Old Masters Landscape Paintings

This early 20th century oil on canvas depicts a nautical scene with a view of St Michaels Mount beyond. Although as yet, not attributed to a particular artist,this painting has cl...

Jan Van der Straet, known as Giovanni Stradano (Bruges 1523 - Florence 1605), Workshop of The Adoration of the Magi late 16th century - early 17th century oil painting on canvas Mea...

Gaspare Diziani (Belluno, 1689 - Venice, 17 August 1767) Gilded, carved and sculpted wooden cassetta frame Expertise: Ugo Ruggeri The narration of our...

Work on wood Golden wooden frame 57 x 44.5 x 5 cm

Johann Heinrich Roos (Otterberg 1631 - Frankfurt 1685) Landscape with the myth of Mercury and Batto (from Ovid's Metamorphoses) Oil painting on canvas 101 x 159 cm. With frame 115 x 174 cm. The work represents the mythological episode, taken from Ovid's Metamorphoses (Ovid, Metamorphoses, II, 676-707), and precisely when the god Mercury, taking advantage of a moment in which Apollo leaves his herd alone, steals some heifers and then hides them in a ravine. The only witness to the theft is the old Batto, a shepherd in charge of looking after the purebred horses of the rich Neleus, king of Pilo and who, in exchange for a heifer, guarantees the God not to be a spy, swearing to him that he will remain silent as a stone. . Immediately distrusting of his words, Mercury decides to test his honesty: he presents himself in front of him with another aspect, asking him if he had seen a herd pass by, and offering him in exchange for this information a bull and a heifer. Batto, who is immediately tempted by this new and more convenient offer, indicates without hesitation where the animals were hidden. As Ovid well illustrates in his poem 'the Metamorphoses', whoever betrays the trust or benevolence of a God is forced to a bitter fate, and so Batto is transformed by Mercury into a stone, remaining silent for eternity just as he had promised. The scene represents the moment when Mercury is offering Batto a heifer, which he indicates with his hand, in exchange for his loyalty. The divinity is perfectly recognizable due to his classical attributes, the winged helmet and shoes and above all the caduceus, the winged staff with two twisted snakes, which he will use to transform the shepherd into a stone. The figurative and exhibition peculiarities of this valuable painting...

Quality work attributed to the painter Peter Van Der Velde (Antwerp 1634 - c.1714)  Coastal view with fortified city and boats (city of Antwerp?) Oil pa...

Flemish painter active in Italy in the eighteenth century Coastal landscape of the Mediterranean with architectures and figures Oil painting on canvas (69 x 88 cm., in frame 80 x 100...

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...

Marine - Enrico Capuano Italia 2009 - Oil on board cm. 20x33

Old master painting featuring a busy port city in the 17th century. Most likely Dutch and very close in style to the work of Thomas Heeremans. This is...

Valuable painting depicting 'Arcadian landscape with figures along a stream and villages in the distance', attributed to Jan Frans Van Bloemen, L'Or...

Provenance: The Marchesi Strozzi, Palazzo Strozzi, Florence Sale, Christie’s, London, May 20, 1993, lot 315, as by Carl Borromaus Andreas Ruthart...

Work on canvas Molded frame in plaster and gilded wood 49 x 39 x 6.5 cm

Painted in collaboration with Hendrick van Balen (Antwerp, 1575 – 1632). Provenance: Private Collection, Uruguay, since the 1930s. The eldest son of Jan Br...

Artist/ School: French School, 18th century Title: The Roman Ruins at St. Remy de Provence, France. Inscribed verso to the frame: ‘Ruins at Roman Monument...

Enormous 17th Century Italian landscape with figures in Arcadia. Unframed at present. Excellent condition.

