17th Century Art

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)...

This 17th-century parade helmet, made in Milan, is an outstanding example of Lombard weapons art of the period. Its iron frame is embellished with embossing and chiseling techniques,...

The Great Fire of London in September 1666 was one of the greatest disasters in the city’s history. The City, with its wooden houses crowded together in narrow streets, was a natural fire risk, and predictions that London would burn down became a shocking reality. The fire began in a bakery in Pudding Lane, an area near the Thames teeming with warehouses and shops full of flammable materials, such as timber, oil, coal, pitch and turpentine. Inevitably the fire spread rapidly from this area into the City. Our painting depicts the impact of the fire on those who were caught in it and creates a very dramatic impression of what the fire was like. Closer inspection reveals a scene of chaos and panic with people running out of the gates. It shows Cripplegate in the north of the City, with St Giles without Cripplegate to its left, in flames (on the site of the present day Barbican). The painting probably represents the fire on the night of Tuesday 4 September, when four-fifths of the City was burning at once, including St Paul's Cathedral. Old St Paul’s can be seen to the right of the canvas, the medieval church with its thick stone walls, was considered a place of safety, but the building was covered in wooden scaffolding as it was in the midst of being restored by the then little known architect, Christopher Wren and caught fire. Our painting seems to depict a specific moment on the Tuesday night when the lead on St Paul’s caught fire and, as the diarist John Evelyn described: ‘the stones of Paul’s flew like grenades, the melting lead running down the streets in a stream and the very pavements glowing with the firey redness, so as no horse, nor man, was able to tread on them.’ Although the loss of life was minimal, some accounts record only sixteen perished, the magnitude of the property loss was shocking – some four hundred and thirty acres, about eighty per cent of the City proper was destroyed, including over thirteen thousand houses, eighty-nine churches, and fifty-two Guild Halls. Thousands were homeless and financially ruined. The Great Fire, and the subsequent fire of 1676, which destroyed over six hundred houses south of the Thames, changed the appearance of London forever. The one constructive outcome of the Great Fire was that the plague, which had devastated the population of London since 1665, diminished greatly, due to the mass death of the plague-carrying rats in the blaze. The fire was widely reported in eyewitness accounts, newspapers, letters and diaries. Samuel Pepys recorded climbing the steeple of Barking Church from which he viewed the destroyed City: ‘the saddest sight of desolation that I ever saw.’ There was an official enquiry into the causes of the fire, petitions to the King and Lord Mayor to rebuild, new legislation and building Acts. Naturally, the fire became a dramatic and extremely popular subject for painters and engravers. A group of works relatively closely related to the present picture have been traditionally ascribed to Jan Griffier...

Portrait of Mr. Gilbert (believed to be the founder of 'Gilberts Charity, Bridgwater, Somerset) English School artist, late 17th/ early 18th century oil...

Domenico Maria Canuti (Bologna, Italy, 1626 – 1684) Title: Assumption of the Virgin Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: 138 x 104.5 cm without frame Expertise by Professor Micaela Li...

