17th Century Art

Portrait of Sir John Wentworth, 1st Baronet, and Mary, Lady Wentworth née Lowther c.1695–1705 Attributed to Michael Dahl (c.1659–1743) and Attributed to Thomas Murray (1663–1735) T...

Roman Charity is a beautiful original oil painting on canvas, realized after a painting by Dirck van Baburen (1595-1624). This painting depicts the ...

Abraham Begeyn, Dutch Golden Age painter and Prussian court painter painted this wonderful 17th century Old Master oil painting. Painted circa 1690 and signed lower right, the subject matter is sheep and a goat under a tree in the foreground, amongst beautiful flora and fauna. Through the trees one can see some classical ruins to the left and to the right some buildings with a shepherd and his flock in front of the buildings and mountains beyond. Above is a beautiful sky tinged with pink, suggestive of dawn. There is tremendous detail in the flora and fauna and also the sheep's woolly coat. Begeyn particularly favoured painting this sort of scene with the elements of landscape, ruins or buildings and animals and was a master at it and highly prized in the Netherlands. This is an excellent example of Begeyn's work and is good condition given its age as a 17th century Old Master oil painting. Signed lower right. Provenance: Collection of Mr P. Vienna (label on the reverse) Sale, Sotheby's, London, 18 October 1995, lot 70. Condition. Oil on canvas, 24 inches by 21 inches unframed and in good condition. Frame. Housed in a gilt swept frame, 31 inches by 28 inches framed and in good condition. Abraham Begeyn (c. 1637 Leiden - 11 June 1697 Berlin), was a Dutch Golden Age painter. Begeyn was born in Leiden. Though perhaps known mostly for his Italianate landscapes and cattle in the manner of Nicolaes Pietersz Berchem, Begyn was a highly skilled painter active in many genres, who travelled widely. According to the RKD, Begeyn's earliest known work is from 1653, though he was first accepted into the Guild of St. Luke in Leiden in 1655. He stopped paying dues in 1667, because he set off for a trip to Italy. He is registered in Rome and Naples from 1659–1660. In the rampjaar or disaster year, of 1672, he is registered in Amsterdam, and after that he lived in London, where he painted at Ham House, Surrey, together with Willem van de Velde the Younger (1633–1707) and Dirck van Bergen...

Francesca Volò Smiller, called Vincenzina (Milan, 1657 - 1700) - circle of Floral composition Oil on canvas (97 x 72 cm. - in octagonal frame 100 x 84 cm.) A rich floral compositio...

Italian School, 17th century oil on canvas (laid on board), framed framed: 15 x 21 inches board: 14 x 20 inches provenance: private collection, France condition: very good and sound ...

This ambitious composition illustrates the ancient episode of The Ring of Polycrates, drawn from Herodotus. In the story, the king of Samos, blessed with continuous success, is advis...

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

17th Century Madonna With The Book. Genoese School. Follower Of Bernardo Strozzi. Artist: L'école Génoise Madonna with the book. 17th century. Oil painting on canvas. Width: 60cm H...

The Hunting Party Attributed to Dirk Maes (1659-1717) Dutch. Figures in a Classical Landscape, Watercolour and wash on paper, Mounted, unframed image 6.75" x 9.75" (17.1 x 24.7cm)...

Portrait of Maria Therese of Spain, Queen of France, 17th Century Circle of Henri and Charles Beaubrun Not signed This distinguished seventeenth-century portrait of Maria Theresa o...

Domenichino, actually Domenico Zampieri (after) Bologna 1581 – 1641 Naples Rinaldo and Armida in Armida's Enchanted Garden, circa 1700 Oil on canvas (doubled) Size: 80 x 138 cm ...

Cavaliere Paolo Guidotti, also known as il Cavalier Borghese (Lucca, Italy, 1559 - 1629) Title: Salomé and the Baptist Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: without frame 90 x 68.5 cm -...

The 39-year-old gentleman had himself portrayed as an aristocrat in an idyllic landscape. At the time, parks and forests were environments associated with the lands and pastimes of t...

Saint Christopher with the Christ Child, Spain, late 16th – early 17th C Polychromed and partially gilded wood. The sculpture represents Saint Christopher carrying the Christ Child ...

