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Old Masters Portrait Paintings

OLD MASTERS

Encompassing centuries of change in Europe between 1300 and 1800, from booms of prosperity to bloody revolutions, Old Masters describes a wide range of artists. The informal term was derived from the title of an artist who trained in a guild long enough to become a master, such as Leonardo da Vinci, who studied in a Florence painters’ guild. However, Old Masters paintings, prints and other art is now used to refer to work made by any artist with a high level of skill in painting, drawing, sculpture or printmaking who worked during this era.

The 15th century’s expansive trade and commerce spread culture across borders. A vibrant period of art emerged, bolstered by studies of anatomy and nature that influenced a new visual realism. From Raphael and Michelangelo in the Renaissance to Rembrandt van Rijn and Johannes Vermeer in the Dutch Golden Age, artists expressed emotion, naturalism, color and light in new ways. El Greco and Paolo Veronese were leaders in the dramatic style of Mannerism, while Caravaggio and Peter Paul Rubens demonstrated the movement and meticulous detail of Baroque art.

Historically, most attention was concentrated on male artists, but recent research and exhibitions have elevated the impactful work of women such as Rachel Ruysch and Artemisia Gentileschi. In late-18th-century France, female artists like Adélaïde Labille-Guiard and Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun were prominent names. Nevertheless, access to the academies and guilds was highly restricted for women, and even those able to establish practices were expected to adhere to portraits and still lifes rather than the grand history paintings being created by men.

Find a collection of Old Masters prints, paintings, drawings and watercolors and other art on 1stDibs.

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Style: Old Masters
Portrait Philosopher Democritus Beinaschi Paint 17th Century Oil on canvas
Located in Riva del Garda, IT
Giovanni Battista Beinaschi (Fossano, c. 1634 – Naples, 1688) Portrait of the philosopher Democritus (showing a book with a white cover) Oil on canvas (82 x 64 cm - Framed 95 x ...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Escuela española (Principios XIX) - Óleo sobre tela - Retrato del Papa Pio VII
Located in Sant Celoni, ES
La obra no va firmada El estado de conservación de la pintura es aceptable, solo comentar que la tela está reentelada Se presenta enmarcada la obra con un antiguo marco en madera p...
Category

Early 19th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Portrait Of A Gentleman George Williams Kenworthy by John Dalziel Kenworthy
Located in York, GB
John Dalziel Kenworthy portrait of a gentleman . Fine, large and imposing oil on canvas housed in a gilt frame. The sitter is unidentified, he has an aristocratic and characterful lo...
Category

Early 1900s Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

18th Century portrait oil painting of a gentleman
Located in Nr Broadway, Worcestershire
Follower of Enoch Seeman the Younger German, (1694-1744) Portrait of Gilbert Sympkin Oil on canvas Image size: 29.25 inches x 24.5 inches Size including frame: 38 inches x 33.25 inches A fine three quarter length portrait of a gentleman traditionally identified as Gilbert Simpkin (Sympkin), follower of Enoch Seeman the younger, C1720. The portrait is set in a feigned sculptured oval cartouche, a device used to give a sense of depth. The sitter is depicted wearing a fashionable blue jacket and matching waistcoat with a white chemise and lace jabot. He wears a powdered wig in the fashionable style of the day and is posed holding his hat under his left arm with the fingers of his right hand stretched out. At court, long fingers signified wealth, culture and intelligence. The painting has clearly been executed by an artist of great ability who has been influenced by Enoch Seeman the younger. Gilbert Simpkin (Sympkin) was born in London on 24 August 1683, the son of John Simpkin and Susannah Butler. His grandfather was also called Gilbert Simpkin. He entered Oxford University in 1700 where he studied at St John’s College. In 1702, he became a student of Middle Temple, which at the time was one of the world’s most important centres of legal education. He later settled in Plymouth and then Bristol. He died in Bristol on 15 May, 1744 and was buried at Bristol Cathedral. He remained unmarried and the portrait may well have been commissioned to commemorate when he was first Called to the Bar or perhaps had established his own practice. Enoch Seeman or Seemann the younger was born in Danzig, Germany now Gdansk, Poland in 1694. His father was Enoch Seeman Senior, an artist of Flemish origin and his brothers Isaac, Noah and Abraham also became artists. He came to London with his father and brothers around 1704 and established himself as a portrait artist. From 1717 he became painter to the Royal court painting...
Category