This lovely Dutch Old Master oil painting is attributed to noted Dutch artist Nicholaes Berchem. Painted circa 1665 it is a charming pastoral scene of a shepherd and his animals including sheep, goats, donkey and cows and of course his trusty dog. They are all resting beneath trees while he looks on attentively. The light in the sky and the light and shadows on the animals is beautiful. A really superb example of Dutch Old Master art with great detail. Provenance. Surrey estate. Christies stamp verso. Condition. Oil on canvas, 38 inches by 32 inches and in good condition. Frame. Housed in a complementary gilt frame, 46 inches by 30 inches and in good condition. Nicolaes Pieterszoon Berchem (1620-1683) was a highly esteemed and prolific Dutch Golden Age painter of pastoral landscapes, populated with mythological or biblical figures, but also of a number of allegories and genre pieces. He was a member of the second generation of "Dutch Italianate landscape" painters. These were artists who travelled to Italy, or aspired to, in order to soak up the romanticism of the country, bringing home sketchbooks full of drawings of classical ruins and pastoral imagery. His paintings, of which he produced an immense number, (Hofstede de Groot claimed around 850, although many are misattributed), were in great demand, as were his 80 etchings and 500 drawings. His landscapes, painted in the Italian style of idealized rural scenes, with hills, mountains, cliffs and trees in a golden dawn are sought after. Berchem also painted inspired and attractive human and animal figures (staffage) in works of other artists, like Allaert van Everdingen, Jan Hackaert, Gerrit Dou, Meindert Hobbema and Willem Schellinks. Born in Haarlem, he received instruction from his father Pieter Claesz, and from the painters Jan van Goyen, Pieter de Grebber, Jan Baptist Weenix, Jan Wils and Claes Cornelisz. Moeyaert. According to Houbraken, Carel de Moor told him that Berchem got his name from two words "Berg hem" for "Save him!", an expression used by his fellows in Van Goyen's workshop whenever his father chased him there with the intent to beat him. No trip or Grand Tour by Berchem was documented by Houbraken though he mentioned another story about the "Berg hem!" nickname which came from Berchem's conscription as a sailor; the man in charge of impressment knew him and sent him ashore with the words "Save him!". Today his name is assumed to come from his father's hometown of Berchem, Antwerp. According to the RKD he traveled to Italy with Jan Baptist Weenix, whom he called his cousin, in 1642–5. Works by him are signed both as "CBerghem" and "Berchem". In 1645 he became a member of the Dutch reformed church and married the year after. According to Houbraken he married the daughter of the painter Jan Wils, who kept him on a short allowance, but to finance his collection of prints he would borrow money from his pupils and colleagues and pay them back from the proceeds of paintings that he didn't tell her about. Around 1650 he travelled to Westphalia with Jacob van Ruisdael, where a dated piece showing Burg Bentheim is recorded. Maybe Berchem went to Italy after this trip and before he moved to Amsterdam - he is not clearly documented in the Netherlands between 1650 and 1656. Around 1660 he worked for the engraver Jan de Visscher designing an atlas. In 1661-1670 he is registered in Amsterdam and in 1670 he moved back to Haarlem, but was living back in Amsterdam by 1677, where he died in 1683. He was a popular teacher and his pupils were Abraham Begeyn, Johannes van der Bent, his son Nicolaes, Isaack Croonenbergh, Simon Dubois, Karel Dujardin, Johannes Glauber, Pieter de Hooch, Jacob van Huchtenburg, Justus van Huysum...

Portrait Of Philadelphia, 17th Century Probably Philadelphia Carey Of Aske Hall, Richmond, North Yorkshire, English Courier & Lady In Waiting to Princess Elizabeth Studio Of Sir Pe...

This incredibly rare early depiction of an Eastern Mediterranean or North African honey merchant is thought have been painted circa 1620. It predates th...

A Mediterranean harbour scene with figures and ships before a Capriccio landscape. Oil on Canvas In a gilded frame 10 ½ x 19 ½ inches 26.6 x 49.5 cm ABOUT THE ARTIST: Adriaen van d...

Saint Anthony Of Padua, 17th Century Circle of CARLO DOLCI (1616-1686) 17th century Italian Old Master depiction of Saint Anthony of Padua, oi...

Oil painting on canvas. French school of the seventeenth century. The scene, set at night in the garden of a villa, of which you can glimpse the ornate facade on the right and in which the fountain gushing with cherubs stands out, under a dark sky and further obscured by heavy clouds, proposes two figures who entertain each other in conversation : an elderly modestly dressed is sternly admonishing a seated young man, richly dressed, who seems instead to make the gesture of mea culpa with his hand. The physiognomy and the gestures of the two characters, together with the style of the clothes, would refer to the philosopher Aristotle who was called to the court of Macedon to be the tutor...

