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Old Masters Paintings

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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.

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Style: Old Masters
Ecce Homo Reni Paint 17th Century Oil on canvas Old master Emilian school Italy
Ecce Homo Reni Paint 17th Century Oil on canvas Old master Emilian school Italy

Ecce Homo Reni Paint 17th Century Oil on canvas Old master Emilian school Italy

Located in Riva del Garda, IT

Guido Reni (Bologna 1575–1642) workshop Ecce Homo oil on canvas 59 x 47 cm. - framed (defects and minor losses) 76 x 66 cm. Provenance: The reverse bears the label “J. A. Butti...

Category

17th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

The Famous racehorse 'Flying Childers' held by a groom
The Famous racehorse 'Flying Childers' held by a groom

The Famous racehorse 'Flying Childers' held by a groom

By Thomas Spencer

Located in Stoke, Hampshire

Thomas Spencer (c.1740-1756) The Famous racehorse 'Flying Childers' held by a groom Oil on canvas Not Signed Canvas size 25 x 30 in Framed size 33 x 38 in Flying Childers was one of...

Category

18th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

Landscape Mary Magdalene Bril Paint 17th Century Oil on canvas Old master
Landscape Mary Magdalene Bril Paint 17th Century Oil on canvas Old master

Landscape Mary Magdalene Bril Paint 17th Century Oil on canvas Old master

Located in Riva del Garda, IT

Fantastic Landscape with Mary Magdalene Paul Bril (Antwerp, 1554 – Rome, 1626) Workshop of First half of the 17th century Oil on canvas (76 x 96 cm - In antique frame 95 x 11...

Category

17th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

Last Supper De Witte Paint 17th Century Oil on canvas Tuscany school Old master
Last Supper De Witte Paint 17th Century Oil on canvas Tuscany school Old master

Last Supper De Witte Paint 17th Century Oil on canvas Tuscany school Old master

Located in Riva del Garda, IT

17th-century Tuscan painter The Last Supper After Pieter de Witte (c. 1548 – 1628) oil on canvas (89 x 134 cm – framed 100 x 145 cm) This delightful painting, depicting th...

Category

17th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

Still-Life Fruit Pace Paint 17th Century OIl on canvas Old master Roman school
Still-Life Fruit Pace Paint 17th Century OIl on canvas Old master Roman school

Still-Life Fruit Pace Paint 17th Century OIl on canvas Old master Roman school

Located in Riva del Garda, IT

Michele Pace, known as Michelangelo del Campidoglio (Rome, 1625–1669), Circle of Still Life with Fruit Roman School of the second half of the 17th century oil on canvas (72 x ...

Category

17th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

Portrait Noblewoman Kneller 17/18th Century Paint Oil on canvas Old master Art
Portrait Noblewoman Kneller 17/18th Century Paint Oil on canvas Old master Art

Portrait Noblewoman Kneller 17/18th Century Paint Oil on canvas Old master Art

Located in Riva del Garda, IT

Godfrey Kneller (Lübeck 1646 – London 1723) Portrait of an English noblewoman, presumably Mary Capel, Countess of Essex (1679–1726) Oil on canvas 128 x 104 cm. In frame 146 x...

Category

17th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

Queen Artemisia Cupid Cairo Paint 17th Century Oil on canvas Old master Italy
Queen Artemisia Cupid Cairo Paint 17th Century Oil on canvas Old master Italy

Queen Artemisia Cupid Cairo Paint 17th Century Oil on canvas Old master Italy

Located in Riva del Garda, IT

Francesco Cairo (Milan 1607 – 1665), workshop of Queen Artemisia with a Cupid Oil on canvas 129 x 109 cm – Framed 143 x 125 cm. Reference bibliography: Francesco Cairo 1607–1...

Category

17th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

Fine 1700's Italian Old Master Ink & Wash Drawing Roman Allegorical Providenza
Fine 1700's Italian Old Master Ink & Wash Drawing Roman Allegorical Providenza

Fine 1700's Italian Old Master Ink & Wash Drawing Roman Allegorical Providenza

Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire

'Providenza' Italian School, 18th century ink and wash drawing on paper, framed within a light oak wood frame (behind glass) image size: 10.5 x 7 inches overall framed: 17 x 13 inche...

Category

18th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Ink, Watercolor, Archival Paper

Escuela colonial mejicana siglo XVIII - San Antonio con el niño.
Escuela colonial mejicana siglo XVIII - San Antonio con el niño.

Escuela colonial mejicana siglo XVIII - San Antonio con el niño.

Located in Sant Celoni, ES

Escuela colonial mejicana; siglo XVIII. “San Antonio con el Niño”. Óleo sobre tabla. Medidas: 28 x 21 cm. Gran pieza para coleccionistas de arte religioso de calidad San Antonio de P...