Pair of views of Rotterdam: The Stock Exchange building / View of the canal with the old port Eighteenth-century Vedutist painter oils on canvas 47 x 66 cm. - with frame 56 x 75 cm. This pleasant pair of paintings depict two glimpses of the city of Rotterdam, investigated here as vivid documentaries of the habits and customs from the public life of the wealthy Dutch port city, as well as one of the founders of the Dutch East India Company, is an excellent example of 18th century Vedutism We see, in particular, in the first work the monumental Palazzo della Borsa (defined as Il Beurs), designed by the architect Adriaen van der Werff in Westnieuwland, initially a place destined for legislation on trade, where merchant-bankers met periodically to exchange securities credit and enter into sales; it is located on the bank of the Nordblaak River and shot with the Gaapers Bridge in the foreground. The second work immortalizes the docking of the ancient port of Rotterdam, with the foreground view of the two city gates (the Wester Old Hoofdpoort on the left and the Ooster Oude Hoofdpoort on the right); in the background on the left the St. Laurenskerk (Church of San Lorenzo), also called the Great Church of Rotterdam, is the only medieval structure, while on the right the English Church. Very well executed, characterized by a marked brightness and a chromatic range with bright colors and highlighted by the contrast between lights and shadows, our canvases are a very interesting testimony of eighteenth-century Rotterdam, portraying two of the views that have historically influenced a lot on economic history of the city. We can attribute the authorship to an author of the full eighteenth century, inspired by the pictorial style of the Italian landscape painters and whose iconography was presumably drawn from the numerous prints with perspective views made through the optical cameras. In particular, these views of Rotterdam draw their iconographic origin from a collection of perspective prints of the most influential European cities, made by the engraver Johann Balthasar Probst (1732-1801), characterized by a remarkable refinement in the line, at the service of a sense of perspective of undoubted value, and above all characterized by a strong Nordic taste. Descendant of a large family of Augsburg engravers, Probst contributed to making his workshop an important European publishing center between the 17th and 18th centuries, among the major German print publishers in the first half of the 18th century. Despite his travels, including in Italy, between Venice, Rome and Naples, not all the cities he portrayed were drawn from life but taken from earlier prints and drawings and filtered through northern European clichés. Many of these engravings have been lost and are now difficult to find on the antiques market.

Matthieu Van Plattenberg known as Platte-Montagne (Antwerp 1608 - Paris 1660) Stormy navy with vessels Oil painting on canvas 84 x 140 cm. i...

Naples - Ettore Ferrante - Italia 2006 - Oil on canvas cm.30x80. Frame available on request from our workshop. Ettore Ferrante is a refined and excellent view painter of the past. ...

Thomas Wyck or Wijck (Bewerwyck 1616- Haarlem 1677) Roman landscape with washerwomen and apple seller about 1660 Oil on panel - 35 x 47 cm., Framed 51 x 62 cm. Provenance: Bonhams Auction, London, Old Master Paintings 9.12.2015 Soraya Cartategui Fine Art Auction - Madrid / New York The work is cataloged on the RKD archive (Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie). It is a work of the painter Thomas Wyck (Bewerwyck 1616 - Haarlem 1677), an important Flemish artist of the Golden Age, originally from the city of Haarlem and specialized in the creation of splendid landscapes and genre scenes, often set outdoors and populated by figures of commoners, as in our case with a couple of washerwomen who get water from a well and a woman who sells apples to a traveler. Active in Rome between 1640 and 1642 - known here with the nickname of 'Flemish Thomas' - his style was strongly influenced by this Italian stay, and in particular by the contact with that group of Nordic painters, almost all Dutch, working in Rome in the full seventeenth century, called Bamboccianti. The proposed canvas is in fact part of the typical “bambocciate” trend, in the execution of which the echoes of the representations by the school leader Pieter van Laer...

A very fine painting by the renowned seascape painter Arthur Joseph Meadows,Off Calais; fishing fleet returning at low tide. Housed in an antique style gilt frame the size overall is...

Felice Torelli (Verona 1667 - Bologna 1748) Hagar and the Angel Oil on canvas, 41 x 116 cm without frame - 52,5 x 127 cm with frame Original shaped and ...

