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18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

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Period: 18th Century and Earlier
Portrait Of Palatine Matthew III Csák of Trencin (1260-1321) Italian School
Located in Blackwater, GB
Portrait Of Palatine Matthew III Csák of Trencin (1260-1321) Italian School - Circle of TITIAN Large 16th Century Italian School portrait of a Matthew III Csak Of Trencin, oil on c...
Category

18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Family Portrait Of Mrs Spencer & Children, 18th Century
By Sir William Beechey
Located in Blackwater, GB
Family Portrait Of Mrs Spencer & Children, 18th Century circle of William BEECHEY (1753-1839) Huge 18th Century English School portrait of a lady trad...
Category

18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Fine 18th Century English Oil Portrait Smart Gentleman Squire holding Letter
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
English School, circa 1780’s Circle of George Romney (1734-1802) oil painting on canvas, framed framed: 36 x 30 inches canvas: 30 x 25 inches private collectio...
Category

Old Masters 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

17th Century by Juan Alfonso Abril Head of St Paul Painting Oil on Canvas
Located in Milano, Lombardia
Juan Alfonso Abril (active in the 17th century in Valladolid, Spain) Title: Head of Saint Paul Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: without frame 48.5 x 62 ...
Category

Old Masters 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

John the Baptist
By Francesco Curradi
Located in London, GB
Oil on canvas Image size: 17 x 21 inches (43 x 53 cm) 18th Century Carlotta frame Provenance Private Country Estate When depicting John the Baptist artists often added an outer ga...
Category

18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

French School, Portrait of a Lady, Actress, Young Woman, French , Rococo, Oval
Located in Greven, DE
French Art Rococo Portrait of a Woman, Young Lady, perhaps an actress
Category

Rococo 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas

PPortrait Of Barbara Villiers (1640–1709), Countess of Castlemaine and Duchess o
Located in Blackwater, GB
PPortrait Of Barbara Villiers (1640–1709), Countess of Castlemaine and Duchess of Cleveland Circle of Sir Peter Lely (1618-1680) Huge 17th Cent...
Category

18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Mannerist Italian painter - 16th/17th figure painting - Madonna praying
Located in Varmo, IT
Umbrian-Roman Master (16th-17th century) - Praying Madonna. 84 x 58.5 cm without frame, 96 x 70.5 cm with frame. Antique oil painting on canvas, in wooden frame (not signed). Cond...
Category

Mannerist 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

16th Century by Giovanni Maria Butteri Portrait of Francesco I Oil on Panel
Located in Milano, Lombardia
Giovanni Maria Butteri (Florence, Italy, 1540 - 1606) Title: Portrait of Francesco I Medium: Oil on panel Dimensions: without frame cm. 47.7 x 39 - with frame cm. 55.2 x 46.5 Expertise by Carlo Falciani, art historian Fairs: The International Biennial of Antiques in Florence 2024 (BIAF, Biennale Internazionale dell’Antiquariato di Firenze) Publications: From Sacro to Profano, the Giorgio Baratti art collection from Milan, exhibition catalogue curated by Daiva Mitrulevičiūtė, Giovanni Matteo Guidetti and Ileana Maniscalco, (16 February – 27 September 2020), Vilnius, National Museum - Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania, pp. 566-569. This valuable portrait, by the painter Giovanni Maria Butteri, an exponent of Mannerism and active mainly in Florence, portrays Francesco I de' Medici (1541 - 1587) eldest son of the Grand Duke of Tuscany...
Category

Old Masters 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

Portrait Of William II Prince Of Orange, circa 1650 Dutch School
Located in Blackwater, GB
Portrait Of William II Prince Of Orange, circa 1650 Dutch School Large 17th Century Dutch Schoo Old Master portrait of William II Prince Of Orange, oil on panel. Early important original court portrait on an oak panel of the young prince and father of William III, his only child and later King...
Category