This old master engraving entitled "Allegorie op de Rechtspraak" is by Willem van Swaanenburg after a painting by Joachim Wtewael, published by Ch...

Etching on handmade, cream laid paper. 5 13/16 x 7 5/8 inches (146 x 192 mm), thread margins. Scattered handling creases, light age tone, and minor paper inconsistoncies throughout....

This atmospheric 18th century portrait oil painting is attributed to a Scottish artist. Painted circa 1790, The painting is a half length portrait of a seated gentleman. He is wearing a blue bonnet, the badge of a Scottish country gentleman and smoking a clay pipe. The way the light catches his hand and face and gleams on his buttons is lovely. The frame is super in that it echoes the button on his jacket. This is an excellent example of an 18th century Scottish portrait...

Anthony Palamedesz (Delft 1601 - Amsterdam 1673) - signed and dated Guards with bugler Oil on panel (42 x 54 cm. - Framed 55 x 67 cm.) Signature: lower left “f Palamedes 163.....

Antoine Monnoyer the Younger (Paris 1671 – Paris Saint-Germain-en-Laye 1747) attributed Pair of floral still lifes Oil on canvas 52 x 65 cm. - With carved and gilded wooden frames...

This superb British 18th century Old Master oil painting is attributed to circle of noted landscape artist Richard Wilson. Painted circa 1750 it is a stunning lake landscape with a r...

Paesaggio italiano con un ponte, una torre, pastore ed animali. Ambito di Jan Both ( Utrecht, 1618-1652), arrivo a Roma e Venezia oltre al suo paese natale, Olanda. Il dipinto del X...

Genesis 32 - Old Testament Story is an Etching print realized by the artist Giovanni Lanfranco. About The Old Testament Story, 1607ca. Passpartout included 29 x 39 cm The artwork...

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...

This double-page etching with contemporary coloring, entitled Accuratissima totius Asiae Tabula, was realized by the cartographer Frederick de Wit for the famous Atlas published in A...

Pietro Della Vecchia (Venice, Italy, 1603 - Vicenza, Italy, 1678) Title: The Alchemists Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: without frame 73 x 97 cm – with frame 90.4 x 114.3 x 6 cm N...

Portrait Of Lady Isobel Mackenzie, Countess of Seaforth (1636-1715), 17th Century Studio of John Michael Wright (1617-1694) Large 17th century portrait of Isobel Mackenzie, Countes...

Giovanni Domenico Valentino (Rome 1630 - Imola 1708) Signed with the monogram G.D.V in the center right, on a majolica vase The pharmacist in his laboratory Oil on canvas, 73 x 66 cm In gilded and lacquered frame cm. 86 x 80 This work, depicting a fascinating laboratory interior with a pharmacist busy in the preparation of medicines, is part of the typical production of the Roman Gian Domenico Valentini, also known as Giovanni Domenico Valentino (Rome 1630 - Imola 1708). The canvas, which is signed with the monogram G.D.V in the center right on a majolica vase, should have been painted in Rome, where the painter worked from 1662 until his death, except in 1680-1681, when he worked in Imola and Ravenna. The use of models by Flemish artists who populated the Eternal City appears essential in the development of Valentini's painting. The use of Nordic models in the development of this type of pictorial genre, with interior scenes and elements of still life, had gained great fortune with the Roman client, leading to an almost serial production, but always of great evocative charm. . Giovanni Domenico Valentini distinguished himself in the artistic panorama of the Italian seventeenth century precisely for the peculiarity of his favorite subjects: they are mainly kitchen interiors or as in our case of a laboratory, where countless objects are piled up arranged in picturesque disorder: here the tools of a pharmacy, in copper and terracotta, vases or pourers in metal and clay, jars and albarelli in majolica, bottles, flasks, glasses, cauldrons, basins and other containers in copper and terracotta, as well as an open oven. The large background wall is occupied by an angular hanging shelf for jars and apothecary jars all arranged in a row, in the foreground the still life featured various pharmaceutical tools such as apothecary bottles, mortar bowls, jars and jars with handles as well as pots and copper vessels. Particularly striking from a chromatic point of view, and a typical piece of furniture of the painter, is the painting above the door frame, which depicts a landscape. The interiors of the Valentini, of which our painting is a valuable example, which display large quantities of objects or furnishings, are arranged with a wisely studied organization: the whole represented is arranged according to the dictates of a pre-ordered exhibition and appears so to speak 'on display', exhibited and organized according to the very personal intent of a painter who aims to ennoble everyday life and make it the emblem of his art. The interior of our pharmacy is very similar to a monogrammed version kept in the Musée des Beaux-Arts, Palais Fesch, in Ajaccio (inv. 852-1-461) depicting a 'Young man visiting a pharmacy', in which the same elements, albeit varied: the half-open wardrobe...