Naples - Vincenzo Montella Italia 2007 - Oil on canvas cm. 60x100 Gold leaf gilded wooden frame cm. 85x125 The painting by V. Montella is a landscape representation of Naples, with t...

Hans de Jode (The Hague, 1630 - Vienna, 1663) Fantasy winter landscape with lake and city on the banks About 1650 Oils on canvas (62 x 93, in frames 82 x 112) The work is accompanied by an expertise of Dr. Fred G...

Venice - Giancarlo Gorini Italia 2002 - Oil on canvas cm.50x100 Gold leaf gilded wooden frameavailable on request Giancarlo Gorini's canvas is an extraordinary work of Italian lan...

Alexander van Bredael (Antwerp 1663 - 1720) - Signed lower left: A.V. BREDAEL F (ecit), Italian coastal landscape with market scene Oil painting on canvas (70 x 88 cm., framed 95 x 113 cm.) Provenance: Mercier & Cie, Lille, France, 05.28.2000, lot 223 Dorotheum, Vienna, 4.10.2000, lot 496 (estimate 18,000-22,000) The work, particularly rich in detail, depicts a fantasy coastal landscape, as the scene of a teeming morning market that animates the main square, with a multitude of characters, including fruit, vegetable and livestock merchants, fishermen in the distance and buyers. The signed painting is a typical work of the well-known painter Alexander van Bredael (1663–1720), a native of Antwerp, specializing in highly imaginative market scenes and village festivals, slides of everyday city life. His works are often set in Mediterranean landscapes, where the architectural models of Italian inspiration stand out, such as the classic village perched overlooking the shore, and the particular fountain that stands out in the center of the square, decorated with masks, female figures and a statue of a satyr on top. Even the style with which the characters are outlined and the tasty genre scenes perfectly reproduce the prototypes of the master, characterized by a use of bright colors, and by an extremely refined attention to detail, which combines his ability as a landscape architect to that of naturamortista. Finally, the particular beauty and wealth of detail with which the depictions of animals are rendered, the beautiful and rustic still lifes exhibited by the vegetable and fruit seller, the silhouettes of the characters, minutely described and enjoyable in every detail, deserve mention. Works by the author that appeared on the market, with stylistic and compositional characteristics similar to our painting: - Alexander van Bredael, Great pastoral feast among ancient ruins, Hampel (Munich) 06.26.2009, nr. 248 - Alexander van Bredael, Figures in a stream outside the city, Lempertz (Keulen) 22-11-2008, nr. 1292 - Alexander van Bredael, Landscape of the South...

Giuseppe Antonio Pianca (Agnona di Borgosesia/VC, 1703 - after 1757) oil on canvas, cm. 49 x 57 - with frame cm. 67 x 77 Antique shaped wooden cassetta frame, ebony and gold decora...

Claude-Joseph Vernet (French, 1714 – 1789) Fisherman by a cascade in a gorge Oil on canvas 22.1/4 x 25.1/2 in. (56.5 x 64.7 cm.) Provenance: The estate of the late Betty, Lady Grantchester Du Catalogue Collection #39 Christie's London, 3 Dec 1997, Lot 52 (£41,000) Claude-Joseph Vernet was the leading French landscape painter (with Hubert Robert) of the later 18th century. He achieved great celebrity with his topographical paintings and serene landscapes. He was also one of the century's most accomplished painters of tempests and moonlight scenes...

Hans de Jode (The Hague, 1630 - Vienna, 1663) Fantasy winter landscape with bridge and tower About 1650 Oils on canvas (62 x 93, in frames 82 x 112) The work is accompanied by an expertise of Dr. Fred G...

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...

Artist/ School: French School, 20th century Title: Mythological Scene with Figures in Classical Landscape Medium: oil painting on board, unframed Size: board: 19.75 x 27 inches ...

Giovan Battista Discepoli, called the Zoppo from Lugano [Castagnola (Lugano) 1590 - Lugano 1654] Coronation of Thorns Oil on panel, cm. 34.2x39.5 – with frame cm. 46x52 Shaped and ...