18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Male and female portrait, both in silk kimono, possibly textile dealers
By Christoffel Lubieniecki
Located in Amsterdam, NL
CHRISTOFFEL LUBIENIECKI (1659-1729) Pair of portraits of a gentleman and a lady, both in silk kimono, before a country house (circa 1680) Indistinctly signed “C.......” on a box under the man’s left hand Oil on canvas, 79.5 x 67 cm each Both sitters are portrayed wearing a silk “Japanese” coat. During the second half of the seventeenth the Japanese silk coat, an adapted Japanese kimono, became a real vogue in the Dutch elite. The exclusive Dutch trade contacts with Japan can explain the popularity of the kimono-style silk coats in the Netherlands. Everybody who could afford one, dressed in such a fashionable and comfortable coat and, like the present sitters, some proud owners had themselves portrayed in a “Japanese” coat often together with an oriental carpet to underline their standing and international connections. These portraits are the work of the Polish-born portraitist Christoffel Lubieniecki (also known as Lubienitski, Lubinitski or Lubiniecki) Lubieniecki was first trained in Hamburg under Julian Stuhr and after 1675 in Amsterdam under Adriaen Backer and Gerard de Lairesse. He specialized in landscapes, generally of an Italianate character, and in portraits. The loving execution of these contented burghers, enjoying the garden vistas of their country house, places him alongside Amsterdam portraitists such as Constantijn Netscher and Michiel van Musscher...
Category

Old Masters 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Ancient Roman Architectural Ruins, 18th Century Giovanni Nicolas SERVANDONI
Located in Blackwater, GB
Ancient Architectural Ruins, 18th Century attributed to Giovanni Nicolas SERVANDONI (1695-1766) Large 18th Century Italian Architectural Ruins, oil on canvas attributed to Giovanni...
Category

18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

The Triumph Of Galatea, 19th Century follower of Scarsellino (1550-1620)
Located in Blackwater, GB
The Triumph Of Galatea, 19th Century follower of Scarsellino (1550-1620) Large 16th 17th Century Italian Old Master of the Triumph of Galatea, oil on canvas. Excellent quality and ...
Category

18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Saint John the Baptist & Saint Benedict after Bartolomeo Montagna (1450-1523)
Located in Blackwater, GB
Saint John the Baptist & Saint Benedict, 18th Century Diptych after lost work by Bartolomeo Montagna (1450-1523) Large 18th Century Italian Old Master depiction of Saint John the B...
Category

18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Madonna & Child, 18th Century
By Andrea Del Sarto
Located in Blackwater, GB
Madonna & Child, 18th Century Follower of Andrea del Sarto (1486-1530) Large 18th Century Italian School Old Master depiction of the Madonna & Child, oil on canvas. Excellent quali...
Category

18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Madonna & Child, 18th Century
Madonna & Child, 18th Century
$5,004 Sale Price
20% Off
Dipinto Ritratto maschile con Veste a Fiori, XVIII secolo
Located in Milan, IT
Olio su tela. Scuola italiana del XVIII secolo. Nel ritratto di questo gentiluomo spicca in particolare la veste da camera realizzata in un elegante tessuto fiorato, nelle tonalità d...
Category

Other Art Style 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

17th Century Dutch Old Master Oil Painting Wood Panel Figures in Tavern Interior
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
'Topers in a Tavern' Circle of Jacob Toorenvliet (Dutch 1635 - 1719) oil on panel, framed framed: 9 x 7 inches panel: 7.5 x 6 inches provenance: priv...
Category

Old Masters 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Self Portrait of Schildbach, Court Painter Schildbach, Gotha, Convex Copper
Located in Greven, DE
Christian Schildbach was a very talented artist with his own style. Art painter in Plauen, then court painter in Dresden; around 1706 art painter in Vienna, also active in Bamberg (...
Category

Baroque 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Copper

Portrait of George and Edward Finch-Hatton in Van Dyck Dress
By David Martin
Located in New York, NY
Appointed Portrait Painter to the Prince of Wales in Scotland in 1785, David Martin was the leading Scottish portrait painter of his generation. The artist is best known in the United States for his portrait of Benjamin Franklin, which is in the White House collection, Washington, D.C. The sitters depicted in this double portrait were the sons of the British diplomat Edward Finch-Hatton. George (1747-1823), later of Eastwell Park, Kent, is shown seated, reading an ancient charter or medieval manuscript...
Category