18th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Portrait of a Woman in a red Dress - French Old Master art oil painting
Located in Hagley, England
This lovely French Old Master portrait oil painting is attributed to the circle of Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres. Painted circa 1810 it is a head and shoulders profile of a beautiful woman, resting her head on one hand. There is superb attention to detail and vibrant colouring. An excellent example of a French Old Master portrait of the period. Unsigned. Provenance. London estate. Condition. Oil on canvas, 15 inches by 12 inches unframed and in good condition. Frame. Housed in a gilt frame, 20 inches by 17 inches framed and in good condition. Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (1780-1867) was a French Neoclassical painter. Ingres was profoundly influenced by past artistic traditions and aspired to become the guardian of academic orthodoxy against the ascendant Romantic style. Although he considered himself a painter of history in the tradition of Nicolas Poussin and Jacques-Louis David, it is his portraits, both painted and drawn, that are recognized as his greatest legacy. His expressive distortions of form and space made him an important precursor of modern art, influencing Picasso, Matisse and other modernists. Born into a modest family in Montauban, he travelled to Paris to study in the studio of David. In 1802 he made his Salon debut, and won the Prix de Rome for his painting The Ambassadors of Agamemnon in the tent of Achilles. By the time he departed in 1806 for his residency in Rome, his style—revealing his close study of Italian and Flemish Renaissance masters—was fully developed, and would change little for the rest of his life. While working in Rome and subsequently Florence from 1806 to 1824, he regularly sent paintings to the Paris Salon, where they were faulted by critics who found his style bizarre and archaic. He received few commissions during this period for the history paintings he aspired to paint, but was able to support himself and his wife as a portrait painter and draughtsman. He was finally recognized at the Salon in 1824, when his Raphaelesque painting of the Vow of Louis XIII was met with acclaim, and Ingres was acknowledged as the leader of the Neoclassical school in France. Although the income from commissions for history paintings allowed him to paint fewer portraits, his Portrait of Monsieur...
Category

19th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Portrait of a Young Boy Thomas Wagstaff - Scottish art 18th century oil painting
Located in Hagley, England
This superb late 18th century portrait oil painting is attributed to noted Scottish artist Alexander Nasmyth. Painted circa 1790 the sitter is of the Wagstaff family, either Thomas o...
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18th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Portrait of a French noblewoman - late 17th French school, attr. to N. Fouché
Located in PARIS, FR
Portrait of a Lady Attributed to Nicolas Fouché (Troyes, 1653-Paris, 1733) Late 17th century French School, Paris, circa 1690-1695 not signed Oil on canvas: h. 99 cm, w. 79 cm Impo...
Category

Late 17th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Early 19th Century Portrait "Countess Margaret Spencer"
Located in San Francisco, CA
JOHN HOPPNER R.A. (British, 1758–1810), "Countess Margaret Spencer," oil on canvas, canvas (relined): 36" x 28", overall (framed): 35" x 43". John Hoppner, R.A. plaque mounted cente...
Category

Early 19th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Portrait of a Girl with Basket of Flowers -British 18thC Old Master oil painting
Located in Hagley, England
This charming 18th century Old Master cartouche portrait oil painting is attributed to the circle of Philip Mercier. Painted circa 1740 the composition is a three quarter length portrait of a young girl holding a wicker basket of flowers. She is clothed in a white dress and beautiful blue silk shawl and is situated in a landscape. A very lovely British Old Master portrait oil painting. Provenance. Christies. Condition. Oil on canvas, 30 inches by 25 inches and in good condition. Frame. Housed in an ornate gilt carved 18th century frame, 38 inches by 33 inches and in good condition. Philippe Mercier (also known as Philip Mercier; 1689-1760) was a French painter and etcher, who lived principally and was active in England. He was born in Berlin of French extraction, the son of a Huguenot tapestry-worker. He studied painting at the Akademie der Wissenschaften of Berlin and later under Antoine Pesne, who had arrived in Berlin in 1710. Later, he travelled in Italy and France before arriving in London—"recommended by the Court at Hannover"—probably in 1716. He married in London in 1719 and lived in Leicester Fields. He was appointed principal painter and librarian to the Prince and Princess of Wales at their independent establishment in Leicester Fields, and while he was in favour he painted various portraits of...
Category