Category

Early 18th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

A pair of Orientalist portraits
A pair of Orientalist portraits

A pair of Orientalist portraits

Located in Stoke, Hampshire

Edward Alcock (1745-1788) A pair of portraits of Orientalist subjects Both signed 'E. Alcock' Oil on copper Framed size 9 x 8 in Edward Alcock (active 1846–1905) is best known for h...

Category

18th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

Nativity Jesus David Paint 16/17th Century Oil on copper Old master Flemish Art
Nativity Jesus David Paint 16/17th Century Oil on copper Old master Flemish Art

Nativity Jesus David Paint 16/17th Century Oil on copper Old master Flemish Art

Located in Riva del Garda, IT

The Nativity of Jesus Flemish school, late 16th/early 17th century Gerard David (Oudewater, c. 1460 - Bruges, 1523) Follower of Oil on copper 30 x 25 cm. - In frame 47 x 42 c...

Category

16th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

Old Master Painting Called Christ at the Column
Old Master Painting Called Christ at the Column

Old Master Painting Called Christ at the Column

Located in Stockholm, SE

Follower of Gerard Seghers (1591-1651) Christ at the Column oil on wood panel c. 1700s unframed 19.5 × 14 cm Provenance: Originally in the collection of Dr. Axel Munthe (1857–1949), the renowned Swedish physician and author celebrated for his philanthropic work and for founding Villa San Michele...

Category

18th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil, Wood Panel

Elegant Company Van Mieris Paint 17/18th Century Oil on canvas Old master
Elegant Company Van Mieris Paint 17/18th Century Oil on canvas Old master

Elegant Company Van Mieris Paint 17/18th Century Oil on canvas Old master

Located in Riva del Garda, IT

Frans van Mieris the Elder (Leiden 1635 - Leiden 1681) Workshop Elegant company in an interior (or “Self-portrait with his family”) Oil on canvas 50 x 41 cm In a beautiful fra...

Category

17th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

Shipping in Stormy Waters, Attributed to Italian Artist Francesco Guardi
Shipping in Stormy Waters, Attributed to Italian Artist Francesco Guardi