Presented by Titan Fine Art, this painting formed part of a historic collection of an English aristocratic family, Lord and Lady Sandys at their magnificent baroque and Regency Grade-I listed family home, Ombersley Court. The house was among the most fascinating survivals of its kind in this country. The atmospheric interiors were distinguished above all for the works of art associated with two key moments in national history. The collection was acquired or commissioned over five centuries and remained at Ombersley Court until its recent sale, the first in 294 years. This portrait hung in the Grand Hall. This exquisite grand manner work is an evocative example of the type of portrait in vogue during a large part of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The artist has depicted an elegant lady, three quarter length and seated on porch with a luxurious crimson swag curtain by her side. The clothing – known as “undress” at the time, consists of red silk fastened at the front and sleeves by large gold and diamond jewels over a simple white chemise. In her lap she holds a blue wrap and in her other hand, at her chest, she clutches the end of a sheer gauzy scarf that has been draped around her body with the other end a type of headdress – this type of sheer scarf was often employed by Wissing in his portraits. The classical architecture signifies cultivation and sophistication and the luxurious swag curtain is a signifier of wealth. The portrait can be dated to circa 1680 based on the sitter’s attire, the “hurluberlu” hairstyle, and other portraits by Wissing using the same formula. This oil on canvas portrait has been well cared for over its life, which spans almost 350 years. Having recently been treated to remove an obscuring discoloured varnish, the finer details and proper colour can now be fully appreciated. Once owned by Evesham Abbey, the manor of Ombersley was acquired by the Sandys family in the early 1600s, when Sir Samuel Sandys, the eldest son of Edwin Sandys, Bishop of Worcester and later Archbishop of York, took a lease on the manor, before receiving an outright grant in 1614. The present house, Ombersley Court, dates from the time of Samuel, 1st Lord Sandys, between 1723 and 1730. The house itself is a fine example of an English Georgian country house set in rolling countryside and surrounded by Wellingtonias, planted to commemorate the Battle of Waterloo by Arthur Hill, 2nd Baron Sandys, who played a distinguished part in the battle and was one of the Duke of Wellington’s aides de camp. The Duke also stayed in the house and in the Great Hall, was the Waterloo banner which was brought to the house by Sir Arthur Hill, aide-de-camp to the Duke of Wellington, who succeeded his mother, the Marchioness of Downshire as 2nd Lord Sandys. Further Waterloo memorabilia are kettle drums from battle. The family had a strong tradition of military and political service, dating back to the 17th century, and this was also reflected in the fine collection of portraits and paintings in the house. In short, Ombersley represented a vital aspect of British history. The house and more especially the collection were of the greatest historical importance. Houses that have remained in the possession of the same family for as many as three centuries have become increasingly rare. Through this portrait, collectors have a chance to acquire a piece of British history and an evocative vestige of a glittering way of life, which is now gone. Much of the attractiveness of this portrait resides in its graceful manner and the utter beauty of the youthful sitter. Presented in a beautiful carved and gilded period frame, which is a work of art in itself. Willem Wissing was a Dutch artist who enjoyed a solid artistic training at The Hague under Arnold van Ravesteyn (c.1650-1690) and Willem Dougijns (1630-1697). He came to London in 1676 and most probably joined the studio or Sir Peter Lely as an assistant that same year. After Lely’s death in 1680 he effectively took over his business and he scaled the heights of patronage with extraordinary ease, creating an independent practise in 1687, and painted for very important aristocratic patrons. King Charles II was so impressed by a portrait Wissing painted of his son, the Duke of Monmouth, in 1683 that he commissioned his own portrait and that of his Queen Catherine...

The painting "The Road to Emmaus in a Landscape" by Gillis de Hondecoeter is a masterful example of early 17th-century Dutch landscape painting. The sce...

Diorama in Wood and Polychrome Stucco Attributed to Thomas Gaudiello (Naples, active 1685-1727) This fascinating diorama depicting the Nativity is distinguished by its complex three...

Andrea Scacciati (Florence 1642-1710) Composition of flowers within embossed vase (1 of 3) oil on canvas 130 x 90 cm In antique frame 145 x 105 cm. Work with expertise by Prof. Emi...

A fine Dutch still life Old Master by Leendert de Laeff which is signed and dated 1664. This oil on canvas on panel depicts a still life of fruit with insects and butterflies. A supe...

Madonna of the Harpies, 17th Century follower ANDREA DEL SARTO (1486-1530) Huge circa 17th century Italian Old Master of the Madonna Of The Harpies...

PORTRAIT OF BARBARA PALMER, THE DUCHESS OF CLEVELAND, workshop of Sir Peter Lely (1618-1680) Oil on canvas, excellent coniditon in a gilded frame...

