(After) Rembrandt van Rijn

Portrait of Nicolaes van Bambeeck - 17th Century Dutch Old Master

Jacob Huysmans Flemish 1633 - 1696 Portrait of a Lady Oil on canvas Image size: 49 x 40 ¼ inches Gilt frame Huysmans was born in Antwerp and came to England during the reign of Charles II where he became one of the fashionable painters of the court.. The diarist Samual Pepys noted the artist as capable of a more exact likeness than Lely. Certainly the diarist records that by August 1664 in the circle of Queen Catherine...

After Sir Anthony van Dyck (1599-1641) Portrait of Sir Edward Lord Littleton, First Baron Lyttleton (1589-1645) Oil on canvas Image size: 96 by 76 cm Hand carved auricular frame Sir Edward Littleton was Solicitor-General to Charles I, 1634-40; Chief Justice of Common Pleas, January 1640-January 1641; Lord Keeper, 1641-45. Painted in his robes, and wearing the chain of office...

English School, (circa 1600) Portrait of William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke Oil on panel, oval Image size: 29¼ x 23⅞ inches Painted wooden frame Provenance: 176, Collection of Francis Greville, 1st Earl of Warwick. The Trustees of the Lord Brooks’ Settlement, (removed from Warwick Castle). Sotheby’s, London, 22nd March 1968, lot 81. Painted onto wooden panel, this portrait shows a dark haired gentleman in profile sporting an open white shirt. On top of this garments is a richly detailed black cloak, decorated with gold thread and lined with a sumptuous crimson lining. With the red silk inside it’s all very expensive and would fall under sumptuary laws – so this is a nobleman of high degree. It’s melancholic air conforms to the contemporary popularity of this very human condition, evident in fashionable poetry and music of the period. In comparison to our own modern prejudices, melancholy was associated with creativity in this period. This portrait appeared in the earliest described list of pictures of Warwick castle dating to 1762. Compiled by collector and antiquary Sir William Musgrave ‘taken from the information of Lord & Lady Warwick’ (Add. MSS, 5726 fol. 3) is described; ‘8. Earl of Essex – an original by Zuccharo – seen in profile with black hair. Holding a black robe across his breast with his right hand.’ As tempting as it is to imagine that this is a portrait of Robert Devereux, the 2nd Earl Essex, we might take this with a pinch of salt. Its identification with this romantic and fatal Elizabethan might well have been an attempt to add romance to Warwick Castle’s walls. It doesn’t correspond all that well with Essex’s portraits around 1600 after his return from Cadiz. Notably, this picture was presumably hung not too far away from the castle’s two portraits of Queen Elizabeth I. The first, and undoubtedly the best, being the exquisite coronation portrait that was sold by Lord Brooke in the late 1970s and now hangs in the National Portrait Gallery. The second, described as being ‘a copy from the original at Ld Hydes’, has yet to resurface. The portrait eventually ended up being hung in the State Bedroom of Warwick Castle. Archival documents present one other interesting candidate. The Greville family’s earliest inventory of paintings, made in 1630 at their home Brooke House in Holborn, London, describes five portraits of identified figures. All five belonged to the courtier, politician and poet Sir Fulke Greville (1554-1628), 1st Baron Brooke, and were hung in the ‘Gallerie’ of Brooke House behind yellow curtains. One of them was described as being of ‘Lord of Pembrooke’, which is likely to have been William Herbert (1580-1630), 3rd Earl of Pembroke. William was the eldest son of Greville’s best friend’s sister Mary Sidney, and was brought up in the particularly literary and poetically orientated household which his mother had supported. Notably, the 3rd Earl was one of the figures that Shakespeare’s first folio was dedicated to in 1623. The melancholic air to the portrait corresponds to William’s own pretensions as a learned and poetic figure. The richness of the robe in the painting, sporting golden thread and a spotted black fabric, is indicative of wealth beyond that of a simple poet or actor. The portrait’s dating to around the year 1600 might have coincided with William’s father death and his own rise to the Pembroke Earldom. This period of his life too was imbued with personal sadness, as an illicit affair with a Mary Fitton had resulted in a pregnancy and eventual banishment by Elizabeth I to Wilton after a short spell in Fleet Prison. His illegitimate son died shortly after being born. Despite being a close follower of the Earl of Essex, William had side-stepped supporting Devereux in the fatal uprising against the Queen and eventually regained favour at the court of the next monarch James I. His linen shirt is edged with a delicate border of lace and his black cloak is lined on the inside with sumptuous scarlet and richly decorated on the outside with gold braid and a pattern of embroidered black spots. Despite the richness of his clothes, William Herbert has been presented in a dishevelled state of semi-undress, his shirt unlaced far down his chest with the ties lying limply over his hand, indicating that he is in a state of distracted detachment. It has been suggested that the fashion for melancholy was rooted in an increase in self-consciousness and introspective reflection during the late 16th and early 17th centuries. In contemporary literature melancholy was said to be caused by a plenitude of the melancholy humor, one of the four vital humors, which were thought to regulate the functions of the body. An abundance of the melancholia humor was associated with a heightened creativity and intellectual ability and hence melancholy was linked to the notion of genius, as reflected in the work of the Oxford scholar Robert Burton, who in his work ‘The Anatomy of Melancholy’, described the Malcontent as ‘of all others [the]… most witty, [who] causeth many times divine ravishment, and a kind of enthusiamus… which stirreth them up to be excellent Philosophers, Poets and Prophets.’ (R. Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy, London, 1621 in R. Strong, ‘Elizabethan Malady: Melancholy in Elizabethan and Jacobean Portraits’, Apollo, LXXIX, 1964). Melancholy was viewed as a highly fashionable affliction under Elizabeth I, and her successor James I, and a dejected demeanour was adopted by wealthy young men, often presenting themselves as scholars or despondent lovers, as reflected in the portraiture and literature from this period. Although the sitter in this portrait is, as yet, unidentified, it seems probable that he was a nobleman with literary or artistic ambitions, following in the same vain as such famous figures as the aristocratic poet and dramatist, Edward de Vere...