Shipping in Stormy Waters, Attributed to Italian Artist Francesco Guardi

By Francesco Guardi

Located in Stockholm, SE

The splendour of the tragic sea Francesco Guardi and maritime painting in Venetian art No Venetian painter was a stranger to the sea. After all, Venice was not only one of the most prominent ports of the Mediterranean, but indeed a city literally submerged in the ocean from time to time. Curiously however, the famous Venetian school of painting showed little interest in maritime motifs, favouring scenes from the iconic architecture of the city rather than seascapes. That is why this painting is a particularly interesting window into not only the painter Francesco Guardi himself – but to the significance of the element of water in art history, in absence as well as in the centre of attention. Whether it be calm, sunny days with stunning views of the palaces alongside the canals of Venice or – more rarely – stormy shipwrecking tragedies at sea, water as a unifying element is integral to the works of painter Francesco Guardi (1712–1793). During his lifetime, Venetian art saw many of its greatest triumphs with names like Tiepolo or Canaletto gaining international recognition and firmly establishing Venice as one of the most vibrant artistic communities of Europe. While the city itself already in the 18th century was something of an early tourist spot where aristocrats and high society visited on their grand tour or travels, the artists too contributed to the fame and their work spread the image of Venice as the city of romance and leisure to an international audience, many of whom could never visit in person. Still today, the iconic image of Venice with its whimsical array of palaces, churches and other historic buildings is much influenced by these artists, many of whom have stood the test of time like very well and remain some of the most beloved in all of art history. It was not primarily subtility, intellectual meanings or moral ideals that the Venetian art tried to capture; instead it was the sheer vibrancy of life and the fast-paced city with crumbling palaces and festive people that made this atmosphere so special. Of course, Venice could count painters in most genres among its residents, from portraiture to religious motifs, history painting and much else. Still, it is the Vedutas and views of the city that seems to have etched itself into our memory more than anything else, not least in the tradition of Canaletto who was perhaps the undisputed master of all Venetian painters. Born into his profession, Francesco lived and breathed painting all his life. His father, the painter Domenico Guardi (1678–1716) died when Francesco was just a small child, yet both he and his brothers Niccolò and Gian Antonio continued in their fathers’ footsteps. The Guardi family belonged to the nobility and originated from the mountainous area of Trentino, not far from the Alps. The brothers worked together on more challenging commissions and supported each other in the manner typical of family workshops or networks of artists. Their sister Maria Cecilia married no other than the artist Giovanni Battista Tiepolo himself, linking the family to the most renowned Venetian name of the time. During almost a decade, Guardi worked in the studio of Michele Giovanni Marieschi, sometimes simply known as Michiel, a painted similar in both style and motif. Canaletto is, however, the artist Guardi is most often compared to since they shared a mutual fascination for depicting the architecture and cityscape of Venice. During the course of his career, Guardi tried his hand in many different genres. He was as swift in painting landscapes, Vedutas of Venice, sacred motifs, interiors and architectural compositions as he was in a number of other motifs. His style is typical of the Venetian school but also distinct and personal once we look a little closer. There is an absolute certainty in the composition, the choice of which sometimes feels like that of a carefully calculated photograph – yet it is also very painterly, in the best sense of the word: fluid, bold, sensitive and full of character. The brushwork is rapid, intense, seemingly careless and extraordinarily minute at the same time; fresh and planned in a very enjoyable mixture. His interiors often capture the breath-taking spacious glamour of the palaces and all their exquisite decor. He usually constructed the motif through remarkably simple, almost spontaneous yet intuitively precise strokes and shapes. The result was a festive, high-spirited atmospheric quality, far away from the sterile and exact likeness that other painters fell victim to when trying to copy Canaletto. The painting here has nothing of the city of Venice in it. On the contrary, we seem to be transported far away into the solitary ocean, with no architecture, nothing to hold on to – only the roaring sea and the dangerous cliffs upon which the ships are just moments away from being crushed upon. It is a maritime composition evoking both Flemish and Italian precursors, in the proud tradition of maritime painting that for centuries formed a crucial part of our visual culture. This genre of painting is today curiously overlooked, compared to how esteemed and meaningful it was when our relationship to the sea was far more natural than it is today. When both people and goods travelled by water, and many nations and cities – Venice among them – depended entirely on sea fare, the existential connection to the ocean was much more natural and integrated into the imagination. The schools and traditions of maritime art are as manifold as there are countries connected to the sea, and all reflect the need to process the dangers and wonders of the ocean. It could symbolize opportunity, the exciting prospects of a new countries and adventures, prospering trade, beautiful scenery as well as war and tragedy, loss of life, danger and doom. To say that water is ambivalent in nature is an understatement, and these many layers were something that artists explored in the most wondrous ways. Perhaps it takes a bit more time for the modern eye to identify the different nuances and qualities of historic maritime paintings, they may on first impression seem hard to differentiate from each other. But when allowing these motifs to unfold and tell stories of the sea in both fiction and reality – or somewhere in between – we are awarded with an understanding of how the oceans truly built our world. In Guardi’s interpretation, we see an almost theatrically arranged shipwrecking scene. No less than five ships are depicted right in the moment of utter disaster. Caught in a violent storm, the waves have driven them to a shore of sharp cliffs and if not swallowed by the waves, crushing against the cliffs seems to be the only outcome. The large wooden ships are impressively decorated with elaborate sculpture, and in fact relics already during Guardi’s lifetime. They are in fact typical of Dutch and Flemish 17th century ships, giving us a clue to where he got the inspiration from. Guardi must have seen examples of Flemish maritime art, that made him curious about these particular motifs. One is reminded of Flemish painters like Willem van de Velde and Ludolf Backhuysen, and this very painting has indeed been mistakenly attributed to Matthieu van Plattenberg...

Category

18th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Singer by Candlelight (Dutch School Old Master Genre Scene)
Singer by Candlelight (Dutch School Old Master Genre Scene)

Singer by Candlelight (Dutch School Old Master Genre Scene)

Located in Wilton Manors, FL

Beautiful Dutch School painting dating from 17th century. Oil on wood panel measuring 10 3/8 x 14 7/16 inches. Unsigned. No inpainting or conservation. Depicted is a scene with a beautiful young woman singing...

Category

17th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil, Wood Panel

Mid-17th-Century German School, Portrait Of Gustavus Adolphus Meller Of Erdingen
Mid-17th-Century German School, Portrait Of Gustavus Adolphus Meller Of Erdingen

Mid-17th-Century German School, Portrait Of Gustavus Adolphus Meller Of Erdingen

Located in Cheltenham, GB

This striking mid-17th-century German oil painting depicts Gustavus Adolphus Meller (or Müller) of Erdingen and Wildenstein at the age of 36. An inscription identifies the sitter as ...

Category

1650s Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil, Wood Panel

17th Century Flemish Old Master Oil Tavern Interior Drinkers Sloped over Tables
17th Century Flemish Old Master Oil Tavern Interior Drinkers Sloped over Tables

17th Century Flemish Old Master Oil Tavern Interior Drinkers Sloped over Tables

Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire

Tavern Interior Flemish School, 17th century oil on canvas, framed framed: 13.5 x 18 canvas: 11 x 16 inches provenance: private collection, France condition: very good and sound cond...