Giustino Menescardi (Milan, c. 1720 - Venice, after 1779) Ascent of Calvary Oil on canvas, cm. 47 x 36 - with frame cm. 57x43 Shaped and gilded wooden cassetta frame Publications: Bozzetti, modelletti, sketches: dalla collezione di Giorgio Baratti...

‘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...

Jan Frans Soolmaker (Flanders 1635‑1685) Shepherd with Sheep, Cows and a Goat in a Landscape oil on relined canvas canvas size 56 x 53 cm frame i...

PIETER MULIER KNOWN AS TEMPESTA Haarlem, 1637 - Milan, 1701 Landscape Oil on canvas, cm 49x65 - with frame cm 62x78 Gilded and shaped frame Expertise:...

Antonio Stom (Venice c. 1688 - 1734) Architectural Capriccio oil on canvas, cm. 88 x 113 - with frame cm. 106 x 132 Carved, sculpted and gilded wooden frame Expertise: Giancarlo S...

Gouache Nealopitane Marine, Italy, 2011, cm.22x33. Lacquered wooden frame. Delicious gouache made in 2011 by an unknown artist, using the method of the ancient masters of the landscape. Gouache paint is a non-permanent, water-based, opaque and opaque paint made opaque with the addition of a chalky white pigment. Invented in Europe in 500, it was initially used to carry out preliminary sketches of large oil works. It is characterized by a great ease of drafting and a lively color rendering, but it requires great skill, certainty in drawing and an extreme speed of execution, as it dries quickly and cannot be retouched. Precisely these characteristics give a particular liveliness and freshness to the works, characterized by light and opaque tones, very different from the glossy compactness of egg tempera and the transparency of the oil. Widely used in canvas paintings and miniatures. The technique was often used by landscape painters, such as Xavier Della Gatta, Pietro Fabris, Alessandro d'Anna...

The Arcadian Landscape Italian School, 18th century oil painting on canvas, unframed canvas size: 32 x 40 inches condition: excellent condition for its age, fully restored. provenance: from a private collection in Paris, France. Large scale classical 18th century Italian Old Master...

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...

Portrait of a young girl, full-length, wearing a blue silk gown, standing on a terrace beside a classical urn holding a branch with blossom. Attributed to John Riley...

Cristofano Roncalli (Pomarance 1552 - Rome 1626) Saint Catherine of Siena chooses the crown of thorns oil on wood, cm. 101,5x59.5 - with frame cm. 120x76 Shaped, carved and sculpted wooden cassetta frame, partly gilded and partly ebonized wood Expertise: Marco Ciampolini The marvellous scene that opens before our eyes is that of Christ's apparition to Saint Catherine of Siena; she must choose between a golden crown, the symbol of earthly royalty, and a crown of thorns, the symbol of virtuous Christian sacrifice. Catherine does not hesitate to choose the crown of thorns, her life in imitation of...

A fine pair of oil paintings, oil on board depicting views of the Thames one showing houses of parliament the other barges in busy shipping lane. Framed and Glazed the size being 26 ...

Circle of Emile Jean Horace Vernet (1789-1863) The Capture of the Smalah of Abd el Kader oil on canvas 48 x 55 1/2 in; 121 x 141 cms (including magnificent contemporary carved frame) Provenance Private collection, United States This important and impressive work records the historic skirmish in 1843 between a cavalry unit lead by the duc de Aumale and the Arab chief Abd el Kader during the French military campaign in Algeria. The painting is attributed to Horace Vernet, and relates closely to a major work of the same subject by Vernet now in the Musée de l'Histoire de France in Versailles. The work is a classic example of French Orientalist painting...

