Thomas Murray

Portrait of Gentleman Blue & Cloak, Portrait of Lady, Fine Carved Gilded frames

circa 1697

In this exquisite work, painted around the time of the Great Fire of London in 1666, a beautiful young woman is wearing a green dress over a white chemise and a russet-coloured scarf...

This lavish portrait, painted circa 1695, is an exquisite example of the type of portrait in vogue during the last quarter of the seventeenth century. It is evident that the artist ...

Titan Fine Art presents this exquisite oil on panel portrait depicting a handsome young gentleman in an exuberant black damask doublet. The pose, with one hand holding gloves and the other akimbo, was one that was well-established for gentleman of the upper echelons of society by the time this work was painted. The principle governing portraits at this time was the recording and defining in visual terms of the position of a sitter in society. In addition to brilliant and complex symbols of luxury, they often contained many symbolic elements too; the inclusion of gloves was often used in portraits that celebrated a betrothal as in ancient times gloves were used to seal a marriage contract. The extraordinary costume of a black shimmering doublet, the brilliant white reticella ruff, and the cuffs edged with lace were immensely costly… this attire proclaims to every onlooker that this is a superior being. The rendering of the reticella lace ruff is exquisite and the artist has recorded the design that runs through the black damask fabric with meticulous attention to detail. The preservation of this black pigment is remarkable considering the age of the work. Black pigments are especially vulnerable to fade and wear over time partly due to environmental condition but also from unprofessional cleaning. This work is an exquisite example from the period. According to the inscription in the upper right, the gentleman was in his 22nd year of age in 1624. The coat of arms, which is displayed without a crest, may be ‘blazoned’ in the language of heraldry, as: Sable on a Chevron between in chief two Roundels and in base a Billet [or possibly Square] Or three Martlets Sable. In plainer English this means a black (Sable) background, spanned by a gold (Or) chevron, above which are two golden solid circles (Roundels), and below which is a gold rectangle (Billet); on the chevron are three small black birds (Martlets). Martlets are a stylised form of heraldic bird, believed to be based on the swift, which are conventionally drawn with small tufts instead of feet. In Continental Europe it is also conventional for them to be drawn without beaks, as appears to be the case here. The birds in this instance also have a vaguely duck-like appearance. Five families have been identified with very close armorial bearings to the one in our portrait. They are the (van) Houthem’s (of Brabant), the Prévinaire’s (of Flanders and Holland), and the Proveneer’s (of Liège) and it must be noted that the locations of these families also fit with the painting’s Flemish origins. However the French Grenières’s (of Île-de-France) and the Jallot’s (of Normandy) are the next closest matches and plausible matches, as Frans Pourbus had settled in Paris just a few years before our portrait was painted. This painting has been assessed by a professional conservator prior to going on sale, and as thus, it can be hung and enjoyed immediately. Frans Pourbus the Younger...

The gentleman in this exquisite oil on canvas portrait, presented by Titan Fine Art, is shown with the grandiloquence characteristic of the English School of painting. He is portray...

Portrait of a Gentleman in Armour beside a Table with Helmut c.1685 Follower or circle of Johann Kerseboom (d.1708) This exquisite Grand Manner work, presented by Titan Fine Art, wa...

Pierre Gobert (Fontainebleau 1662 - Paris 1744) Atelier of Pair of fine portraits Louis XV, King of France and his wife, Maria Leszczyńska oils on canvas (2), 41 x 32 cm., in frame 53 x 44 cm. It is easy to identify the sitters of this charming pair of portraits in the rulers of France, namely Louis XV of Bourbon, who ascended the throne in 1715 at the age of just thirteen and was nicknamed the 'Beloved', and Maria Leszczyńska, Queen Consort of France and Navarre and daughter of the King of Poland Stanislaus I. The queen is depicted in a three-quarter-length figure, her face smiling and turned towards the spectator. She wears a wig in shades of grey with her hair gathered around the nape of her neck and a diadem on her head, and pendants on her ears. She wears a dress with a wide neckline made of red velvet, brocaded with gold threads, with rich lace sleeves, and a bodice adorned with a jewelled bodice of diamonds and pearls. On the shoulders rests a blue velvet mantle embroidered with the heraldic...

THE HON. MARY SHUTTLEWORTH, NÉE COCKBURN (D. 1777) and her sister ANNA MARIA, 9TH BARONESS FORRESTER (D. 1808) Pastel and gouache on paper laid on canvas, on their original backb...

Thomas Hudson 1701 – 1779 Portrait of a Lady Oil on canvas Image size: 30 x 25 inches Original carved giltwood frame Hudson had many assistants, and employed the specialist drapery ...

This large double portrait depicts the sisters Lady Catherine and Lady Jane Brydges, the daughters of John Brydges, the Marquess of Carnarvon (1703-1727). They are seated on a stone...