18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Saint Anthony Of Padua, 17th Century Circle of CARLO DOLCI (1616-1686)
Located in Blackwater, GB
Saint Anthony Of Padua, 17th Century Circle of CARLO DOLCI (1616-1686) 17th century Italian Old Master depiction of Saint Anthony of Padua, oi...
Category

18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

17th-18th Century By Benedetto Luti Head of a Girl Oil Pastel on Canvas
Located in Milano, Lombardia
Benedetto Luti (Florence, Italy, 1666 - Rome, Italy, 1724) Title: Head of a Girl Medium: Oil pastel on canvas Dimensions: without frame 28 x 23.5 cm - with frame 38.5 x 33.5 cm Orig...
Category

Old Masters 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil Pastel

17th Century Italian Old Master Fine Portrait of St. Nicholas
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
St. Nicholas of Tolentino (1245-1305) Italian School, 17th century oil painting on canvas, canvas: 10 x 8 inches provenance: private collection, Germany Very fine and rare 17th century Italian Old...
Category

Baroque 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

French Art, Rococo Portrait, Oval, Pastel, Portrait of a Lady, Circle of Vivien
Located in Greven, DE
French School, Portrait of a Lady, Rococo, 18th Century, Fine drawing in Pastel/ Oil Pastel on Paper in the style of Vivien. The Lady might be a woman from Marie Antoinette's Court. It is part of a Pendant (see the other listing with the portrait of Queen Marie Antoinette...
Category

Rococo 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Paper, Oil Pastel, Gouache

Chickens & Other Birds In A Farmyard, 18th Century
By Marmaduke Cradock
Located in Blackwater, GB
Chickens & Other Birds In A Farmyard, 18th Century circle of Marmaduke CRADOCK (c.1660-1717) Fine 18th Century English School farmyard scene of var...
Category

18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

Cleopatra Queen of Egypt 17' century Painting Oil on Canvas
Located in Rome, IT
Amazing painting of Cleopatra oil on canvas with a gilt wood frame. Attributed to Giuseppe Diamantini (Fossombrone 1621-Venice 1705) The dramatic subje...
Category

Academic 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Portrait Of Czechoslovakian Theologian Jan Hus (1370-1415), 17th Century Europe
Located in Blackwater, GB
Portrait Of Czechoslovakian Theologian Jan Hus (1370-1415), 17th Century European School 17th Century European School portrait of Czech Theologian Jan Hus, oil on panel. Excellent...
Category

18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

!8th Century Portrait of a Dame French School Woman Oil on Canvas Gold Blue
Located in Sanremo, IT
Painting oil on canvas measuring 92 x 75 cm without frame and 102 x 87 cm with frame depicting a rich lady of the French school of the first half of the 18th century. In its formal ...
Category

French School 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Anthony van Dyck, Engraving Ernest de Mansfeld, c. 1654, Portrait, Iconographie
Located in Greven, DE
A wonderfully detailed and charismatic portrait, this exquisite work illustrates the technical mastery and artistic vision of Van Dyck. Ernest de Mansfeld's stately yet approachable expression reflects Van Dyck's refined ability to comfort and relax his subjects, resulting in a realistic and acute portrait. Ernest de Mansfeld was a German military commander during the early years of the Thirty Years War. Donning his armor and an ornate, lace collar, de Mansfeld appears as a strong commander. Without a hint of a smile, he calmly gazes out, the definition of cool and collected. Van Dyck accurately captures the sense that de Mansfeld is a man who takes his job seriously, a man worthy of commanding an army in battle. This portrait is a Mauquoy-Hendrickx State II (of II), engraved by Robertus van Voerst in collaboration with Anthony van Dyck (Antwerp, 1559 - London, 1641) as part of his Iconographie series of engraved portraits of famous people...
Category

Baroque 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Engraving, Laid Paper

Portrait Of A Young Lady, Rachel Russell, Duchess of Devon
Located in Blackwater, GB
Portrait Of A Young Lady, Traditionally Identified As Rachel Russell, Duchess of Devonshire (1674-1725) circle of Sir Godfrey Kneller (1646–1723...
Category