Hercules and Omphale Oil on panel, 52 x 41 cm According to legend, Hercules had to make atonement and became a slave to the Lydian queen Omphale. When she found out who her slave was, she married him. Falling for his mistress and made effeminate by the luxury of court life, the former hero allowed himself to become the laughing stock of the court. He dressed in women's clothes, spun wool and did other women's work, whereas Omphale wore his lion's skin and carried a wooden club. When the time of punishment was over, the hero realised his delusion and left Omphale. So far, the painting could not be clearly assigned to an artist. Nevertheless, it impresses with its fluid and convincing painting, whose colourfulness and conception are reminiscent of the Prague School around Bartholomäus Spranger. This work follows an engraving and an etching made by Michel Dorigny in 1643 after a design by Simon Vouet. It shows the same scene but the print differs in minor details from the present painting (see e.g. the head of the lion) and the treatment of the faces seems to be painted more detailed and refined. So far there is no painting...

George Andreas Böckler, 'Chalice Garden Fountain', antique copperplate engraving, 1664, from the book 'Architectura Curiosa Nova'. A fine, richly inked ...

Signed and dated lower left. Includes a beautiful later wooden frame cm. 137x8x182. Very Good conditions. Prov. Christie's London, February 15th 1974, n. 19. This artwork is shippe...

This is a 17th century engraved mezzotint portrait of the Duchess of St. Albans by John Smith, after a painting by Sir Godfrey Kneller. It was published in London by John Boydell in 1694. The Duchess of St. Albans (1642-1712) was a woman named Diana de Vere. She was born in 1642, the daughter of Aubrey de Vere, the 20th Earl of Oxford. In 1662, she married Charles Beauclerk, the illegitimate son of King Charles II and his mistress, Nell Gwyn. As a result of her marriage, Diana became the Duchess of St. Albans, and she and Charles had several children together. Diana was known for her beauty and charm, and she was a prominent figure in the court of King Charles II. Despite her husband's illegitimate birth, Diana was highly respected in the royal court and was known for her intelligence and wit. She was a patron of the arts and supported many artists and writers of the time. Diana lived through a tumultuous period of English history, including the Great Fire of London and the Glorious Revolution, which saw King James II replaced by William of Orange. She died in 1712 at the age of 70 and was buried in Westminster Abbey. Descendants of Diana and her husband, who was an illegitimate son of King Charles II, include Diana, Princess of Wales and her son William, Duke of Cambridge. An author wrote of her: "The line of Vere, so long renown’d in arms, Concludes with luster in St. Albans’s charms; Her conquering eyes have made their race complete, It rose in valor, and in beauty set." This striking mezzotint engraving depicts Diana, Duchess of St Albans in a three-quarter length pose, standing, wearing loose flowing dress and a wrap. She has a very serene, calm appearance as she is looking straight at the viewer. There is a landscape of trees in the background. The print is adhered in the corners to an archival backing, which is itself adhered in the upper corners to a larger backing. The print is trimmed to just beyond the plate mark. There are areas of discoloration in the margins and in the inscription area, but the print is otherwise in very good condition. The sheet measures 14.5" high and 10" wide. This mezzotint is held by multiple museums and institutions, including The British Museum, The National Portrait Gallery London, The Fine Arts Museum of Boston, The Lewis Walpole Library at Yale, The Yale Center for British Art, The Fitzwilliam Museum at Cambridge and The National Galleries of Scotland. The original Kneller painting is part of the British Royal Collection Trust and hangs in the King's Private Dining Room at Hampton Court Palace. Sir Godfrey Kneller (1646-1723) was a leading portrait painter of his time, particularly renowned for his depictions of the British aristocracy and royalty. He was born in Lübeck, Germany, and trained in Amsterdam under the painter Ferdinand Bol...