Category

17th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

Portrait of Anne Evelyn - British 18thC Old master oil painting excellent prov.
Portrait of Anne Evelyn - British 18thC Old master oil painting excellent prov.

Portrait of Anne Evelyn - British 18thC Old master oil painting excellent prov.

By George Romney

Located in Hagley, England

This stunning British 18th century Old Master portrait oil painting, with exceptional provenance, is by noted artist George Romney. It was painted in 1788, commissioned by James Evelyn of Felbridge as it is of his younger daughter Anne, aged 20 years old. James was a Doctor of Law and Anne's mother was his second wife, Jane. Felbridge house, Anne's home, was in the village of Godstone in Surrey. This superb oil painting is a seated portrait of Anne, wearing a white dress with a green sash, her forearms exposed and her hands in her lap. Anne is blessed with the most wonderful long auburn curly hair and is visually stunning. Her body is partly turned away from the artist/viewer and she is slightly gazing down at us with confident, clear eyes. Anne is pictured in a landscape with a dramatic sky behind her. Romney's brushwork on her dress, hair and the background is superb. The delicate detailing of her facial features is also stunning. Sometimes Old Master portraits can be a little staid, but this one of Anne with her wild auburn hair and bold look is just magnificent. This is a fantastic example of George Romney's work and of an 18th century British Old Master with exceptional detailed provenance. Name plate states: Anne, younger daughter of James Evelyn of Fellbridge Esq. 1788, aged 20. Romney. Provenance. With Charles Cecil Cope Jenkinson, 3rd Earl of Liverpool (1784-1851) With The Hon. Henry Berkeley Portman (1860-1923), Later 3rd Viscount Portman; with Emma, Viscountess Portman (1862-1929) By 1926; with her daughter Lady Moyra Dawson-Damer (1897-1962) Thence by family descent. Painted in 1788. There are various labels verso. Mentioned in Lord Hawkesbury's Catalogues of Portraits at Compton Place and at Buxted Park, in Sussex, 1903, p.18, no. 3, at Buxted Park, as in the 'Dining Room, South Wall'. Further Bibliography: Gower (R. S.) Romney, London, 1904, p. 175 Kidson (Alex) George Romney, A Complete Catalogue of his Paintings, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2015, I, p. 205, no. 422 (illus).Ward (Humphrey) and Roberts (William) Romney: A Biographical and Critical Essay, London: T Agnew & Sons, 1904, p. 51 Condition. Oil on canvas. Image size 30 inches by 24 inches and in good condition. Frame. Housed in an ornate gilt frame with name plate, 37 inches by 31 inches and in good condition. George Romney (1734-1802) was born in Dalton-on-Furness, Lancashire, on 15 December 1734, the third of the eleven children of John Romney and Anne Simpson. Leaving school at the age of eleven, he worked for eight years in his father's cabinetmaking workshop before being apprenticed to a local painter, Christopher Steele, with whom he served for two years, from 1755 to 1757, in Kendal, York, and Lancaster. He married a Kendal girl, Mary Abbot...

Category

1780s Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

Triumvirs Landscape Caron Paint 16/17th Century Oil on table Old master France
Triumvirs Landscape Caron Paint 16/17th Century Oil on table Old master France

Triumvirs Landscape Caron Paint 16/17th Century Oil on table Old master France

Located in Riva del Garda, IT

Antoine Caron (Beauvais, 1521 – Paris, 1599) workshop Massacre Ordered by the Triumvirs Oil on panel 48 x 77 cm. In frame 71 x 100 cm. The intriguing painting under consider...

Category

16th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

Escuela española (XVIII) -  La coronación de la virgen - Óleo sobre tela
Escuela española (XVIII) -  La coronación de la virgen - Óleo sobre tela

Escuela española (XVIII) - La coronación de la virgen - Óleo sobre tela

Located in Sant Celoni, ES

Como pueden apreciar, la obra no va firmada, es de autor anónimo Se presenta enmarcada la obra (el marco presenta algunos signos de uso) El estado de la obra es aceptable, solo com...

Category

18th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

Fine 18th Century English Portrait of Aristocratic Gentleman Huge Oil Painting
Fine 18th Century English Portrait of Aristocratic Gentleman Huge Oil Painting

Fine 18th Century English Portrait of Aristocratic Gentleman Huge Oil Painting

Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire

Portrait of an Aristocratic English Gentleman circle of Thomas Hudson (British (1701-1779) oil on canvas, framed framed: 53.5 x 45 inches painting: 45 x 40 inches provenance: private...