Antonio Tibaldi (Rome, c. 1635 - post 1675) Workshop of Still Life with Armour, Curtains and Sculpture Oil on canvas 53 x 77 cm. - in frame 65 x 89 cm. Beautifully scenic painting ...

Titan Fine Art present this striking portrait, which was painted by one of the most talented artists working in England during the last half of the 17th century, John Greenhill. Gre...

Original Self-Portrait Etching by Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669) Etching on paper 2 ⅛ x 1 ¾ inches unframed (5.4102 x 4.445 cm) 14 ⅛ x 12 ½ inches framed (35.8902 x 31.75 cm) Description: Rembrandt van Rijn is one of the most celebrated Dutch painters of all time, and rose to prominence in the 17th century for his characteristic use of light and contrast to convey emotion and mood. Much of his artistic practice consisted of history paintings, portraits, and self-portraits, with his rich oil paintings...

This extraordinary Italian bronze embodies all of the hallmarks of the very best Florentine sculptures of the 17th century. The work is crafted in the Mannerist style of the late Ren...

Circle Wouwerman, Horseman by a Tent, Riders Playing Cards (?), Old Master Dutch Art, Travellers or Riders resting by a tent and gambling

The Musical Contest between Apollo and Marsyas, by Peter Sion (Antwerp, 1624-1695) Signed in the lower right corner P. Sion 17th century Antwerp School Oil on copper, dim. h. 53 cm, ...

Virgin Mary and Jesus is an original old masters' artwork realized by the Flemish painter Theodor Mathon (1606-1676) in the 17th century. Mixed ...

Oil on Canvas. 17th century Dutch school. The young nobleman, very serious, looks out from an oval painted frame, on which he rests his hand to flaunt the family ring. The painting...

17th century Italian School The Virgin and Child with Saint John the Baptist Oil on canvas Dimensions: h. 106 cm, l. 77 cm Important 17th century Italian carved giltwood frame Fram...

This lovely Dutch Old Master oil painting is attributed to artist Pieter Wouwerman. Painted circa 1660 it is figurative landscape with horseback travellers and their dogs in the foreground approaching ruins on their left. Beyond is a river snakes through the landscape, beneath the fading light of approaching dusk. There are some superb details making this an excellent Dutch Golden Age oil painting...

Circle of Cornelius Johnson (1593-1661), a 17th century portrait of a lady, bust-length oval, wearing an ivory silk gown with blue silk bows and lace c...

Giovanni Grevenbroeck, called the Solfarolo (Netherlands, c. 1650 - Milan, post 1699) Port View in Moonlight Oil on canvas 70 x 132 cm Framed 86 x 146 cm Critical apparatus: Exper...

A three-quarter length portrait of Anne, Lady Russell, later Countess of Bedford (1615-1684), in a blue dress. Attributed to Sir Anthony Van Dyck.  Anne C...

Grand 17th-Century Style Genre Scene – Oil on Canvas A magnificent large-scale oil painting depicting an elegant gathering of noble figures in an architectural setting. This historic...

Equestrian portrait of Louis XIV, Workshop of René-Antoine Houasse, (Paris, c. 1645 - Paris, 1710) Late 17th century French school, c. 1690 Oil on canvas, h. 100 cm, w. 80 cm Importa...

Giuseppe Assereto (Genova - 1626 ca – Genova 1656/57) Title: Portrait of an elderly woman, possible portrait of Maddalena Massone, wife of Gioacchino Assereto Medium: Oil on canvas D...

Etching on cream laid paper with a large heraldic watermark which is partially trimmed, 4 3/16 x 3 5/8 inches (105 x 84 mm), margins trimmed but preserving the signature in the lower...

Judith Beheading Holoferne is an oil painting made by Giovanni Raffaele Badaracco, mid-17th Century. Oil on canvas, cm. 102x75.. Very good condition. Prov. Sotheby's, Amsterdam,...

The Academy of Plato Plato and His Disciples Etching and drypoint c. 1662, printed c. 1710 Signed in the plate lower left Inscribed lower left: 'In villa ab Academo attributa sua[m]...

Oil on canvas. Mittel-European School. There is a No.S monogram on the back and numbers probably from an inventory. The painting reminds of pieces from the Austrian area. It represen...

In 1607, the Delft city council decided to commission a portrait of Stadholder Maurits of Nassau for the town hall, with Michiel van Mierevelt as the chosen artist due to the passing...