Polus Antarcticus is a top rare ancient map realized in 1650 by Johannes Janssonius (1588-1664). Good conditions. From Atlantis majoris quinta pars, Orbem maritimum [Novus Atlas, v...

Etching on paper. A lively etching from Jacques Callot’s celebrated series Balli di Sfessania, depicting two grotesque comic figures engaged in an exaggerated dance or mock duel. Id...

Gaspar Peeter Verbruggen 1664-1730 Still Life of Roses in a Glass Vase Oil on oak panel Image size: 8 ¾ x 7 ½ inches (22.25 x 19 cm) Contemporary Dutch ebonised style frame This int...

Artist: Jacques Callot (French, 1592-1635) Title: Pasquariello Truonno, Meo Squaquara Year: 1622 Medium: Etching Paper: Laid paper Size of paper: 2.35 x 3.95 inches Condition: Very g...

Roman ruins is an original old master artwork realized realized by a follower of the artist Giovanni Paolo Panini and attributed to Francis Harding (1730-1766). Mixed colored oil on canvas. Includes frame. The work is a replica of Panini's canvas made around 1740, made known by Ferdinando Arisi in his 1986 monograph (Cat.456) as belonging to the Galleria Taccani in Milan and recently reappeared on the London market...

San Francesco Saverio (Saint Francis Xavier), one of the most influential Christian missionaries in history. He was born into a noble Basque family in the Kingdom of Navarre, now par...

The work takes up the fresco created by Pietro da Cortona on a wall of the Sala della Stufa in the Pitti Palace, part of the cycle of the Four Ages of 'Man, inspired by Ovid's Metamo...

The internal organs is an ancient original etching Table no. 36 of the popular "De Humani Corporis Fabrica" by Andrea Vesalio, in the 1642 edition by Nicolaus Fontanus (Fontayn), Am...

This is a hand-colored copper plate engraving entitled "Ptarmica Vulgaris (Sneezewort), Papaver Spinosum (Mexican Poppy), Chrysocame Peregrina (Seaside Strawflower)", depicting flowering Sneezewort, Mexican Poppy and Seaside Strawberry plants respectively from Basilius Besler's landmark work, Hortus Eystettensis (Garden at Eichstatt), first published in 1613 in Eichstatt, Germany near Nuremberg and later in 1640 and 1713. This beautiful colorful engraving is printed on thin laid chain-linked paper. The left margin is thinner than the others and the left edge is somewhat irregular where the engraving was previously bound in the original publication. The print is otherwise in excellent condition with striking hand-coloring. The sheet measures 20" high and 16.38" wide. Basilius Besler (1561–1629) was an apothecary and botanist. He was curator of the Willibaldsburg Castle garden of Johann Konrad von Gemmingen, prince bishop...

Oil painting on canvas. Venetian school of the seventeenth century. Entirely in the foreground, this scene of a group of sacred figures, which presents the faces of Mary and the Chil...

Jacob De Heusch (Utrecht, Netherlands, 1657 – Amsterdam, Netherlands, 1701) Title: Pair of Landscapes Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: without frame 50 x 8...

This mid-17th-century Spanish oil on canvas depicts a dignified man of learning - a theologian, or perhaps a cathedral canon. Dressed in a black cassock, marked by a vertical row of...