18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

French School, Portrait of a Young Lady, Actress, Louis XIV sculpted frame, 1700
Located in Greven, DE
French School, Portrait of a Young Lady, perhaps an actress Oval Louis XIV sculpted and gilded frame French Art, Roccoco Art The oval portrait of a young woman measures 61 by 50,5 cm canvas sight size and its 18th century oak carved and gilded frame...
Category

Rococo 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

17th-18th Century By Benedetto Luti Head of a Girl Oil Pastel on Canvas
Located in Milano, Lombardia
Benedetto Luti (Florence, Italy, 1666 - Rome, Italy, 1724) Title: Head of a Girl Medium: Oil pastel on canvas Dimensions: without frame 28 x 23.5 cm - with frame 38.5 x 33.5 cm Orig...
Category

Old Masters 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil Pastel

Marie Aubry as Andromeda in Lully’s Opera Persée – French School, late 17th c.
Located in Firenze, IT
Singer in the Role of Chained Andromeda, Possibly from Persée by Lully (1682) Marie Aubry (c. 1650 – after 1684), renowned soprano of the Académie Royale de Musique and the original...
Category

French School 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

Portrait Of A Wet Nurse & Baby, 17th Century
Located in Blackwater, GB
Portrait Of A Wet Nurse & Baby, 17th Century Rare & Unusual English School Portrait Large 17th Century English School portrait of a wet nurse and baby breastfeeding, oil on canva...
Category

18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

17th Century Old Head Flemish School Eyes Caravagism Oil on Canvas Yellow White
Located in Sanremo, IT
Painting oil on panel depicting a strong and distinctive old man's head with dimensions of 36 x 28 cm without frame and 68 x 60 with frame coeval Flemish school of the second half of...
Category

Flemish School 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

The Angel Gabriel Jesus & Satan 17th Century after DOMENICHINO (1581-1641)
Located in Blackwater, GB
The Angel Gabriel Jesus & Satan 18th Century afterf Domenichino (1581-1641) Large 18th Century Italian Bolognese School Old Master depiction of the Guardian Angel Gabriel, Jesus an...
Category

18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Mme de Noirmont", Oil on Canvas Portrait, circa 18th Century
By (circle of) Nicolas de Largillierre
Located in Detroit, MI
This painting titled "Mme de Noirmont" is an oil on canvas work from the studio of Nicolas de Largilliere, one of the most prolific and esteemed French portrait painters of the 18th ...
Category

18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Adhesive, Oil

Portrait of a Girl with Book, 18th Century Regency Oil Painting
Located in London, GB
Oil on canvas Image size: 28 3/4 x 24 inches (73 x 61 cm) Contemporary style gilt frame This portrait is an evocative example of Devis' Regency period portraiture, featuring a pleasant looking young girl holding a book in an outdoor setting. Working with a darker palette, a strongly accented diagonal recession, and dramatic contrasts of light and shadow, Devis heightens the girl's three-dimensional physical presence in the foreground of the composition. The Artist  Arthur William Devis (10 August 1762 – 11 February 1822) was an English painter of history paintings and portraits. He painted portraits and historical subjects, sixty-five of which he exhibited (1779–1821) at the Royal Academy. Among his more famous works are a depiction of the Death of Nelson and a posthumous portrait of Nelson. Devis was born in London, the nineteenth child of the artist Arthur Devis and his wife Elizabeth Faulkner. Devis was the younger brother of the painter Thomas Anthony Devis (1757–1810) and of the schoolmistress and grammarian Ellin Devis (1746–1820), teacher, among others, of author of Maria Edgeworth and Frances Burney (later novelist Madame d'Arblay). He followed his elder brother Thomas Anthony in becoming a pupil at the Royal Academy Schools in 1774 and like his brother exhibited at the Free Society of Artists, of which in 1768 their father had become president, and at the Royal Academy. Early on he came to the notice of Sir Joshua Reynolds. He was appointed draughtsman on the British East India Company's packet Antelope in a voyage in 1783, under Captain Henry Wilson. In her he was injured in an encounter with Papuans near the Schouten Islands and was then wrecked on the Pelew Islands before proceeding to Canton and thence to Bengal. During his voyages, the artist received arrow wounds, one of which inflicted permanent injury on his lower jaw. During his time in Bengal, he painted a portrait of Sir William Jones, at the time a judge in Fort William. The painting now hangs at the British Library. He was back in London by 1795 and is recorded on 21 July 1797 as living at 27 George Street, Hanover Square, where he was insured by the Sun Assurance Office. He is noted for his involvement in the creation of the posthumous cult of Horatio Nelson. As she returned from Trafalgar, Devis went out to meet HMS Victory and was present on board the ship during the autopsy of Nelson's body conducted by Dr Beatty, the ship's surgeon. With the help of sketches he took at that time, he painted a heroic Death of Nelson, which proved a sensation. Devis also painted Dr Beatty, and was commissioned by him to produce a half-length painting of Nelson as vice-admiral, which he lent to Emma Hamilton (who later lost it in an accident whilst travelling). Either the original or a copy of this portrait was exhibited at the Royal Academy two years after the Battle and many copies were made of it. Lord Howe owned one, and another ended up in the collection of the National Maritime Museum. It also appeared as an engraving in Beatty's published account of Nelson's death. Other work includes a portrait of King George III on horseback, and a range of portraits of admirals and generals, along with historical subjects, such as the Babington Plot and the signing of the Magna Carta...
Category