Category

18th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

Portrait Painting Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich, Later Emperor Paul I, 18th century
Portrait Painting Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich, Later Emperor Paul I, 18th century

Portrait Painting Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich, Later Emperor Paul I, 18th century

Located in London, GB

Portrait of Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich (1754–1801), later Emperor Paul I of Russia After Alexander Roslin (1718–1793) Oil on canvas, oval, late 18th century This is an exceptionally handsome and historically resonant eighteenth-century portrait, uniting the immediacy of an intimate likeness with the authority of one of the defining dynastic images of Imperial Russia. Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich, the future Emperor Paul I, turns towards the spectator with a composed, almost conversational expression, his youthful face emerging softly from the restrained brown background. The rich scarlet of his coat, the deep blue of the sash and the flashes of gold, lace and jewelled decoration give the picture remarkable visual distinction, while the oval format concentrates attention upon the sitter’s face and magnificent ceremonial attire. Painted during the eighteenth century, the present work is a contemporary reduced version of Alexander Roslin’s monumental state portrait of 1777, now in the State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg. Roslin’s full-length original measures approximately 265 by 168 centimetres; here, its essential elements have been reformulated as a more intimate portrait suitable for display within an aristocratic residence, diplomatic household or private cabinet. Pavel is dressed in the height of European court fashion of the later 1770s. His scarlet habit à la française comprises a close-fitting coat and elaborately embroidered waistcoat, enriched with scrolling metallic ornament, floral motifs and a sequence of large decorative buttons. The shoulder is finished with a densely worked epaulette-like band, while a white linen stock and delicate lace jabot frame the face. His powdered hair is dressed in the fashionable bag-wig, drawn back and tied with a broad black silk ribbon. Although the costume is unmistakably Russian in its dynastic significance, its cut and ornament belong to the international language of court dress then prevailing from Versailles and Vienna to Stockholm and St Petersburg. In Roslin’s original full-length composition, the costume was completed by matching scarlet breeches, silk stockings, buckled shoes, a sword and a plumed tricorne, all identifying Pavel as both a prince of the blood and a cultivated participant in the ceremonial life of Europe’s great courts. Across his breast passes the broad blue watered-silk sash of the Imperial Order of St Andrew the First-Called, the senior Russian order of chivalry established by Peter the Great. The sash, conventionally worn from the right shoulder towards the left hip, proclaimed the sitter’s position at the summit of the imperial hierarchy. Superimposed upon it is the red-enamelled cross of the Order of St Anna, surrounded in the portrait by scintillating, jewel-like highlights. The cross had a particular dynastic resonance: the order had been founded by Pavel’s paternal grandfather, Duke Karl Friedrich of Holstein-Gottorp, in memory of his wife Anna Petrovna, daughter of Peter the Great. Pavel’s display of the two orders therefore asserted not only rank and honour, but his descent from the founder of Imperial Russia and his inheritance through the Romanov and Holstein-Gottorp lines. Contemporary portraits similarly identify Pavel through the blue sash and star of St Andrew and the red cross of St Anna. Born in St Petersburg in 1754, Pavel Petrovich was the only son of Grand Duke Peter Fyodorovich, later Emperor Peter III, and Grand Duchess Catherine Alexeyevna, the future Catherine the Great. Through his father he was a great-grandson of Peter the Great and inherited the Romanov and Holstein-Gottorp bloodlines; through his mother, born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst, he was connected to the extensive network of German princely houses that shaped eighteenth-century European dynastic politics. His childhood was dominated by the uncertainties of imperial succession. Soon after his birth, the Empress Elizabeth removed him to her own household and assumed control of his upbringing. Educated under the statesman Nikita Panin, Pavel studied history, geography and mathematics and became fluent in Russian, French and German. He was eight when his father ascended the throne in 1762, only to be deposed by Catherine within months and to die shortly afterwards in confinement. Although Pavel remained the acknowledged heir, Catherine ruled for another thirty-four years and excluded him from meaningful political authority. He was therefore publicly honoured as the future sovereign while being denied the practical experience of government. In 1773 he married Princess Wilhelmina Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt, who converted to Orthodoxy as Grand Duchess Natalia Alexeievna. She died in April 1776 after a prolonged labour, together with her stillborn child, leaving Pavel widowed and the succession unsecured. A second marriage was arranged within months. His new bride was Duchess Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg, daughter of Friedrich Eugen, later Duke of Württemberg, and Friederike Dorothea of Brandenburg-Schwedt. Raised at Montbéliard in a cultivated German princely household, she converted to Orthodoxy as Maria Feodorovna and married Pavel in October 1776. The union strengthened Russia’s links with Württemberg and Brandenburg-Prussia, but