Remembering the magic of everyday life moments in the art of David Teniers: The art of David Teniers the Younger (1610–1690) coincided with the heyday of the Flemish Baroque and captured a great variety of motifs of his time. In this painting of a seemingly simple peasant scene lies keys to understanding both the imaginative mind of Teniers as well as why this time period produced some of the most iconic works in all of art history.  As indicated by the name, Teniers was more or less born into his profession. As the son of David Teniers the elder, himself a painter who studied under Rubens, the younger David received training in art from a very young age and had no less than three brothers who also became painters. Because of his father’s frequent financial failures that even at times saw him imprisoned, David the younger helped to rescue the family from ruin through painting copies of old masters. Essentially, the young Teniers was confronted with painting as both a passion and creative expression as well as a necessity during difficult times, an experience that would shape much of his capacity and sensitivity in his coming life. Despite the hardships, the talent and determination of Teniers was recognized and quickly expanded his possibilities. He had already spent time in France and possibly also England when he was hired by his father’s former teacher Rubens to help with a prestigious commission with mythological paintings, now considered lost, for Philip IV the king Spain. In 1644–54 Teniers was appointed dean of the Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke, manifesting his esteemed position within the artistic community. A few years afterwards he took an important step when relocating to Brussels, where Teniers yet again found new career opportunities that would prove to be very successful. As the keeper of the collections of Archduke Leopold Wilhelm, a role similar to what we now refer to as an art advisor, Teniers purchased hundreds of important artworks that manifested the prominent status of the Archduke’s collection while at the same time providing an unusual access to inspiration and knowledge for Teniers himself. Since he kept on painting during the same time, his creative scope must have seemed almost bewildering in the great variety of images and stories that he surrounded himself with.  Regardless of how glamorous and culturally stimulating the career of Teniers was, he was as open to the charm and existential importance of everyday life as he was to works of great masters and luxurious collectibles. In his impressive repertoire of genres with everything from exquisite royal portraits, interiors, landscapes and history paintings he always added something new and inventive, highlighting the possibilities of art and importance of an experimental and intuitive mind. It is difficult to single out one aspect or genre to summarize his legacy, since it lies much more in the broad virtuosity across many motifs, although he is particularly remembered for farm scenes and meticulously depicted interiors where other paintings and artworks are captured with an astonishing precision. However, the fact that he is still today one of the most known and celebrated names of the Dutch Golden Age is a proof to the magic of his work, which continues to spark dialogue and wonder in the contemporary viewer of his works. The farm boy in the field in this painting, which likely dates to the mature part of his career, is a wonderful entry into the mind of Teniers. In the tightly cropped motif, we see him standing right in the middle of the busy harvest when men, women and everyone capable were sent out in the field to collect the crop that formed the very core of their diet and survival. In the background we see a fresh blue sky interspersed with skillfully painted clouds, some trees reaching their autumnal colours and in the far distance the glimpse of a small church and village. The presence of a church in a landscape, so typical of Dutch art, served both a symbolic and visual function as a representation of faith while at the same time defining scale and distance. In the field, the work is in full action with the farmers spread out in various positions, all in the midst of hard and sweaty labour. While they are portrayed as having nothing else than the work on their mind, our farm boy seems to have his attention directed elsewhere. Standing there with his white, half open shirt, flowy curls and strong, sturdy body; his gaze is directed away, out of the picture and the scythes in his hands. He looks almost smirking, expressed with tremendous subtlety in the slight smile of his lips and big eyes, being just in the middle of losing focus on the work. What is it that steals his attention? What has he seen, or realized, or felt – to break him free of the arduous task of harvesting, if but for a moment? Here starts the wondering and the questions that are the hallmark of a great piece of art. Instead of explicitly locking in the motif in overly clear symbolism Teniers has chosen an open ended, subtle yet striking moment for us to consider. While it of course can be related to numerous other farm scene depictions of this time, and clever usages of gazes and real-life scenes to underscore various moral or symbolic meanings, the painting can be much more of a contemplation than an explanation or illustration. The ordinary nature and understated yet emotionally textured composition of the motif gives greater space for our own reactions and thoughts. Has he seen a pretty farm girl just passing by? Is he fed up with the farm life, joyously dreaming away for a minute, imagining another future? Or is he simply in need of distraction, looking away and ready for anything that can steal his attention? One quality that never seem to have escaped Teniers was that of curiosity. During all of his career he constantly investigated, expanded and experimented with not only the style and technique of painting, but with the vision of art itself. Being credited with more or less introducing farm motifs for a broader audience not only tells us of his ability to understand the demand for different motifs, but the sensitivity to transform seemingly ordinary parts of life into deep aesthetic experiences, far beyond their expected reach. The farm boy in this painting is, of course, exactly that. But with the help of one smirk the entire picture is charged with a different energy, awakening many contrasts and relationships between the calm landscape, the hard work and his own breach of effectivity, holding sharp scythes while thinking or seeing something else. It is no wonder Teniers chose to work with farm scenes as a way of investigating these intricate and delicate plays on expectations and surprises, clarity and ambivalence. It invites us to an appreciation of human everyday life that connects us with the people of 17th century...