Marco Ricci (Belluno 1676 - Venice 1730) attributable to Coastal landscape with port city and boats oil painting on canvas 82 x 126 cm., In gilded frame 93 x 137 cm. Provenance: purchased by the previous owners around 1970 in Vienna, at the Hofstätter Gallery (as Marco Ricci) We present with great pleasure this vast and harmonious composition of a coastal view with a fortified city overlooking the sea and a rocky cove in the foreground with several boats, including a vessel. The work, coming from a prestigious Austrian collection, bears a historical attribution to the sphere of Marco Ricci (Belluno 1676 - Venice 1730) who, by virtue of the stringent compositional and stylistic similarities that we can find with the autograph works of the Venetian master, we feel we can confirm. Our marina wisely combines elements taken from life with elements drawn from the author's imagination, set within a wide-ranging perspective framework; the canvas is then enveloped in a diffused but natural luminosity, evoking that sense of atmosphere which is a prelude to eighteenth-century vedutism, but without having those markedly rocaille characteristics. Among the innovations introduced by Marco Ricci in landscape painting, and which we find in our beautiful painting, there is the experimentation of light in its possibilities of atmospheric rendering. The painting in question shares many details with the master's works, such as the mountain ranges that dissolve into the background taking on silvery tones, the tree motif in the foreground and the classic rocky spur, as well as the small figures that animate the scene and still the city ​​on the coast dotted with bell towers and towers, in addition to the compositional cut of the view that expands in depth in a modulated succession of perspective plans. Finally, we can trace the characteristic light effects of the master, highlighted here by the cleaning intervention just carried out in our restoration laboratory, previously obscured by an amber paint that prevented the correct reading of the pictorial material. Trained on the study of the great Venetian tradition and, above all, on Titian's models, Marco Ricci had started his painting activity in the workshop of his uncle Sebastiano. After an important trip to England and Holland, the direct knowledge of Nordic painting - in particular of the works of Johann Anton Eismann, Pieter Mulier...

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...

This small landscape shows a hunting scene: two riders are chasing a stag with their dogs at the edge of a forest. Signed by Peter von Bemmel, it is typical of the production of this...

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...

Collections: With Martyn Gregory; Judy Egerton, 1984, acquired from the above; By descent to 2014. Exhibited: London, Martyn Gregory, Exhibition of English & Continental Watercolours, 1984, no. 94. London, Lowell Libson...

S Lawson Booth : Country House in extensive landscape with cattle in the foreground, oil on canvas signed and dated '98, 60cm x 90cm (35x23 inches approx image) size with frame appro...

David Teniers the Younger (1610-1690) Follower of A Peasant Removing a Plaster: The Sense of Touch signed T on the table oil on panel panel size 7,20 x 5,55 inches (18,3 x 14,4 cm)...

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...

Artist/ School: 17th Century Dutch School Title: An Extensive River Landscape with Figures in the foreground Medium: oil painting on canvas, framed Pai...

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...

