18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Giovanni Stefano Danedi, called Montalto (Treviglio, Italy, 1612 - Milan, Italy, 1690) Title: Madonna and Child crowned by angels Medium: Oil on panel Dimensions: without frame 58 x ...

Attributed to Gainsborough Dupont (1754 - 1797, British) Portrait of Owen Ormsby, bust-length, in a brown coat, with slightly later inscription identifying the sitter oil on canvas 2...

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

Dutch School, Elegant Couple, Tavern Interior Scene, Cabinet Piece, A PAIR

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

This little jewel of a pastel of a young boy in his smart red jacket and silver trimmed waistcoat is by an artist working in the circle of Arthur Pond and ...

Portrait Of Sir Ralph Warton (1656-1709) Of Beverley, Yorkshire, 17th Century English School Large 17th Century portrait of Sir Ralph Warton, oil on canvas laid to board. Circa 1685 portrait of the young knight and member of Parliament to James II to which this portrait would have been commissioned in commemoration of. Portrayed within a feigned oval in armour and a white undershirt with black bow necktie...

Portrait of General Henry Ireton (1611-1651) Son In Law to Oliver Cromwell, 17th Century attributed Robert WALKER (1607-1658) Large 17th Century portrait of General Henry Ireton, oil on canvas. Excellent quality and condition Civil War portrait...

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...

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...

Pieter Symonsz Potter Dutch 1600 - 1652 Soldier in an Interior Oil on oak panel, red seal to reverse Image size: 15 x 10 3/4 inches Dutch Ebonised frame Bathed in a well lit roo...

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...

Amazing painting of Cleopatra oil on canvas with a gilt wood frame. Attributed to Giuseppe Diamantini (Fossombrone 1621-Venice 1705) The dramat...

An Allegory Of Marriage, 18th Century English School Large 18th Century English School allegory of marriage, oil on canvas. Rare allegory of life scene with two married couples on...

Portrait of Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583-1643) Attributed to Antiveduto Della Grammatica (1571-1626) Oil on Canvas 1605-1609 Framed in a Nineteenth Century gild and composite frame 44....

Portrait Of William Yorke (1609-1666), 17th Century circle of Edward Bower (fl. 1635 – 1667) Fine large 17th Century English Master portrait of William...

Santi di Tito (Sansepolcro, 1536 - Florence, 1603) Portrait of a noblewoman, half-length, with a book in her hand 16th century Oil on panel 75 x 61 cm. - with frame 115 x 101...

Portrait of Mary Anne Ward (1725-1754) In Riding Attire, 18th Century School of Henry Pickering (1720-1770) Large 18th English portrait of Mary Anne Ward ...

This fantastic Italian Baroque 17th century Old Master portrait oil painting is attributed to circle of Carlo Dolci. Painted circa 1685, the composition is a waist length portrait of...

Italian painting of Alphonsus Liguori in French Neo-Gothic Frame Italian and French, Late 18th and 19th Century Frame: Height 61cm, width 39cm, depth 6cm Panel: Height 28cm, width 22...

Portrait Of A Gentleman Holding Flowers, circa 1600 Flemish School Large circa 1600 Flemish School portrait of a man holding flowers wearing a plumed hat, oil on panel. Exceptional...

Eastern European young woman in traditional dress with silver lacings and jewelry holding an open book. This portrait pose is in the Renaissance period Mannerist style, and the young...

Study Of David, 17th Century School Of Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) 17th Century Dutch study of the head of David before the battle against Goliath & The Philistines, oil on canva...

King William III Stag Hunting, 18th Century John WOOTTON (1682-1765) Huge 18th Century English landscape with King William III stag hunting with his party, oil on canvas. Excelle...

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...

Oil on canvas Image size: 25 x 29 1/4 inches (63.5 x 72.25 cm) 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...

Woman Washing Clothes In The River, 17th Century circle of Francesco GUARDI (1712-1793) Fine large Italian Old Master landscape view of figures in a ...

Circle of Robert Byng British, (1666-1720) Girl with Orange Oil on canvas Image size: 29 inches x 24 inches Size including frame: 36 inches x 31 inc...

John Westbrooke Chandler 1763- 1807 Oil on canvas Image size: 30 x 25 inches (76 x 63.5 cm) Original gilt swept frame This portrait is marked by its loose brushwork, which creates a...

Portrait Of George Farington, East India Company, 18th Century attributed to Arthur DEVIS (1712-1787) One of a matching pair - the other is belie...