Dominicus van der Smissen Early 18th Century Portrait of Conrad Friedrich Hurlebusch Oil on canvas Image size: 20½ x 16¼ inches Period gilt frame This is a portrait of Conrad Friedrich Hurlebusch, composer, Kapellmeister and organist, whom Van der Smissen most probably portrayed during his stay in Hamburg, Brunswick or Amsterdam. The identification is based on the reproduction of the portrait which was engraved by Pieter Anthony Wakkerdak (1740- 1774). Van der Smissen has reduced the face of the sitters to an egg-shaped oval in three-quarter view, applying diminution to one half of the figure’s torso, which is farther away from the viewer. This partial side view, with the head turned to look at the viewer over the shoulder, creates spatial depth and brings the figure to life by avoiding the stiffness of a frontal depiction. Because the artist chose to highlight the figure from above, a distinct shadow is cast under the tip of the nose, in the shape of a triangle. This is an often recurring and almost ‘signature’-like feature in Van der Smissen’s oeuvre. Hurlebusch's garments are of a very high quality and serve to reflect the sitter’s wealth, status and elegance. During this period, gentlemen often shaved their heads in order to facilitate the wearing of a wig, which wouldbe worn with a suit. Here Hurlebusch has been depicted in a luxurious turban-like cap lined with lynx fur, a highly fashionable and expensive material at the time. Over his shirt, he wears a velvet fur-lined gown adorned with decorative clasps fashioned from silver braid. The elegant informality of his appearance can be seen in his unbuttoned shirt and the unfastened black ribbon hanging from his button hole, which has been artfully arranged into a fluttering drape by the portraitist. The Sitter Hurlebusch was born in Brunswick, Germany. He received the first instructions in his field from his father Heinrich Lorenz Hurlebusch, who was also a musician. As an organ virtuoso, he toured Europe, visiting Vienna, Munich and Italy. From 1723 to 1725 he was Kapellmeister in Stockholm; later he became Kapellmeister in Bayreuth and Brunswick, and lived in Hamburg from 1727 to 1742, where he had contact with fellow composers Johann Mattheson and Georg Philipp Telemann. He made his living composing, performing and teaching. In 1735 and 1736, he is believed to have visited Johann Sebastian Bach in Leipzig, who promoted Hurlebusch’s compositions as the local seller...

Attributted to Barthel Bruyn the Elder 1493–1555 Portrait of a Archduchess Margaret of Austria Oil on wood panel Image size: 10 inches (25.5 cm) Faux tortoiseshell frame Provenance North England Estate The Artist The date of Bartholomaeus (or Barthel) Bruyn's birth, 1493, can be deduced from a portrait medal by Friedrich Hagenauer which is dated 1539 and gives the artist's age as 46. The exact place of his birth is unknown, but was almost certainly in the region of the Lower Rhine. Bruyn entered the workshop of Jan Joest and assisted in painting the high altar of the Nikolaikirche, Kalkar, executed between 1505 and 1508. Also in Joest's atelier at this time was Joos van Cleve...

Circle of Gerard van Honthorst 1592 - 1656 Portrait of a Gentleman Oil on wooden panel Image size: 29 x 23 inches Contemporary gilt frame Gerard van Honthorst was a Dutch Golden Age...