also became an enduring domestic and cultural partnership. Maria was intelligent and artistically gifted, practising drawing, embroidery, ivory carving and hardstone work, while collecting books and decorative art and later supporting charitable and educational institutions. The couple had ten children, nine of whom survived childhood. Their eldest son, Alexander, succeeded Pavel as Emperor Alexander I and ruled during the Napoleonic era; their younger son Nicholas later became Emperor Nicholas I. Constantine Pavlovich became a prominent military figure and briefly stood at the centre of the succession crisis of 1825. Their daughters married into leading European dynasties: Alexandra into the Austrian imperial family, Elena into Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Maria into Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, Catherine into Württemberg and Anna into the Dutch royal house. Through their children, Pavel and Maria extended Romanov influence across much of Europe. The birth of Alexander in 1777 secured the succession and prompted Catherine to give the couple the estate that became Pavlovsk, south of St Petersburg. Its Neoclassical palace, begun by Charles Cameron in the early 1780s, became closely associated with Maria’s artistic interests, family life and refined sociability. Gatchina, by contrast, reflected Pavel’s more martial character. There he developed his own court and pursued his interests in military organisation, ceremony and administrative discipline. In 1781–82 Pavel and Maria travelled through Europe as the Count and Countess of the North, visiting royal courts, artists, manufactories and antiquities collections. They acquired paintings, furniture, bronzes, sculpture, textiles and porcelain, helping to make Pavlovsk one of Russia’s most sophisticated expressions of international Neoclassical taste. Yet Catherine continued to restrict their independence, taking charge of the upbringing of Alexander and Constantine just as Empress Elizabeth had once removed Pavel from his own parents. This repetition deepened the estrangement between mother and son. Pavel finally succeeded Catherine in 1796, aged forty-two. His reign lasted little more than four years, but his Act of Succession of 1797 established male-line primogeniture and ended much of the uncertainty surrounding the Russian imperial succession. His attempts to regulate the court, army and administration, and to reverse elements of Catherine’s policies, alienated powerful members of the nobility and officer corps. In March 1801 he was assassinated during a palace coup at the Mikhailovsky Castle and was succeeded by Alexander. This knowledge lends the portrait particular poignancy: Pavel appears not as the embattled emperor of his final years, but as the elegant young heir at a moment when marriage, dynasty and the anticipated birth of a son seemed to promise stability and renewal. Roslin’s portrait should be understood within this urgent dynastic context. The Swedish painter had travelled to St Petersburg in 1775 at the personal invitation of Catherine II and was commissioned to paint monumental state portraits of the Empress, Pavel and Maria Feodorovna. The pendant portraits of the young couple presented the heir and his new wife as the polished, fertile and internationally connected future of the Romanov dynasty. Roslin recorded in 1777 that the ruling family had ordered multiple copies. At least six versions of Pavel’s portrait and twelve of Maria’s are known, and such replicas were distributed as courtly and diplomatic gifts. A pair was presented to James Harris, later First Earl of Malmesbury, then the British ambassador to Russia. The existence of numerous eighteenth-century replicas was therefore not accidental or merely commercial: repetition was integral to the commission’s political purpose. Each version extended the official image of succession from the imperial palace into allied courts, embassies and aristocratic collections. The present portrait belongs to that wider culture of dynastic dissemination. Rather than reproducing Roslin’s entire monumental setting, with its architectural balustrade, extensive Neva prospect, sword, hat and full ceremonial costume, the painter has selected the head and upper body and adapted them to an oval. This transformation changes the character of the image. The grandeur of the original remains legible in the orders, costume and confident turn of the figure, but the reduced composition produces a greater sense of proximity to Pavel himself. The face becomes dominant, and the future emperor appears less as a remote emblem of state than as a recognisable young man. The type also circulated through prints: an oval engraved version published in 1781 and now represented in the British Museum demonstrates how rapidly Roslin’s conception entered the broader visual culture of late-eighteenth-century Europe. The artistic economy in which the portrait was created differed substantially from the modern open market. In Catherine’s Russia, the most prestigious portrait production was sustained by imperial commissions, aristocratic patronage and diplomatic gift-giving. Roslin’s success was extraordinary: during approximately two years in Russia he received around seventy-five commissions, many of which had to be completed after his return west. The appetite for his work reflected both the wealth of the Russian court and its determination to present itself through the most polished international style available. Alongside imported masters such as Roslin, Russia was developing its own institutional artistic culture. The Academy of the Three Noble Arts had been founded in St Petersburg in 1757 and was elevated by Catherine in 1764 to the Imperial Academy of Arts. It recruited European teachers, trained Russian...