The painting (with a Salvador Rosa-style gilded frame 88 x 116 cm) depicts a group of four children who are playing outside on a swinging seesaw; we are probably dealing with a prank, as can be seen by the satisfied expression of the child on the right at the expense of the one in the foreground, who seems to be supported by the others, perhaps because of the fear felt. They are dressed in the same way, with black or brown ankle boots and a kind of double-breasted jumpsuit with a rich lace collar reminiscent of the jabots of dames, blue for the one in the foreground, brick-colored for the other three. Children also look alike in the hair, typical of the period, and features, suggesting a kinship relationship. We find the same subject, for example, in Johann Zoffany...

Portrait Of Maurice Of Nassau, Prince of Orange, 17th Century studio of Michiel Jansz Van Mierevelt (1566-1641) 17th Century Portrait of Maurice ...

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...

Portrait Of Lady Francklin of Bedfordshire, 17th Century Studio of Sir Peter Lely (1618-1680) Fine 17th Century English portrait of Lady Fr...

Amazing painting of Cleopatra oil on canvas with a gilt wood frame. Attributed to Giuseppe Diamantini (Fossombrone 1621-Venice 1705) The dramatic subje...

Portrait Of Gertrude Durnford, Lady Alston (1731-1807), 18th Century Studio of Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792) Large 18th Century English portrait ...

Carvaly Skirmish At Night, 17th Century school of Jacques Courtois (1621-1676) Large 17th Century Italian Old Master night battle with cavalry offic...

Up for sale is a phenomenal Antique “Dutch School” original oil painting on canvas, depicting a genre scene. "By A. Van Ostade" - written on the back of the canvas (Ostade was a Du...

The Coronation Of The Virgin, 17th Century After Guido RENI (1575-1642) Fine Huge 17th Century Italian School Old Master depiction of the co...

The Penitent Magdalene, 17th Century circle of CARLO DOLCI (1616-1686) Large 17th century Italian old Master depiction of the Penitent Magdalene, oil on ...

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...

Christ and John the Baptist, the Apostle Peter, and Saint Augustine of Hippo, triptych After Pinturicchio (1454-1513) Large Italian Renaissance triptych...

"Oil On Canvas Self Portrait After Sir Anthony Van Dyck" Follower of Sir Anthony van Dyck (Flemish painter, 1599-1641), Self portrait Oil on canvas (doubled), Probably end 18th centu...

French school around 1760 Portrait of a Premonstratensian Oil on canvas H. 81 cm ; W. 65 cm Traces of signature at the top left Provenance: Private collection, Versailles While the...

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...

Antique Italian painting from the second half of the 17th century. Oil on canvas artwork depicting a portrait of an old lady, The widow of the pharmacist from Trento, of good pictori...

A Bearded Man Tortured By A Spiked Sandal, 17th century Italian School - rare unusual depiction possibly of a martyr Fine 17th Century Italian Old Master depiction of a bearded m...

Bathers On A Mountainous River Landscape, 17th Century attributed to Sisto BADALOCCHIO (1581/85-1647) Fine huge 17th Century Italian Bolognese School Old Master landscape with bathers in a mountainous river landscape, oil on canvas attributed to Sisto Badalocchio. Excellent quality and condition for its age presented in a superb antique gilt frame. Measurements: 120cm x 90cm...

This head and shoulders portrait is an outstanding example of the breadth, force and beauty of this artist's pictorial manner and abilities. This captivating portrait features a musi...

French School, Rococo period original Likely to be a preparatory sketch for a larger piece. oil painting on canvas laid on board, framed framed: 1...

Flemish School, Early 17th Century Portrait of a Boy in a Black Tunic Oil on panel Image size: 15¾ x 13⅛ inches This accomplished portrait of an unknown boy in his early teens was p...

Benedetto Luti (Florence, 1666 - Rome, 1724) Christ and Mary Magdalene at the banquet of the rich Pharisee Simon Oil on canvas (73 x 46 cm. - Framed 93 x 67 cm.) During a ba...

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...

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...

Painting of a lady, circle of Mary Beale (1633–1699), who was one of the first professional female portrait painters in England and a pioneering figure for women in the arts during t...

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 ...

Gilbert Soest 1605-1681 Portrait of a Lady Oil on canvas Image size: 30 x 25 inches (76.2 x 63.5 cm) Original carved gilt frame Provenance Private Estate, England This portrait dep...

Portrait of a lady . Louis Ferdinand Elle the Younger. ( Paris, 1612-1689), attributed. Circa 1680. Oil on canvas, resting on cardboard. In 19th-century giltwood frame. A female...