Here Gaspard Dughet offers us an idyllic vision of the Roman countryside. The stages follow one another in a perfectly structured composition, revealing here a lake, there travellers walking along, gradually leading our eye to the blue horizon. But behind its classical composition, this landscape is particularly interesting because of three anthropomorphic details that the artist has hidden, opening the way to a radically different interpretation... 1. Gaspard Dughet, a landscape artist in the light of Poussin Gaspard Dughet was born on June 4th, 1615 in Rome where his father, of French origin, was a pastry cook. He was probably named Gaspard in honour of his godfather Baron Gaspard de Morant, who was, or may have been, his father's employer. His older sister Jeanne married the painter Nicolas Poussin (1594 - 1655) on September 1st, 1630. The young Gaspard was apprenticed with his brother-in-law at the beginning of 1631, which led his entourage to name him Gaspard Poussin. The first preserved works of the painter date from the years 1633-1634 and were painted in Poussin’s studio. Around 1635, Gaspard Dughet became emancipated and began to frequent the Bamboccianti circle. In 1636, he became friends with the painter Jean Miel (1599 - 1656), but also with Pier Francesco Mola (1612 - 1666) and Pietro da Cortona (1596 - 1669). This was also the time of his first trips throughout Italy. The painter, although of French origin, appears never to have visited France. In 1646 he settled permanently in Rome. A recognized painter with a solid book of orders, he remained faithful to landscape painting throughout his life, alternating between cabinet paintings and large decorative commissions, using both oil and fresco. Nailed to his bed by rheumatic fever at the age of 58, he died on May 25, 1675. 2. Discovering an idealized landscape Beyond a relatively dark foreground that takes us into the landscape, we discover a vast bluish horizon: a plateau surrounded by deep ravines advances to the right, overhanging an expanse of water that sparkles below. A road winds through a mountainous mass as if leading us to the fortress that crowns it; another town appears in the distance at the foot of three conical mountains. The composition is rigorous, mineral, and structured by geometric volumes. The various stages in the landscape lead one to the next attracting the eye towards the horizon located in the middle of the canvas. The general impression is that of a welcoming and serene nature. In many places the paint layer has shrunk, or become transparent, revealing the dark red preparation with which the canvas was covered and accentuating the contrasts. Human presence is limited to three jack players, leaning against a mound in the foreground. Their long garments, which may evoke Roman togas, contribute to the timelessness of the scene. Close examination of the canvas reveals two other travellers on the path winding between the rocks. Made tiny by the distance, their introduction in the middle register, typical of Dughet's art, lengthens the perspective. While it is difficult to date the work of a painter who devoted his entire life to the representation of landscapes, it is certain that this painting is a work from his later years. The trees that occupied the foreground of his youthful compositions have been relegated to the sides, a stretch of water separates us from the arid mountains counterbalanced by two trees represented on the opposite bank. The introduction of this stretch of water in the middle of the landscape betrays the influence of the Bolognese and in particular of the Dominiquin (1581 - 1641) A number of similarities with a drawing in the British Museum might suggest a date around 1656-1657, since, according to Marie-Nicole Boisclair , it has been compared with the Prado's Landscape with the Repentant Magdalene, painted at that period. 3. Three amazing anthropomorphic details While some late Renaissance landscapes offer a radical double reading, allowing one to see both a face or a human body behind the representation of a landscape, it seems interesting to us to hypothesize that Gaspard Dughet had fun here by slipping in a few details that, taken in isolation, evoke human or animal figures. We will give three examples, looking closely at a cloud, the trunk of a broken tree and the top of a cliff. The main cloud could thus evoke a Christ-like face or that of an antique god...

The canvas can be inserted in the production of Christian Reder, known in Italy as Monsù Leandro. After a period of apprenticeship in Hamburg, he was f...

Roman landscape painter of the eighteenth century - Entourage by Paolo Anesi (Rome 1697 - 1773) River landscape of the Lazio countryside, with the Tiber fl...

Pandolfo Reschi known as Monsù Pandolfo (Danzica 1643 - Florence 1699), attributable Coastal landscape with fortified city, castle with tower, and battle scene oil painting on canvas Measurements: canvas 90 x 120, with frame 104 x 134 This expansive coastal landscape, with a fortress-city overlooking the sea and a small castle with a watchtower, serves as the stage for an eventful battle scene between soldiers and, presumably, a band of brigands. It is an illustrative typology attributable to Pandolfo Reschi (Danzica 1643 - Florence 1696), known for his works in which he perfectly combines the airy landscape of Tuscan-Roman matrix with images of knights in battle or brigands intent on their raids. Pandolfo Reschi was born in Gdansk but from an early age he moved to Rome where he began his brilliant career following the style of Salvator Rosa, even if his real teacher was the Flemish-Italianized Livio Mehus. With Mehus and Rosa he refined his skills as a battle painter and was later taken to the workshop by the Borgognone, even if his main occupation was that of a genre painter. The decisive turning point in his career came after his transfer to Florence, around the middle of 1660, where he continued his studies with Livio Mehus. After a decade he was now an established and highly coveted painter, so much so that in 1670 he was hired by the Medici court as protege of Cardinal Francesco Maria de Medici...