Victorian 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Portrait of a King's Messenger, 18th Century English Artist, Original Frame
By Charles Philips
Located in London, GB
Charles Philips 1703 - 1747 Portrait of a King's Messenger Oil on canvas Image size: 35 ¾ x 28 inches Original gilt frame King's Messenger The job of a King's Messenger was that of a diplomatic courier, hand-carrying important and secret documents around the world. Some say that the history of the sovereigns' messengers goes back to 1199, but the first known messenger was John Norman, who in 1485 earned 4d (1½ pence) per day for carrying the state papers of Richard III. The silver greyhound on the messenger's badge dates back to Charles II. In 1660, during his exile at Breda, Netherlands, Charles II issued a declaration of amnesty to all those who had opposed him and his father. He used messengers to make his intentions known. In answer to the messenger's question "How will they know me?", Charles reached forward to a silver bowl on the table in front of him. This bowl, with four decorative greyhounds standing proud above the rim, was well known to all courtiers. Charles broke off a greyhound and gave it to the messenger as a guarantee that the message came from him. From that date, the King's Messenger always wore a silver greyhound around his neck. Later, dating from George II or III, a badge with the Royal Arms in enamel, with the greyhound suspended beneath, was worn. A George III example of the King's Messenger Badge, pre 1800, sold for over £30,000 pounds some years ago. The silver greyhounds were minted for each new reign, except the brief one of King Edward VIII. The sovereign's messengers were originally controlled by the Lord Chamberlain, being Messengers of the Great Chamber. When the Foreign Office was created in 1782, the messengers remained common to the three Secretaries of State. Charles Philips was an English artist known for painting a number of portraits and conversation pieces for noble and Royal patrons in the mid-eighteenth century. Philips was baptised in the combined parish of St Mildred, Poultry with St Mary...
Category

18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Portrait Of A Lady In A Lace Cap & Ruff, 17th Century 1640 Dutch School
Located in Blackwater, GB
Portrait Of A Lady In A Lace Cap & Ruff, 17th Century 1640 Dutch School 17th Century Dutch School portrait of a young lady wearing a lace cap and ruff, oil on panel. Excellent qual...
Category

18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

Portrait Of Carlota de Hesse-Kassel, 17th Century Dutch School
Located in Blackwater, GB
Portrait Of Carlota de Hesse-Kassel, 17th Century Dutch School Large 17th Century Dutch old Master portrait of Carlota de Hesse-Kassel. Exc...
Category

18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Portrait of William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke, Early 17th Century Portrait
Located in London, GB
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...
Category

Old Masters 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Wood Panel

Cleopatra Queen of Egypt 17' century Painting Oil on Canvas
Located in Rome, IT
Amazing painting of Cleopatra oil on canvas with a gilt wood frame. Attributed to Giuseppe Diamantini (Fossombrone 1621-Venice 1705) The dramat...
Category