18th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

William Wissing (follower) 19th Century Portrait Queen Mary II
Located in York, GB
A 19th century oil on canvas, portrait of a young woman.This portrait is believed to be of Queen Mary II taken from an engraving of the painting, Halswell Park Sale, 1948, lot no.1323, Housed in a decorative gilt frame.Size overall being 70 x 86 cm high (27.5 x 33¾ inches approx) unsigned size of painting 54 x 68 cm (21 x 26 inches approx) To the rear of the portrait is a newspaper cutting of the engraving ,also a typed note regarding the provenance of the painting (see photo) Condition overall is very good, the Canvas has been relined, under UV there are areas of overpaint to bosom.Frame overall very good some minor self coloured losses Mary II (30 April 1662 – 28 December 1694) Mary, born at St James's Palace in London on 30 April 1662,eldest daughter of James, Duke of York (the future James II & VII) , and his first wife, Anne Hyde. Mary's uncle was King Charles II, her maternal grandfather, Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon, served for a lengthy period as Charles's chief adviser. Mary married William of Orange. Willem Wissing, known in England as William Wissing...
Category

19th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Portrait of George Gordon, 7th Laird of Buckie (1707-1756)
Located in Henley-on-Thames, England
John Alexander (Scottish, 1686-1766) Portrait of George Gordon, 7th Laird of Buckie (Scottish, 1707-1756), c. 1743 Oil on canvas In a carved ebonised frame, with gilded inner slight...
Category

1740s Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Mary Beale (circle) Portrait Painting of Sir John Pettus
By (Circle of) Mary Beale
Located in York, GB
A very fine oil on canvas of Sir John Pettus ,circle of Mary Beale 17th century Wearing a red cloak and a black tunic with white collar. His coat of arms to the right.Unsigned Housed in a gilt frame, the size overall being 85 x 74 cm whilst the painting is 76 x 63.5cm In overall excellent condition. There is a wealth of history about the sitter online , below is a brief resume John Pettus Sir John Pettus (1613–1690) was an English royalist, politician and natural philosopher. Pettus was an expert on metallurgy and became a deputy governor of the royal mines in England and Wales under Charles I and II. He is known for the first English translation of the work of the German metallurgist Lazarus Ercker. Pettus’s grandfather was a wealthy Norwich merchant ,he purchased the manor of Rackheath in 1590 and represented the city in 1601 and 1604-10. Although a younger son, Pettus inherited the manors of Chediston and Wenhaston, He married well; but even before the Civil War most of his estate was mortgaged, and his wife’s expectations were never realized, owing to her father’s misfortunes as leader of the City Royalists. Pettus became a servant to Charles I, and took part in the farcical royalist attempt on Lowestoft in March 1643, but was exchanged after nearly a year in prison. It is unlikely that he resumed command of his regiment, such as it was, since he ‘continued inoffensive till the taking of Bristol’ by the New Model Army...
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17th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

19th century Portrait of a lady, Priscilla Osborn, William Jacob Baer
Located in York, GB
PORTRAIT OF PRISCILLA, MRS WILLIAM OSBORN half length, oil on canvas, WILLIAM JACOB BAER (1860-1941) housed in the original early 19th c gilt cavetto frame The overall size being 94....
Category

19th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

French school early 20th century, Portrait of a hunter, oil on canvas signed
Located in Paris, FR
French school early 20th century, Portrait of a hunter signed lower right, the signature has not yet been deciphered oil on canvas 40 x 32.5 Framed : 47 x 39 cm In good condition, ...
Category

