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.
Find a collection of Old Masters prints, paintings, drawings and watercolors and other art on 1stDibs.
Spoils, 2021, White Soils with Earthenware with Freshwater Pearls
By Matt Smith
Located in London, GB
White Earthenware with Freshwater Pearls 55 x 36 x 17 cm 21 5/8 x 14 1/8 x 6 3/4 in. UK-born Matt Smith is well known for his site-specific work in museums, galleries and historic h...
Earthenware
Joey (Spout with pearls)
By Matt Smith
Located in London, GB
MATT SMITH Joey (Spout with pearls), 2021 Black Parian, Freshwater pearls 20 x 12 x 7 cm 7 3/4 x 4 3/4 x 2 3/4 in. (MS211)
Porcelain, Precious Stone
$3,000
H 17 in W 13 in D 2 in
Gold Gilt Bronze Sculpture Pendant Israeli Tumarkin Abstract Modernist Jewelry
Located in Surfside, FL
Measures about 4.25 X 2.25 inches. Box frame is 17 X 13 inches. Signed by artist verso. From the literature that I have seen I believe the edition size was limited to 10, I do not kn...
Gold, Bronze
$4,280
H 9.75 in W 11 in D 9.5 in
"Beach-Combed Mochaware, " Mixed Media Sculpture
Located in Chicago, IL
Based in Chicago, IL, contemporary artist Michael Thompson creates unique kites, collages and mixed media works assembled from material fragments of past and present collected in his travels. In his ongoing series of memory jugs, Thompson adorns stoneware vessels with a kaleidoscope of ceramic shards, found objects, and pocket-sized trinkets he collected over the course of his life. Also known as forget-me-not jugs or spirit jars, memory jugs are African American folk art objects that honor a loved one who has recently passed. Small tokens and mementos of the deceased are gathered and affixed to the exterior of a jug or vase, an abundance of memories that celebrates a life lived to the fullest. Michael Thompson applies this tradition to his own practice, creating tactile assemblages of this and that. Formed in the manner of collage, each jug honors the lost memories of generations past and his own memories of personally discovering each item. With varied sources for materials including Kyoto, Turkey, and Mexico, a great number of the found shards are 18th and 19th century ceramics...
Stone
$1,167Sale Price|20% Off
H 12.6 in W 12.6 in D 2.96 in
Modeling Clay And Enamel Wall Relief On Fir Wood With Miniature Assemblage
By Vera Vizzi
Located in FISTERRA, ES
Modeling clay and enamel sculptural relief on fir wood that transposes runaway thought into a looping painted ribbon. This modeled sculptural relief, executed in modeling clay and e...
Enamel
$470
H 10.24 in W 6.11 in D 1.19 in
Surreal Modeling Clay Ping Pong Racket Relief With Miniature Figure on motorbike
By Vera Vizzi
Located in FISTERRA, ES
Modeling-clay relief on a repurposed ping-pong racket where a luminous chroma spot animates a restrained, tactile surface. Scintilla is a concise mixed-media relief that foregrounds ...
Paste, Clay, Found Objects, Acrylic
Ampersand
By Stephanie Lanter
Located in Kansas City, MO
Artist : Stephanie Lanter Title : "Ampersand" Materials : Porcelain, glaze, stoneware Date : 2020 Dimensions : 15" x 9.5" x 6" Description : Manually ...
Ceramic, Luster, Porcelain, Slip, Glaze, Underglaze, Stoneware
$470
H 10.24 in W 6.11 in D 1.19 in
Modeling Clay Ping Pong Racket Relief in Sky Blue Mixed-Media Wall Sculpture
By Vera Vizzi
Located in FISTERRA, ES
Modeling clay and acrylic relief on a repurposed ping-pong racket, a compact mixed-media wall sculpture that stages sky, horizon and a suspended spherical element. This compact mixe...
Paste, Clay, Found Objects, Acrylic
Sold|$10,531
H 37.01 in W 27.96 in
Sculpture Nativity Spain 16th Century Wood Old master
Located in Riva del Garda, IT
High relief sculpture depicting the Nativity Spain (Seville) - second half of the 16th century Carved and engraved wood, polychrome with gold finishes Dimensions: 94 x 71 cm. ...