Academic 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

17th Century Saint Jerome Francesco Fracanzano Saint Skull Oil on Canvas Red
Located in Sanremo, IT
Painting, oil on canvas, measuring 92 x 77 without frame and 107 x 82 cm with frame , depicting a Saint Jerome in ancient philosopher and ascetic version, typical of the greatest tra...
Category

Italian School 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

The Battle Of The Peasants, 17th Century by M D HOUT (1627-1680)
Located in Blackwater, GB
The Battle Of The Peasants, 17th Century by M D HOUT (1627-1680) Large 17th Century Dutch Old Master scene of peasants fighting, oil on panel by M ...
Category

18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Portrait of Mrs Faber, 18th Century Oil Painting
Located in London, GB
THOMAS HUDSON 1701 – 1779 Portrait of Mrs Faber Oil on canvas Image size: 29 x 24 ½ inches Contemporary gilt frame Mrs Faber was the wife of John Faber J...
Category

18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Portrait Of John Parker, 1st Lord Boringdon (1735-1788), 18th century
By Joshua Reynolds
Located in Blackwater, GB
Portrait Of John Parker, 1st Lord Boringdon (1735-1788), 18th century School of Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792) Large 18th portrait of John Parker, 1st Lord Boringdon, oil on canvas. E...
Category

18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Portrait of a Melancholic Gentleman, 17th century Oil Painting
Located in London, GB
English School 17th Century Portrait of a Melancholic Gentleman Oil on canvas Image size: 25 x 29 1/4 inches (63.5 x 72.25 cm) Hand made contemporary style frame Provenance South of England Estate This is a striking 17th century half-portrait of a man. He sits with his body turned to the left and his head to the right. His left hand is held in front of him with thumb and finger together. He wears a loose white shirt that is opened low down onto chest while being closed at his neck with a black ribbon. An orange cloak has also been draped across his arms in a rather dramatic manner. This choice of costume is immediately notable and must be compared to other portraits of this time of Elizabethan courtiers wearing slashed silk outfits with ostentatious finery and silver swords. Indeed, if one examines 17th century English...
Category

18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Angelic Cherubs with Classical Figure in Wilderness Finely Painted Preparatory
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Figure with Cherubim in Wilderness Italian School, 17th century oil painting on wood panel framed 13 x 11 inches condition: overall for its age very good, though the work is most likely a preparatory...
Category

Old Masters 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Wood Panel

Portrait Of Mary Of Modena, Queen Of England, 17th Century Studio Of SIR PETER
Located in Blackwater, GB
Portrait Of Mary Of Modena, Queen Of England, 17th Century Studio Of SIR PETER LELY (1618-1680) Huge 17th century English Old Master portrait of Mary Of Modena, Queen Of England, o...
Category

18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Venetian Rococò painter - 18th century mask figure painting - Pantalone Carnival
Located in Varmo, IT
Venetian master (18th century) - Mask of Pantalone. 161 x 68 cm without frame, 169.5 x 76.5 cm with frame. Antique oil painting on canvas, in a white lacquered wooden frame (not si...
Category

Rococo 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Portrait Alchemist Flemish school 17th Century Paint Oil on table Old master
Located in Riva del Garda, IT
Flemish Mannerist painter Early 17th century Portrait of the alchemist Geber (Arab alchemist who lived in the 8th century) Oil on panel 41 x 33 cm In antique frame 51 x 43 cm ...
Category

Old Masters 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Cleopatra Queen of Egypt 17' century Painting Oil on Canvas
Located in Rome, IT
Amazing painting of Cleopatra oil on canvas with a gilt wood frame. Attributed to Giuseppe Diamantini (Fossombrone 1621-Venice 1705) The dramatic subje...
Category

Academic 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Self Portrait, Oil on Oak Panel, English School, Handmade Frame
Located in London, GB
Oil on oak panel Image size: 9 x 7 1/4 inches (23 x 18.5 cm) Period style hand made frame This is a self-portrait is most likely by a 17th century English...
Category

