: Oil on canvas Dimensions (unframed): 50 × 65 cm 19.7 × 25.6 in Dim...

Untitled (also known as "1811 THE BACKWOODSMAN'S CHRISTMAS") Oil on canvas, c. 1875-1925 Unsigned Provenance: Found in Ohio A charming American naive nocturn of a hunter and his two ...

Impressive early American interior scene oil painting. Framed. Oil on canvas. Image size, 20H by 16L.

In this series, Perrine explores the profound relationship between light and color, both essential elements in her artistic expression. Without light, there would be no colors, and i...

Provence by Max Toutain (1935-2006) oil painting on canvas, unframed canvas : 24 x 28 inches Provenance: all the paintings we have by this artist have come from the artists estate in...

A very beautiful signed and dated 1886 Danish oil on canvas depicting a coastal sunrise, by Laurits Bernhard Holst. The work is exceptionally atmospheric, with cliffs bathed in hazy...

Artist: French Impressionist School, 20th century, indistinctly signed Title: Cote d'Azur, south of France coastal pathway Medium: oil painting, on board, signed. Size: fram...

This late 19th century framed 14" x 27" watercolor painting by artist Andrew Douglas depicts an ominous landscape in a dark and neutral palette of browns, gray, and yellow. In the fo...

European painter (late 19th century) - Landscape with Mill and Stream. 41 x 61 cm unframed, 46 x 66 cm with frame. Antique oil painting on canvas, in a gilded wooden frame (not sig...

Colourful Abstract Landscape Painting of Bidean nam Bian, Ballachulish, Glencoe in the Scottish Highlands by Leading Contemporary British Artist, Angela Wakefield Art measures 24 x...

G. Harvey (Gerald Harvey Jones) (1933-2017) San Antonio, Austin, and Fredericksburg Artist Image Size: 24 x 30 Frame Size: 33 x 39 Medium: Oil on Canvas Dated 1972 "Spring Shadows" B...

Antique American impressionist winter landscape oil painting by Ernest Albert (1857 - 1946). Oil on canvas, circa 1900. Signed. Frame...

Original oil painting by P. Valetti (French, second half 20th century) oil on canvas, unframed size: 19.75 x 28.75 inches condition: very good provenance: from the artists estate, Fr...

A gorgeous American impressionist painting of Gloucester Harbor. Unsigned but by a very skilled hand. The canvas is 20" x 16" housed in a period frame.

Alfred Fontville de Breanski (British, 1877–1957) Scottish Loch Scene, oil on canvas, circa early 20th century This luminous Highland landscape by Alfred Fontville de Breanski captu...