Wood
$1,389
H 17.72 in W 17.72 in D 1.97 in
Pop Surrealist Sugar and Pills Foam Clay and Enamel Relief Winter Landscape
By Vera Vizzi
Located in FISTERRA, ES
Snowy bands of foam clay unfold like a winter landscape in this tactile relief, where confectionery discs and miniature pill-like figures puncture the porous white field. Executed as...
Enamel
$470
H 10.24 in W 6.11 in D 1.19 in
Modeling Clay And Granular Paste Relief On Ping Pong Racket With Ocean Seascape
By Vera Vizzi
Located in FISTERRA, ES
Modeling clay and granular paste relief on a ping pong racket finished in acrylic, a compact mixed-media wall relief that evokes wind, sea and sudden light. This work repurposes a q...
Paste, Clay, Acrylic, Found Objects
$1,600
H 1.97 in Dm 19.69 in
Avalanche Moon Relief in Foam Clay Acrylic White Palette Circular Wall Relief
By Vera Vizzi
Located in FISTERRA, ES
Avalanche moon relief in foam clay and acrylic, white palette with pill-like figurines, stages a snowlike flood that links natural avalanche imagery to mental and psychiatric metapho...
Enamel
$31,600Sale Price|20% Off
H 11 in W 10 in D 7 in
Pichet Gravé Gris (Ceramic Pitcher)
Located in Aventura, FL
White earthenware ceramic pitcher painted in black, white and grey patina with knife engraving and partial brushed glaze. Inscribed 'Edition Picasso' in black and with the Edition P...
Earthenware, Ceramic
$600
H 10 in W 8.5 in D 8 in
Ruba Rombic "Large Vase" Art Deco Porcelain Vase Edition by artist Charles Lutz
By Charles Lutz
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Finding inspiration from the Ruba Rombic line of Art Moderne glassware retailed by Kaufmann's Department Store in the late 1920s, artist Charles Lutz creates a striking sculptural vase featuring a complex geometry of angles and trapezoidal planes. Titled "Large Vase" (after Ruba Rombic), each piece has a matte unglazed exterior...
Porcelain
Sold
H 37.01 in W 27.96 in
Sculpture Nativity Spain 16th Century Wood Old master
Located in Riva del Garda, IT
High relief sculpture depicting the Nativity Spain (Seville) - second half of the 16th century Carved and engraved wood, polychrome with gold finishes Dimensions: 94 x 71 cm. ...
Wood
Sold
H 46.86 in W 19.3 in
Venetian Sculpture 17th Century Wood Italian Old master Soldier Roma War Gold
Located in Riva del Garda, IT
Venetian Baroque sculptor of the 17th century Full-length wooden sculpture of a Roman soldier Wood (walnut?) Carved, polychrome and gilded Dimensions: Total height: 118 cm. - Width: 49 cm. This valuable seventeenth-century wooden sculpture, which strikes for its sumptuous beauty, highlighted by the full-length construction as well as by the all-round finishing, is a work whose stylistic models allow us to attribute the work to a baroque carver active in the Venetian area in the Six hundred. The figure, which is realistically described especially in the splendid rendering of the clothes, cadenced in the drapery and in the sinuous movement of the body, stylistically refers to the rich and successful production of northern Italian sculptures, Venetian in particular, between the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. It is a sculpture depicting a Roman soldier, perhaps a centurion, placed on a decorated pedestal, on which a crown is carved into which two palms of martyrdom are intertwined. This iconographic detail could make us interpret the figure as part of a more articulated religious composition, probably one of the numerous centurions that enriched a Calvary or a Via Crucis. The excellent state of conservation finally allows you to fully appreciate the quality of the carving. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: The sculpture in question is sold with a certificate of authenticity and a descriptive iconographic card. We take care and organize the transport of the purchased works, both for Italy and abroad, through professional and insured carriers. It is also possible to see the painting in the Riva del Garda...
Gold