18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oak, Oil

Portrait Of The Persian Sybil, 17th Century School of GUERCINO (1591-1666)
By Giovanni Francesco Barbieri (Il Guercino)
Located in Blackwater, GB
Portrait Of The Persian Sybil, 17th Century School of GUERCINO (1591-1666) Large 17th Century Italian Old Master portrait of the Persian Sybil, oil on canvas. Excellent quality an...
Category

18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Portrait Of A Lady Holding A Flue, 18th Century French School
Located in Blackwater, GB
Portrait Of A Lady Holding A Flue, 18th Century French School Large 18th century French School portrait of a lady holding a flute, oil on canvas. Magnificent and unusual portrait ...
Category

18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

An Artist Grinding Colours, Possibly a Self-Portrait
Located in London, GB
Jan Kupetsky (1667 - 1740) Czech School An artist grinding colours, possibly a self-portrait Oil on canvas Signed, verso : "Joseph Prinzig" Provenance: Private Collection, Hungary ...
Category

18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Portrait Of Maximilian I Holy Roman Emperor & Archduke of Austria, 17th Century
Located in Blackwater, GB
Portrait Of Maximilian I Holy Roman Emperor & Archduke of Austria, 17th Century follower of Giulio Romano (1492-1546) Fine large 16th Century Italian S...
Category

18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

18th c. French Portrait of a Lady by Jean Ranc (1674 - 1735), Paris circa 1700
Located in PARIS, FR
Portrait of a Lady with carnations By Jean Ranc (Montpellier 1674 - Madrid 1735), circa 1700 Oil on canvas in oval shape, Dimensions: h. 35.82, w. 28.34 in. Period Louis XIV giltwood and carved frame with laurel leaves. Framed dimensions: h. 42.52 in, w. 33.85 in. Provenance: Collection of the Marquis de Bailleul at the Château d'Angerville-Bailleul (before 1942). To be included in the catalog raisonné of the artist by Stephane Perreau Important portrait of a young woman depicted half-length turned three-quarters, her face looking at the viewer. Dressed in a brick red velvet dress, an elegant blue scarf envelops her figure. Hair styled “a la Fontange”, her powdered hair is raised and tied at the back with a red ribbon, several curly locks escape from her bun and fall on her back and shoulders. The perfectly oval face with regular features dominated by her straight nose is softened by her gray eyes with slightly lowered lids. The red tinged skin tones on the cheeks and cheekbones color the face and make the portrait come alive. The young woman is portrayed standing near a pot of carnations. Her strongly lighted figure stands out against an architectural background of columns. The artist's palette is made of contrasts opposing warm to cold hues. The icy electric blue contrasts with the fiery brick red, the hair powdered with white accentuates even more the flush of the cheeks. The left arm bent at the elbow, extending the open hand with slightly bent fingers in the foreground brings depth to the composition. Our portrait, an interesting testimony in the corpus of works of the painter, is part of his youthful period, around 1700-1705. The former belonging of this portrait to the Marquis de Bailleul reinforces the remarkable character of our painting. The portrait has been examined by Stéphane Perreau, specialist of Jean Ranc and will be included in the catalog raisonné currently being written, under number P. 43. The notice edited by Mr Perreau is below: "Painted around 1700-1705, this portrait of a woman is directly inherited from Hyacinthe Rigaud, the master of Jean Ranc (the hand turned over the front, in a watch...
Category

Old Masters 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Portrait Of Jeanne III d'Albret (1528-1572), 16th Century
Located in Blackwater, GB
Portrait Of Jeanne III d'Albret (1528-1572), 16th Century French School Court Portrait - oil on panel Fine 16th century French Old Master portrait of Jeanne III, Queen regent or Navarre, oil on panel. Rare and early depiction of the Queen regent in court attire by a French court painter circa 1550. Jeanne d"Albret married Antione De Bourbon to become the Duchess of Vendome. Her son Henri would be come Henri III...
Category

18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

Portrait Of William Beekman Of New York, 18th Century American School
Located in Blackwater, GB
Portrait Of William Beekman Of New York, 18th Century American School Large 18th Century American School portrait of a William Beekman of New York, oil on canvas. Excellent qualit...
Category

18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

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