River Landscape with Boat and two Figures, realized by an artist active in italy in the mid-17th Century. In very good condition, it includes a gilded coeval wooden frame.

This is a rare 17th century engraving of a plant entitled "Pee-amerdu" by the Dutch botanist Hendrik van Rheede tot Drakenstein, plate 19 from his 'Hortus Indicus Malabaricus' (Garden of Malabar), published in Amsterdam in 1686 by Johann van Someren. The engraving depicts the Pee-amerdu plant, a large leafed plant climbing plant off the Malabar Coast in India. The plant is noted for its medicinal uses. It may be related to Tinospora species. Rheede's 19th century publication featured illustrations of exotic plants and fruits labelled with script in the upper right corner in Latin, Malay, Arabic, and Sanskrit. Hortus Indicus Malabaricus is believed to be the earliest comprehensive published work on the flora of Asia and the tropics. The 17th century treatise featured important illustrations of 740 plants of the region, including Indian medicinal plants. The engraving is printed on 17th century laid, chain-linked watermarked paper. The sheet measures 14.88" high by 18.75" wide. There is a central fold, as issued. There are a few faint smudges, a spot in the upper margin and there is minimal irregularity of the left edge of the paper where the print was previously bound in the 17th century publication. The print is otherwise in very good condition. There are additional Rheede botanical engravings from his 'Hortus Indicus Malabaricus' publication that are listed on my 1stdibs storefront and online website. These would make for an impressive display grouping. A discount is available for purchase of two or more of the prints. Hendrik Adriaan van Rheede tot Drakenstein...

Antichità Castelbarco SRLS is proud to present: Claudio Ridolfi (Verona, c. 1570 - Corinaldo, 1644) Workshop/circle The Guardian Angel in Glory Oil on canvas 124 x 84 cm. - With fr...

A Tibetan Yamantaka Thangka 17th/18th Century The thangka is coloured and gilt with the fierce deity depicted striding in alidhasana surrounded by a fiery aureole. Numerous other de...

The Archangel Gabriel, 17th Century workshop of Guido RENI (1575-1642) Huge 17th century Italian Old Master depiction of the Archangel Gabriel, oil on canvas. Excellent quality an...

'Master of the parrot' (a painter active in Antwerp in the early 16th century, whose name refers to the parrot who always occurs in his paintings) - follower of Madonna on the throne with child (With the coat of arms of the client family in the upper part of the composition) Oil on the table 101 x 62 cm. - In frame 114 x 76 cm. The beautiful proposed work explains the typical iconographic characters of the painter called 'Master of the parrot', a conventional name used by critics to define an anonymous Dutch author of the 16th century. More precisely, it is a painter of the southern Netherlands, active in Antwerp around 1530-50, so defined for the unmistakable parrot who often appears in his works of him. In religious iconography the parrot has often been used as a Marian symbol, as it was widespread that its most common verse was "Ave", that is, the greeting of the Archangel Gabriele to Mary at the time of the Annunciation. Today the idea according to which the name 'master of the parrot' has not referred to a single painter, but rather a group that, based on the stylistic characters, carried out their training at the workshop of Pieter Coecke Van Aelst (Aalst (Aalst is widespread. 1502 - Brussels 1550), creating devotion paintings intended for a bourgeois client and concentrating their activity on a specific topic particularly requested by the contemporary market. By way of example we can mention the Virgin with the San Diego Museum of Art child where the figures, like our own, are in line, With the mannerist taste for the elegant body proportions that exceed reality, with elements such as tapered finger, wide face and thin nose. These characters also betray the influence of active artists in the region such as Joos Van Cleve...

Still life with fishes and oysters is an original oil on canvas realized in the 17th Century by Neapolitan School Master. Impressive in size as well as for its vivid representation o...

Jesus Feeding The 5000, 17th Century School Of NICOLAS POUSSIN (1595-1665) Fine huge 17th Italian Old Master of Jesus Feeding The 5000, oil on canvas. Stunning panoramic early and ...

This original hand-colored copperplate engraved map of Africa entitled "Africa Vetus, Nicolai Sanson Christianiss Galliar Regis Geographi" was originally created by Nicholas Sanson d...