Early 20th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Portrait of a Girl, 18th Century Oil Old Master
By George Knapton
Located in London, GB
George Knapton 1698-1778 Portrait of a Girl Oil on canvas Image size: 20 x 18 inches Original giltwood frame This beautiful half length portrait  of a young woman, turned to left, gazing at the spectator, wearing a pink, white lace-embroidered, dress, in her hair a pink bonnet trimmed with lace to match her dress. The depiction of a young girl epitomises child portraiture of the late eighteenth century, in which painters such as William Beechey, Joshua Reynolds, Thomas Gainsborough had begun to discover and express the true character of children, in contrast to the stiff, miniature-adults of previous generations. The Artist Knapton was born in Lymington, one of four sons of James Knapton. He was apprenticed to Jonathan Richardson from 1715 to 1722, and in 1720 was a founding subscriber to the academy of St. Martin's Lane established by Louis Chéron...
Category

18th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

King Portrait Clementi Paint Oil on canvas Old master 18th Century Italian
Located in Riva del Garda, IT
Maria Giovanna Battista Clementi known as La Clementina (Turin, 1692 - Turin, 1761), Attributable to Portrait of Victor Amadeus II of Savoy (Turin 1666 - Moncalieri 1732) king of Sardinia, duke of Savoy, marquis of Saluzzo and duke of Monferrato, prince of Piedmont and count of Aosta, Moriana and Nizza from 1675 to 1720. Oil on oval canvas, 79 x 62 cm., Framed 98 x 82 cm. The portrayed in this fascinating virile portrait is King Vittorio Amedeo II of Savoy, portrayed in ceremonial armor and red cloak according to the traditional courtly iconography, represented half-length, slightly three-quarter-length, with the towering "courtly" wig, according to the dictates of fashion of the first decades of the century, of French inspiration. In order to represent the power embodied in our austere portrayal, the sovereign is immortalized with the symbolic attributes of the power of the family, identifiable in the ancient crown of the Kingdom of Sardinia, in the scepter with the Mauritian cross and in the necklace of the Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunziata, established in 1364 by Amedeo VI, as the highest honor of the House of Savoy...
Category

18th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Perroneau Portrait Lady Woman Paint Oil on canvas 18th Century Old master French
Located in Riva del Garda, IT
Jean-Baptiste Perroneau (Paris, 1715 – Amsterdam, 1783) Portrait of a lady Oil on oval canvas 60 x 50 cm. - In frame 77 x 66 cm. Work accompanied by expertise: Raffaelle Colace (Cremona), Ferdinando Arisi Reference bibliography: d’Arnoult, Dominique (2014) Jean-Baptiste Perronneau, c 1715-1783, un portraitiste dans l’Europe des Lumières Excerpt from the expertise of Dr. Colace: This refined portrait of a lady is a perfect example of the style of Jean-Baptiste Perroneau, a very talented French painter, whose most beautiful works are located, just like this one, between the fifth and sixth decades of the eighteenth century. "Perroneaeu is more naturally colored than La Tour, the est, in the peinture de poussière colorée, tout plein de tons clairs, frais, presque humides": this is how his brothers wrote about him in La Maison d...
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18th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

19th century landscape/portrait horse with army officer, William Edward Millner
Located in York, GB
Portrait of a bay horse with army officer seated on a drinking trough, signed with monogram and and dated 81', inscribed verso 'by W E Milner, Gainsborough', oil on canvas. The size overall being 44 x 57 cm (17.5 x 22.5 inches) whilst the image is 35 x 48 cm ( 19 14 inches ) In very good condition housed in a gilt frame. William Edward Millner...
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19th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

18th Century Oil Painting Portrait of Phillip, 6th Viscount Wenman.
By Nathaniel Dance-Holland
Located in London, GB
Sir Nathaniel Dance-Holland (1750-1811) was an English portrait painter and one of the founding members of the Royal Academy in 1768. Justly celebrated in his lifetime he won several...
Category