This museum quality old master oil on canvas formal portrait painting depicting the family of the Count Zanardi is signed by the artist- the female painter Lucia Casalini Torelli- and published in a book dedicated to Casalini Torelli’s workshop and academy. This palatial masterpiece artwork comes directly from the ancient Villa Maraini Guerrieri - Palidano di Gonzaga (Mantua), an historic Italian heritage building owned by the descendants of the family portrayed for more than two centuries, until 1998. The big scale of this oil on canvas masterpiece painting states the relevance of Lucia Casalini Torelli as a painter. The present artwork is a formal family portrait painting that aim to introduce the characters depicted according to their social role in the society. The noble family is all gathered under a loggia overlooking a park, the landscape in the background is partially covered by a beautiful red cloth on the right side. The father stands up and holds the hand of his eldest son, proudly introducing his future heir. The son wears a light-blue dress and red boots, he is depicted in a serious pose holding a black tricorn hat under his arm and a rapier sword on his belt. The mother wears an elegant gold and dark green brocade dress, she is sitting with her youngest daughter on her knees while her second son is by her side. The little daughter wears a lovely long red and dress with white lace and holds an apple on her hand. The son stands next to his mother and is dressed in a brown priestly clothes. This palatial old masters piece was probably painted in 1740 due to the similarities with Cardinal Doria’ s portrait, now on display at the Doria Palace Museum, the official residence of the Prince of Genoa. The painting features original canvas (“prima tela”) and antique original patina, it is in excellent overall condition considering the age, use and its large scale. A formal detailed condition report and the results of the inspection with the UV lamp accompanied by photos is available on request. As well as for its exceptional quality and quite perfect state of conservation, this painting is particularly important and even more valuable both for the artist who painted it and for its absolutely exclusive provenance. Lucia painted the most prominent and powerful noble families of her time, the location of these paintings is unknown to the art market as it is extremely likely that the portraits are still kept in private collections. Furthermore, Lucia was one of the most appreciated artists of her time, so important that she was admitted as a member of the academy at a time when women were forbidden to attend these studies. In 1706, Felice Torelli...

Procaccini was born in Bologna, but his family moved to Milan when the artist was eleven years old. His artistic education was evidently familial— from his father Ercole and his elder brothers Camillo and Carlo Antonio, all painters—but his career began as a sculptor, and at an early age: his first known commission, a sculpted saint for the Duomo of Milan, came when he was only seventeen years old. Procaccini’s earliest documented painting, the Pietà for the Church of Santa Maria presso San Celso in Milan, was completed by 1604. By this time the artist had made the trip to Parma recorded by his biographers, where he studied Correggio, Mazzola Bedoli, and especially Parmigianino; reflections of their work are apparent throughout Procaccini's career. As Dr. Hugh Brigstocke has recently indicated, the present oil sketch is preparatory for the figure of the angel seen between the heads of the Virgin and St. Charles Borrommeo in Procaccini's altarpiece in the Church of Santa Afra in Brescia (ill. in Il Seicento Lombardo; Catalogo dei dipinti e delle sculture, exh. cat. Milan 1973, no. 98, pl. 113). As such it is the only known oil sketch of Procaccini's that can be directly connected with an extant altarpiece. The finished canvas, The Virgin and Child with Saints Charles Borrommeo and Latino with Angels, remains in the church for which it was painted; it is one of the most significant works of Procaccini's maturity and is generally dated after the artist's trip to Genoa in 1618. The Head of an Angel is an immediate study, no doubt taken from life, but one stylistically suffused with strong echoes of Correggio and Leonardo. Luigi Lanzi, writing of the completed altarpiece in 1796, specifically commented on Procaccini's indebtedness to Correggio (as well as the expressions of the angels) here: “Di Giulio Cesare...

Provenance: with Leo Blumenreich and Julius Böhler, Munich, 1924 Dr. Frederic Goldstein Oppenheimer (1881-1963), San Antonio, Texas; by whom given to: Abraham M. Adler, New York, un...

Henry Pickering, Portrait of a Gentleman Oil on canvas; signed and dated 1759; held in a giltwood period frame Provenance: Lenygon & Morant Ltd. c.1900; Knoedler, October 1912 (Sto...

Charles Jervas (1675-1739) Portrait of Joseph Mellish (1675-1733) Oil on canvas; held in a carved period frame Dimensions refer to size of frame. Provenance: Blyth Hall, Nottinghamshire, England; by descent to Sir Andrew Buchanan of Hodsock Priory, Nottinghamshire In 1635 John Mellish, a merchant tailor of London, bought the estate of Blyth in Nottinghamshire. His son, a wealthy Oporto merchant, dying unmarried, left Blyth in 1703 to a cousin, Joseph Mellish, who became one of Newcastle’s earliest and most important political supporters in the county. He went up to Clare College, Cambridge in 1692 and on to the Inner Temple the following year. He married Dorothea Gore, daughter of Sir William Gore...

Signed and dated, lower left: Louise Hersent/ 1823 Provenance: Private Collection, Chicago, by 1996 Private Collection, Florida This charming portrait of a young boy is the work of Louise-Marie-Jeanne Hersent, a little-known woman artist of the French Restoration often identified by her maiden name, Mauduit. While Hersent—as we will call her here following the signature on the painting—has been understudied, the known details of her life and career reveal that she held a privileged position in artistic life in the early nineteenth century in Paris. She exhibited at the Salon from 1810 until 1824, and in 1821 she married the painter Louis Hersent, a successful pupil of Jacques-Louis David who was patronized by Louis XVIII and Charles X. It is likely through her husband’s royal patronage that Hersent’s Louis XIV Visits Peter the Great was purchased for the Royal Collection in Versailles. In 1806, while still Louise Mauduit, she painted a portrait of Napoleon’s youngest sister, Pauline Bonaparte...