The Peruvian Chancay (pre-Columbian) Mummy Bundle mask, from around 1600 is made of painted wood, textiles, and human hair. According to the Walters Art Museum: Andean cultures are ...

Oil painting on canvas. In the beautiful composition you can see, resting on an inlaid wooden sideboard, a basket full of cherries, some of which are scattered on the top, and a plat...

Engraving on cream wove paper, 8 x 5 3/8 inches (203 x 137 mm), narrow to thread margins. First state (of 2). A fine impression with archival paper adhered at left top and bottom cor...

Baroque 17th century German fountain design Copper-line engraving, published in 1664 in Nuremberg. From 'Architectura Curiosa Nova' by George Andreas B...

Caravaggesque painter active in Rome in the 17th century A group of musicians in an inn Oil on canvas 74 x 99 cm. - Framed 93 x 121 cm. The scene depicted belongs to a subjec...

Anemogra Phica is a rare ancient map realized in 1650 by Johannes Janssonius (1588-1664). First modern map of the Pacific Ocean. Good conditions. From Atlantis majoris quinta pars,...

Circle of Teniers, Peasants in a Landscape passing by a river and an Inn.

Julius Porcellis (Rotterdam 1610 – 1645 Leiden) attributable Seascape with ships Oil on wood panel (oak) 52 x 84 cm In gilded wood frame 77 x 108 cm The painting on display d...

Alessandro Maffei, After Elisabeth Louise Vigee Le Brun, Italian - Portrait of Marie Gabrielle de Gramont, Medium: Oil on Canvas, signed lower right, Size: 39.25 x 27.25 in. (99.7 ...

A fine European portrait of a priest, oil on canvas, probably dating to the 17th or 18th century, unsigned, with original stretcher, minor surface losses and damage, craquelure, edge...

Giovanni Domenico Ferrucci (Fiesole, Italy, 1619 – Lucca, Italy, post 1669) Title: The Death of Cleopatra Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: without frame 85 x 70.7 cm – with frame 10...

This is a hand-colored copper plate engraving entitled "Pulegium Cervinum, Pseudo Pulegium Struthium, Pulegium Regium", depicting flowering Peppermint, Weld and Pennyroyal plants respectively from Basilius Besler's landmark work, Hortus Eystettensis (Garden at Eichstatt), first published in 1613 in Eichstatt, Germany near Nuremberg and later in 1640 and 1713. This beautiful colorful engraving is printed on thin laid chain-linked paper. There are subtle creases in the right upper corner, very common with Besler's relating to the drying of the paper during its production. The right margin is thinner than the others. The print is otherwise in excellent condition with striking hand-coloring. Basilius Besler (1561–1629) was an apothecary and botanist. He was curator of the Willibaldsburg Castle garden of Johann Konrad von Gemmingen, prince bishop...

The Human Skeleton is a original etching realized as plate no. 20 of Andrea Vesalio's "De Humani Corporis Fabrica". The "De Humani Corporis Fabrica is...

Oil on Canvas. Flemish school of the XVII-XVIII century. The main scene takes place in a vast Nordic landscape, within a forest teeming with twisted trees, and on the right, a city o...

Piedmontese painter (18th century) - Landscape with ruins and figures. 97 x 138 cm (without frame) - 114 x 156 cm (with frame). Oil on canvas, unframed (not signed). The painting ...

Artist: Adriaen Van Ostade (Dutch, 1610-1685) Title: Smoker Leaning on the Back of a Chair Year: 1672 Medium: Etching Paper: Laid paper Image size: 4.1 x 3.55 inches Signature: Si...