Late 18th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

SIMON PETER TILEMANN, Family Portrait, 1658, Old Master. Baroque Rococo Painting
By Simon Peter Tilemann
Located in Berlin, DE
Extremely decorative and large oil painting from the 17th century. Restored in places.   Signed and dated Simon Peter Tileman 1658 fecit 'lower right Dimensions without frame. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Simon Peter Tilemann (1601, Lemgo – 1668, Vienna), was a German Baroque painter who was active Bremen, Kassel and Italy. According to Houbraken he first learned to paint flowers and he had a daughter who could paint flowers in watercolors. He was a good landscape painter who spent many years in Italy, but later switched to portrait painting and who painted the portrait of Ferdinand...
Category

1650s Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

17th century Dutch portrait of a Lady in Red adorned with Pearls
By Pieter Nason
Located in Bath, Somerset
Portrait of a lady, half-length in a feigned oval wearing a ruby coloured silk gown holding entwined strings of pearls across her bodice. Signed 'PNason' and dated 1667 (lower right)...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

17thDutch painting by Tengnagel Jan 1584-1635 - The meeting of David and Abigail
Located in PARIS, FR
Free shipping all Continental US, and all other countries, Europe, Asia etc... Enhance your space with this captivating vintage painting by Tengnagel Jan (1584-depicting The meeting...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Portrait of a Man, 17th Century Dutch Oil on Panel Portrait
Located in London, GB
Circle of Cornelis Dusart Dutch 1660 - 1704 Portrait of a Man Oil on panel Image size: 7¾ x 5¼ inches Giltwood frame Cornelis Dusart Cornelis ...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

17th Century by Circle of Girolamo Troppa The Prophet Habakkuk Oil on Canvas
By Girolamo Troppa
Located in Milano, Lombardia
Circle of Girolamo Troppa (Torri in Sabina, Italy, 1636 - Terni, Italy, 1711) Title: The prophet Habakkuk Medium: oil on canvas Dimensions: without frame 90 x 114 cm - with frame 132...
Category

Late 17th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Cotton Canvas, Oil

17th-18th Century By Niccolò Cassana Portrait of a Gentleman Oil on Canvas
Located in Milano, Lombardia
Niccolò Cassana (Venice, Italy, 1659 - London, UK, 1714) Title: Portrait of a Gentleman Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: without frame 119.5 x 92.5 cm Painting without frame. Expe...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

17th Century by Pedro Nunez Portrait of a Child Oil on Canvas
Located in Milano, Lombardia
Pedro Nuñez de Villavicendio (Seville, Spain, 1644 - 1700) Title: Portrait of a child Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: without frame 41.5 x 33.5 cm - with frame 52 x 43.5 cm 19th century shaped and gilded wooden frame Expertise by Didier Bodart, art historian A Seville painter of noble origins, Pedro Nuñez de Villavicendio (1644-1700), the author of this pretty child portrait, was a Knight of the Order of St John of Jerusalem. He was a pupil of Murillo and, as a Knight of the Order of Malta, worked with Mattia Preti...
Category

Late 17th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Cotton Canvas, Canvas, Oil

18th-19th Century By Natale Schiavoni Portrait of the sister Oil on Cardboard
By Natale Schiavoni
Located in Milano, Lombardia
Natale Schiavoni (Chioggia, Italy, 1777 - Venice, Italy, 1858) Title: Portrait of the sister Year: 1854 Medium: Oil on cardboard Dimensions: without frame 14.5 x 12 cm - with frame 2...
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19th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Cardboard

Portrait Of A Gentleman By Frans Hals
Located in New Orleans, LA
Frans Hals 1582-1666 Dutch Portrait of a Gentleman (possibly Theodore Blevet) Oil on panel “Frans Hals is a colourist among the colourists...Frans Hals must have had twenty-seven blacks...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

Old Masters portrait paintings for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Old Masters portrait paintings available for sale on 1stDibs. Works in this style were very popular during the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artists have continued to produce works inspired by this movement. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including (After) Giampietrino, Henri-Joseph Castaing, Charles Towne, and Jean Alexandre Rémy Couder. Frequently made by artists working with Paint, and Oil Paint and other materials, all of these pieces for sale are unique and have attracted attention over the years. Not every interior allows for large Old Masters portrait paintings, so small editions measuring 4.53 inches across are also available. Prices for portrait paintings made by famous or emerging artists can differ depending on medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $695 and tops out at $339,912, while the average work sells for $4,791.

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