Category

18th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Penitent Magdalene Cambiaso Paint 17th Century Oil on canvas Old master Italy
Penitent Magdalene Cambiaso Paint 17th Century Oil on canvas Old master Italy

Penitent Magdalene Cambiaso Paint 17th Century Oil on canvas Old master Italy

Located in Riva del Garda, IT

Luca Cambiaso (Moneglia, 1527 – Madrid, 1585), a member of the circle of or follower of The Penitent Magdalene Oil on canvas 102 x 84 cm. - Framed 123 x 104 cm. The protagon...

Category

17th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

Escuela griega (XIX) - Icono de estilo Bizantino - Firmado
Escuela griega (XIX) - Icono de estilo Bizantino - Firmado

Escuela griega (XIX) - Icono de estilo Bizantino - Firmado

Located in Sant Celoni, ES

Esta obra es un icono religioso de estilo bizantino, característico por su fondo dorado y la representación solemne de figuras sagradas. La escena central muestra a la Virgen María, ...

Category

Mid-19th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

Antique Spanish Old Master Oil on Wood Panel, Head Portrait of Christ
Antique Spanish Old Master Oil on Wood Panel, Head Portrait of Christ

Antique Spanish Old Master Oil on Wood Panel, Head Portrait of Christ

Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire

Artist/ School: 18/19th Century Spanish School Title :Head study of Christ Medium: oil painting on wood panel, period gilt framed panel : 6 x 5 inches Provenance: private collect...

Category

18th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

A coastal landscape near Terracina, Italy
A coastal landscape near Terracina, Italy

A coastal landscape near Terracina, Italy

By William Marlow

Located in Stoke, Hampshire

Attributed to William Marlow (1740-1813) A coastal landscape near Terracina, Italy Oil on canvas Canvas size - 14 1/2 x 20 1/2 in Framed size - 20 x 26 in This atmospheric coastal s...

Category

18th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

Large Antique Oil Painting The Mona Lisa after da Vinci's Famous Painting
Large Antique Oil Painting The Mona Lisa after da Vinci's Famous Painting

Large Antique Oil Painting The Mona Lisa after da Vinci's Famous Painting

Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire

The Mona Lisa after Leonardo da Vinci French artist, 20th century oil on canvas, unframed canvas: 24 x 18 inches provenance: private collection, Paris condition: good and sound condi...

Category

20th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Mixed Floral Arrangement in a Vase - Dutch Old Master Golden Age oil painting
Mixed Floral Arrangement in a Vase - Dutch Old Master Golden Age oil painting

Mixed Floral Arrangement in a Vase - Dutch Old Master Golden Age oil painting

By Simon Pietersz Verelst 1

Located in Hagley, England

This stunning 18th century Dutch Old Master Golden Age floral oil painting is attributed to Simon Pietersz Verelst. Painted circa 1700 it is a still life floral of a mixed flower arr...

Category

Early 1700s Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

Inmaculada Concepción, Oil on Canvas, 1920s, Signed, 100x73 cm
Inmaculada Concepción, Oil on Canvas, 1920s, Signed, 100x73 cm

Inmaculada Concepción, Oil on Canvas, 1920s, Signed, 100x73 cm

Located in Sant Celoni, ES

La obra va firmada por el artista en la parte inferior Se presenta sin enmarcar la pintura Estado aceptable de conservación el de la pintura Medidas obra: 100 cm. de altura x 73 c...

Category

1920s Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

Classical Still Life of Flowers Ornate Display Antique Dutch Oil Painting
Classical Still Life of Flowers Ornate Display Antique Dutch Oil Painting

Classical Still Life of Flowers Ornate Display Antique Dutch Oil Painting

Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire

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...

Category

Late 19th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

San Genesio De Magistris Portrait 17th Century Oil on canvas Old master Italy
San Genesio De Magistris Portrait 17th Century Oil on canvas Old master Italy

San Genesio De Magistris Portrait 17th Century Oil on canvas Old master Italy

Located in Riva del Garda, IT

Simone De Magistris (Caldarola, c. 1538 – 1613) or workshop San Genesio Oil on canvas (84 x 62 cm. – Framed: 99 x 76 cm.) In the heart of ancient Rome, amid the splendor and...

Category

17th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

Samson Delilah Molinari Paint 17/18th Century Oil on canvas Old master Religious
Samson Delilah Molinari Paint 17/18th Century Oil on canvas Old master Religious

Samson Delilah Molinari Paint 17/18th Century Oil on canvas Old master Religious

Located in Riva del Garda, IT

Antonio Molinari (Venice, 1655–1704) Attributed to Samson and Delilah Oil on canvas 122 x 148 cm. - Framed 135 x 160 cm. The subject of this fine work is recounted in the Bi...

Category

17th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

Fine 18th Century English Aristocratic Portrait of a Lady Oval Canvas Gilt Frame

Fine 18th Century English Aristocratic Portrait of a Lady Oval Canvas Gilt Frame

Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire

Artist/ School: English School, circa 1740's Title: Portrait of a Lady, traditionally identified as 'Anne of Chesterfield'. Medium: oil painting on canvas, framed Size: painting: ...

