Old Masters Paintings

Studio of Miguel Canals, Spanish 1925-1995 Still life painting with flowers in a vase oil painting on canvas, framed oil on canvas, unframed canvas: 23 x...

Profusion of Flowers Classical Still Life Dutch School, 19th century oil on canvas, unframed canvas : 32 x 21 inches provenance: private collection condition: very good and sound con...

Artist/School: G. Wabarwick (20th Century), signed Title: Mixed Flowers Classical Still Life Medium: oil on canvas, framed Size: the canvas is 40 x 30 inches; the frame adds anoth...

Nicolas Van Houbraken (Messina, 1668 - Pisa, 1733) Still life with mushrooms Oil on canvas, cm. 26 x 32 - with frame cm. 38,5 x 33,5 Antique cassetta frame made of carved wood and ...

This painting fits well into the Dutch pictorial production of the Golden century. The composition, built on the harmonious presentation of rich wild game and fine details such as th...

Studio of Miguel Canals, Spanish 1925-1995 Still life painting with flowers in a vase oil on canvas, unframed canvas: 23 x 18 inches provenance: private ...

A rare and most attractive still life by William Smith of Chichester. The sumptuous textures of the peaches and grapes contrasting with the dark background. A really handsome 18th Ce...

Floral with Urn is in a classical Dutch style that dates to the 17th century. The bright flowers drape the urn in whites, crimsons and pinks, standing out against the darker foliage...

Ornamental Still Life with fruit, flowers and birds Italian School, 19th century oil painting on canvas, unframed size: 31.5 x 47 inches condition: relined canvas and in very good and presentable condition provenance: from a collection here in England. A very beautiful and decorative oil painting on a huge scale, depicting this classical landscape scene, with ornamental birds...

Juan Sánchez Cotán (1560 - 1627) was one of the most important still life painters in Spain and beyond. He developed a certain type of still life with a ...

Ornate Classical Flowers oil painting on canvas, framed signed and dated 1947 framed: 17.5 x 12.5 inches canvas: 16 x 10.5 inches provenance: private collection condition: very good ...

Provenance: Selma Herringman, New York, ca. 1955-2013; thence by descent to: Private Collection, New York, 2013-2020 This seventeenth century Spanish still-life of a laden table, known as a bodegón, stands out for its dramatic lighting and for the detailed description of each object. The artist’s confident use of chiaroscuro enables the sliced-open squash in the left foreground to appear as if emerging out of the darkness and projecting towards the viewer. The light source emanates from the upper left, illuminating the array, and its strength is made apparent by the reflections on the pitcher, pot, and the fruit in the basket. Visible brush strokes accentuate the vegetables’ rough surfaces and delicate interiors. Although the painter of this striking work remains unknown, it is a characteristic example of the pioneering Spanish still-lifes of the baroque period, which brought inanimate objects alive on canvas. In our painting, the knife and the large yellow squash boldly protrude off the table. Balancing objects on the edge of a table was a clever way for still-life painters to emphasize the three-dimensionality of the objects depicted, as well a way to lend a sense of drama to an otherwise static image. The knife here teeters on the edge, appearing as if it might fall off the table and out of the painting at any moment. The shape and consistency of the squash at left is brilliantly conveyed through the light brush strokes that define the vegetable’s fleshy and feathery interior. The smaller gourds—gathered together in a pile—are shrouded partly in darkness and stand out for their rugged, bumpy exterior. The stoneware has a brassy glaze, and the earthy tones of the vessels are carefully modulated by their interaction with the light and shadow that falls across them. The artist has cleverly arranged the still-life in a V-shaped composition, with a triangular slice of cheese standing upright, serving as its pinnacle. Independent still-lifes only became an important pictorial genre in the first years of the seventeenth century. In Italy, and particularly through the revolutionary works of Caravaggio, painted objects became carriers of meaning, and their depiction and arrangement the province of serious artistic scrutiny. Caravaggio famously asserted that it was equally difficult to paint a still-life as it was to paint figures, and the elevation of this new art form would have profound consequences to the present day. In Spain Juan Sanchez Cotan...