Still life with macaw, squirrel and dwarf spaniels Attributed to Reynaud LEVIEUX (Nîmes, 1613 – Rome, 1690) 17th century French School Oil on canvas, dimensions: h. 67 cm, l. 87 cm (26.38 in. x 34.25 in) Magnificent Louis XIV period giltwood frame, early 18th century Dimensions with frame: h. 95 cm, l. 115 cm (37.40 in. x 45.27 in) Like a magic trick, the illusionist power of our painter reveals to us a baroque world where in a theatrical setting, the southern light exalts the colors and materials. In the opulence and extravagance of this exhibition, the tight framing propels forward the earthly beauties against a luxurious background of precious dyes created by the hand of man. The tray laden with fruit is placed on an entablature covered with a sumptuous Persian carpet in shimmering colors. Offering figs, bunches of grapes, apples and burst pomegranate, it transports us to the south of France. A Macaw with red feathers seem to watch over the contents and courageously confront two small toy spaniels installed on a luxurious red velvet cushion generously embroidered with gold threads and decorated with pompoms. Captivated by this tense atmosphere, we barely see another intruder: a squirrel quietly nibbling a bunch of grapes. On the left in the foreground our eye is immediately drawn to two melons, one of which is half-open and ripe. The realistic rendering of his skin with its bumpy texture awakens our sense of touch, it seems that this rough surface created thanks to generous serifs can break the canvas, like a fruit ready to burst. Scattered warm lighting creating chiaroscuro betrays the Italian influence. This is how fruits and animals emerge from the darkness with aesthetic force and a three-dimensional appearance. Our work is a variant of the lost composition of Reynaud Levieux known through replicas and its publication in the catalog of Jean Wytenhove Reynaud Levieux and classical painting in Provence (Aix-en-Provence, 1990, p. 58, repr.), our painting wonderfully illustrates the fame of this composition in its time. Related works by Reynaud Levieux: • Still life – fruit, parrot, dogs and squirrel, Villa Vauban, Luxembourg City Art Museum, oil on canvas, sizes unknown. • Parrot confronting two spaniels on a trimmings cushion, oil on canvas, 76.2 x 96 cm, Christie's Paris, 12/19/2007, lot 489 • Still life with spaniel, oil on canvas, 75 x 90 cm, Inv .: L.83.2, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Marseille Reynaud Levieux, known above all for his religious production imbued with an austere classicism inherited from Raphael and Correggio, his model painters, produced during his long career subtle still lifes intended for a clientele of amateurs and the ornamentation of private mansions. This aspect of his production is less known today, and is an essential milestone for better understanding the talent he displays in this genre. As evidenced by his paintings, the painter was greatly influenced by the Italian master of the Roman Baroque still life Franceso Noletti or Fieravino active in Rome between 1636 and 1654, the period of Reynaud Levieux's first stay in Rome. This period corresponds to a turning point in the art of Italian still life. The first Italian still lifes, around 1600, are meticulous and precise, often with symbolic meanings, linked to religion, the vanity of earthly foods, and the transience of life. A few decades later, Italian still life adopted the baroque style, which suited it wonderfully: it always sought illusion, the faithful rendering of materials, but in abundance, heaps and luxury. Having become a decorative object, it gains in virtuosity and ease what it loses in spirituality. Reynaud LEVIEUX (Nîmes, 1613 – Rome, 1690) Son of a glass painter, Protestant from Uzès, settled around 1612 in Nîmes, Reynaud Levieux was born on January 6, 1613. After initial training in his father's workshop, of whom he will always keep the taste for smooth, contrasting painting and impeccable technique, he left for Rome in 1635. He was part of a team of six painters with Pierre Mignard, Jean le Maire, Charles Errard, Jean Nocret and Nicolas Chaperon. Under the direction of Nicolas Poussin, he copied Raphaël - two painters who would have a profound impact on him. His paintings from this period are not all known and we are beginning to discover them, sometimes hidden under illustrious names, such as Theseus discovering his father's arms which was attributed to Laurent de La Hyre...