Category

Early 18th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Apollo Marsyas Batoni Paint 18th CEntury Oil on canvas Old master Mythological
Apollo Marsyas Batoni Paint 18th CEntury Oil on canvas Old master Mythological

Apollo Marsyas Batoni Paint 18th CEntury Oil on canvas Old master Mythological

Located in Riva del Garda, IT

Apollo and Marsyas Pompeo Girolamo Batoni (Lucca 1708 – Rome 1787) circle oil on canvas (65 x 83 cm. - framed 84 x 102 cm.) Provenance: Private collection, Rome The subject...

Category

18th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

Huge Victorian English Old Master Oil Painting Madonna & Christ Child after Dyck
Huge Victorian English Old Master Oil Painting Madonna & Christ Child after Dyck

Huge Victorian English Old Master Oil Painting Madonna & Christ Child after Dyck

Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire

The Madonna and Christ Child English School, 19th century after the earlier painting by Sir Anthony van Dyck, unsigned oil on canvas, framed in fine elaborate gilt frame. Framed: 49...

Category

19th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Fishing at Dawn Old Trading Port with Many Figures Large Oil Painting
Fishing at Dawn Old Trading Port with Many Figures Large Oil Painting

Fishing at Dawn Old Trading Port with Many Figures Large Oil Painting

Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire

Fishing at Dawn English artist after an earlier work (see inscription verso) signed oil painting on canvas, framed inscribed verso framed: 23 x 31 inches canvas: 18 x 26inches proven...

Category

Late 20th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Armenti in front of the old waterfall in Tivoli Oil on Canvas with Frame
Armenti in front of the old waterfall in Tivoli Oil on Canvas with Frame

Armenti in front of the old waterfall in Tivoli Oil on Canvas with Frame

By Philipp Peter Roos (Rosa di Tivoli)

Located in Pistoia, IT

Philipp Peter Roos, known as Rosa da Tivoli (Sankt Goar, August 30, 1657 - Rome, January 17, 1706) Armenti in front of Tivoli's old waterfall Joining our collection is a beautiful...

Category

1680s Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Five mid 20th century Italian oil landscapes with figures, castles, Churchs
Five mid 20th century Italian oil landscapes with figures, castles, Churchs

Five mid 20th century Italian oil landscapes with figures, castles, Churchs

Located in Woodbury, CT

A very interesting set of five mid-20th-century Italian oils on copper. All five are classical landscape subjects and are signed Roger, though we don't know which artist with the n...

Category

1950s Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Copper

Bearded Man Oil Painting on Canvas Signed Piotr Topolski 21st Century
Bearded Man Oil Painting on Canvas Signed Piotr Topolski 21st Century

Bearded Man Oil Painting on Canvas Signed Piotr Topolski 21st Century

Located in GB

Piotr Topolski, born in Kielce, Poland, in 1960, studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków. He specializes in creating compelling oil portraits, often drawing inspiration from th...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Fine 1800's Italian Grand Tour Oil Painting Figures before Classical Buildings
Fine 1800's Italian Grand Tour Oil Painting Figures before Classical Buildings

Fine 1800's Italian Grand Tour Oil Painting Figures before Classical Buildings

Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire

The Arcadian View Italian School, circa 1800 Grand Tour subject oil on canvas, unframed canvas : 12 x 16 inches provenance: private collection, UK condition: very good and sound cond...

Category

Early 1800s Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

Large 17th Century Dutch Old Master Oil Painting Figures Animals Landscape
Large 17th Century Dutch Old Master Oil Painting Figures Animals Landscape

Large 17th Century Dutch Old Master Oil Painting Figures Animals Landscape

Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire

Follower of Dirck van Berghen (Dutch School, 17th Century) Pastoral Landscape with a Shepherdess and Livestock Oil on canvas, framed in a French Empire period gilt frame canvas dimensions: 18 x 22 inches framed dimensions: 22.5 x 26 inches This charming pastoral scene, rendered in oil on canvas, is attributed to a follower of the 17th-century Dutch painter Dirck van Berghen, who was known for his bucolic landscapes featuring cattle and rural life. The composition reflects the influence of van Berghen’s mentor, Adriaen van de Velde...

Category

17th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

Old Masters paintings for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Old Masters 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. If you’re looking to add paintings created in this style to introduce contrast in an otherwise neutral space in your home, the works available on 1stDibs include elements of orange, blue, yellow and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Antonio Savisio, Pietro Colonna, Goyo Dominguez, and Nicolaes Maes. 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 paintings, so small editions measuring 4.5 inches across are also available. Prices for 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 $338 and tops out at $1,495,000, while the average work sells for $7,505.