Sir Peter Lely (Soest 1618 – 1680 London) Portrait of lady with a crown, possibly Bridget Drury Lady Shaw, formerly Viscountess Kilmorey, later Lady Baber (d.1696) c.1665 Oil on canvas 46 1/2 x 40 3/4 inches, Framed 42 1/4 x 36 1/4 inches, Unframed Inscribed left [……….]Isabella James Mulraine wrote the following for this piece: This portrait dates to the middle of the 1660s, the decade when Lely’s career took off as successor to Sir Anthony van Dyck. At the Restoration Charles II had appointed him Principal Painter to the King and paid a pension £200 per annum ‘as formerly to Sr. Vandyke...’1 Lely had trained in Haarlem and he was in his early twenties when he came to London in 1643. He was an astute businessman and a wise courtier. In 1650 he painted a portrait of Oliver Cromwell (Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery) while maintaining links with the Royalist exiles through the 1650s. He had arrived in England as a painter of small-scale portraits and lush scenes of nymphs in landscapes in a Dutch style. His experience of Van Dyck in English collections transformed his painting. His lavish and alluring vision of Arcadia exactly captured the spirit of the Court and as Principal Painter he dominated English portraiture for the next twenty years. Lely ran a highly efficient studio along Netherlandish lines, employing a team of specialists like the drapery painter John Baptist Gaspars and young artists-in-training like Nicolas de Largilliere. He had numerous rivals during that period, and by 1670 he had introduced numbered standard poses to speed up production, while collaborating with printmakers for further revenue and advertising. He died in 1680 of a stroke while painting, working to the last. The portrait, painted at a date when Lely’s poses and execution were still individual and inventive shows a lady sitting at three-quarter length facing away from the viewer. She has begun to turn towards the viewer, a pose with a long pedigree in art, first used by Leonardo da Vinci in the Mona Lisa (Louvre). She steadies her blue drapery where it might slip from her arm with the movement, a flash of realism beautifully captured. Like Van Dyck, Lely painted his female sitters in a timeless costume rather than contemporary fashion, showing a loose gown and floating silk draperies. It presented the sitter as a classical ideal. The portrait would not date. The saffron dress may be the work of a drapery painter but the brown scarf must be by Lely himself, and appears unfinished, broadly sketched in behind the shoulder. The delicate blue glaze and nervous highlights suggest shimmering translucence. Lely was a master of painting hands – his hand studies are marvels of drawing – and the lady’s hands are superb, exactly drawn, delicately modelled and expressive. The fidgety gestures, clutching the gown, fiddling with the edge of the scarf, give the portrait psychological bite, suggesting the personality behind the calm courtier’s expression, adding to the sense shown in the look of the eyes and mouth that the lady is about to speak. The portrait’s language is Vandykian. The inspiration comes directly from Van Dyck’s English portraits of women. Lely owned Van Dyck’s Portrait of Lady Elizabeth Thimbleby and Dorothy Viscountess Andover (National Gallery, London) and the sitter’s costume quotes Lady Andover’s saffron dress and brown scarf. But Lely paints a generation who sat nearer to the ground and through a dialogue of expression and gesture he shows sitters who are more flesh and blood than Van Dyck’s. The background with a column and curtain is different to those shown in most of Lely’s portraits of women. They tend to include trees or fountains, with a glimpse of landscape. But there are other examples. A portrait of the King’s reigning mistress, Barbara Villiers Duchess of Cleveland...

Portrait Of A Lady, Stilte Family, 17th Century by Jan Cornelisz VERSPRONCK (1597-1662) Large 17th Century Dutch Golden Age portrait of a lady identified as a member of the Stilte family, oil on cradled panel. Excellent quality and condition portrait of the lady wearing a ruff and cap with elaborate lace work and a gilded embroided dress...

Christ crucified between the two thieves: oval plate, 1648 Original Etching. Bibliography: Bartsch, 79; Hind 173; Biörlund, 41-2; White & Boon, B79. (mm. 163x131). Wonderful evidence...

The painting is set in a precious gilded wooden frame, 72 x 59 cm. The measurements without the frame are 53 x 42 cm. Gazing up at the sky, eyes bright and wide open, mouth half-clo...

Gaspar van den Hoecke (Antwerp, 1585 - 1648) Herod's banquet Early 17th century oil on panel, with gold highlights (in the guise of Salome and in the curtains of the building in the background) 56 x 80 cm. framed 72 x 90 cm. Note: The painting probably dates from an original by Frans II Francken (1581 - 1642), which is shown under the number 0000344789 in the RKD. Valuable oil painting on panel depicting King Herod and the beautiful Jewish princess Salome according to the episode taken from the Gospel of Matthew (14.3-11), which sees her as the protagonist in the story of the martyrdom of John the Baptist. The event shown is a cross between history and legend, a myth faced for centuries by artists in every field: Caravaggio in painting, Oscar Wilde in theater, Richard Strauss...

Johann van der Hagen (1676-1745) Smack rigged Royal yachts Oil on canvas Canvas Size 30 x 25 in Frame Size 37 x 32 in Provenance: The Parker Gallery. Johann van der Hagen was a Dut...

Antique Flemish Baroque painting, 17th century, portrait, Medici. Oil on canvas. The painting is probably attributed to the Flemish painter Justus Sustermns. Pictured is most likel...

Along the road, we see several travelers: some are walking at a leisurely pace, others are engaged in animated conversations. At the top of one mountain, a small castle stands proudl...

Aftrer Anthony VAN DYCK - maybe Studio (1599, Antwerp – 1641, London) Flemish Double Portrait of George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham (1628-1687) & Lord Francis Villiers (1629-1648) Oil on Canvas 170 x 147 cm Anthony Van Dyck (1599-1641) No painter has done more to define an era than Anthony van Dyck. He spent only seven and a half years of his short life (1599- 1641) in England. He grew up in Antwerp, where his precocious talent was recognised by Peter Paul Rubens, the greatest painter of his age. He worked in Rubens’s studio and imitated his style as a religious artist, painting biblical scenes redolent of the lush piety of the counter-reformation. But soon he was on the move. In 1620, he visited London for a few months, long enough to paint a history picture, The Continence of Scipio, for the royal favourite, George Villiers, Marquess of Buckingham, and a portrait of his other English patron, the great art collector, Thomas Howard, 2nd Earl of Arundel. After a stint in Italy, making imposing portraits of the wealthy aristocracy and sketching and copying works by Titian, he returned to the Spanish Netherlands in 1627, becoming court artist to Archduchess Isabella before departing for The Hague in 1631 to paint the Dutch ruler Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange. Charles I’s invitation in 1632 led Van Dyck back to London where he was knighted, paid an annual salary of £200 and installed in a house in Blackfriars with a special jetty at which the royal barge might tie up when the King was visiting his studio. By this time Van Dyck was recognised as the leading court painter in Europe, with Velazquez at the court of Philip IV of Spain his only rival. He also excelled as a superbly observant painter of children and dogs. Van Dyck’s notoriety in depicting children led to the introduction of groups of children without their parents as a new genre into English painting (amongst other new genres). For the next 300 years, Van Dyck was the major influence on English portraiture. Nearly all the great 18th Century portraitists, from Pompeo Batoni and Allan Ramsay to Thomas Gainsborough and Joshua Reynolds, copied Van Dyck’s costumes, poses and compositions. George Duke of Buckingham & his brother Francis Villiers Painted in 1635, this double portrait was originally commissioned by Charles I, who raised the two brothers after their father, George Villiers, was assassinated in 1628. Together with their sister, Lady Mary Villiers, they enjoyed the King’s favour absolutely. Francis whose absolute ‘inimitable handsomeness’ was noted by Marvell (who was killed in a skirmish near Kingston upon Thames). The young duke who commanded a regiment of horse at the Battle of Worcester, remained closely associated with Charles II, held a number of high offices after the Restoration and was one of the most cynical and brilliant members of the King’s entourage, immortalised as ‘Zimri’ in Dryden’s Absalom and Achitopbel. As a young man he had sold his father’s great collection of pictures in the Spanish Netherlands, many of them to the Archduke Leopold Willhelm. Painted for Charles I and placed near the portrait of their sister in the Gallery at St James’ Palace. The handling of both costumes is very rich, and the heads are very carefully and sensitively worked. That of the younger boy in particular is more solidly built up than the lower part of the figure. A preparatory drawing for the younger boy is in the British Museum. There are copies at, e.g., Highclere Castle...