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.
$21,750Sale Price|25% Off
Erotic Sexual Mythological Marble Figural, Nude woman, Bacchante and Satyr Herm
Located in Miami, FL
Bacchic revelry. A sexy and nude curvaceous young Nymph/Bacchante makes amorous advances to a Herm - whose facial expression reflects her erotic touch. The Herm is stylized where his...
Marble
$38,000
Nude Male Bronze Runner patinated Runner of Herculan Classical After the Antique
Located in Miami, FL
The present work is a beautifully proportioned, handsome bronze nude male with classically refined Roman features in the Antique style. The statue weighs around 135 to 175 lbs. It's...
Bronze
$32,534Sale Price|20% Off
Vanitas Vanitatum, 180 cm, bronze sculpture, Old Masters style, limited edition
Located in Villafranca Di Verona, IT
Numbered and limited to 8 copies Signature: Hand-signed by artist Authenticity: Sold with certificate of Authenticity from the gallery Invoice from the gallery Sculpture: bronze, me...
Metal, Bronze
$28,806
H 34.65 in W 9.85 in
Quis Mihi Iniuriam Facet Bronze Sculpture Nude Boy Male Figure Marble
Located in Utrecht, NL
Quis Mihi Iniuriam Facet Bronze Sculpture Nude Boy Male Figure Marble Stone Wim van der Kant (1949, Kampen) is a selftaught artist. Next to his busy profession as a teacher at a high school, he intensively practises his profession as a sculptor. Only when his work would measure up to his own standards, he decided to present it to the rest of the world...
Marble, Bronze
$1,350
H 11.5 in W 4.75 in D 2.5 in
Young Goatherder Bronze Sculpture by Oscar Gladenbeck, circa 1900
Located in Rochester, NY
Bronze statue of young goatherder by Oscar Gladenbeck. circa 1900. Signed "Oscar Gladenbeck Friedrichshagen". period sculpted artist sculpture collectio...
Bronze
$16,805
H 17.72 in W 7.88 in
Crepis Bronze Sculpture Nude Boy Male Figure Marble Stone
Located in Utrecht, NL
Crepis Bronze Sculpture Nude Boy Male Figure Marble Stone Wim van der Kant (1949, Kampen) is a selftaught artist. Next to his busy profession as a teacher at...
Marble, Bronze
$4,900
H 21 in W 13 in
1961 Coty Award Plaque Kenneth Hairdresser Jacqueline Onassis Bronze Fashion
Located in New York, NY
1961 Coty Award Plaque Kenneth Hairdresser Jacqueline Onassis Bronze Fashion Bronze on wood. The wood plaque measures 12 3/4" by 20 3/4 inches. The bronze plaque itself is 13 3/4 x 8 3/4 inches and the the bronze inscription, which reads "COTY, American Fashion Critics Special Award 1961 to KENNETH of LILY DACHE...
Bronze
$925Sale Price|51% Off
H 7.5 in W 14.6 in D 6.5 in
After Botero - Horizontal Nude Woman Bronze Sculpture
Located in Cuauhtemoc, Ciudad de México
This AFTER BOTERO sculpture is a very beautiful, faithful reproduction in the style of BOTERO'S work that has sold very well here on 1st Dibs. The edition is 50 in Roman numerals. ...
Marble, Bronze
$1,486
H 11.82 in W 2.96 in D 2.96 in
Amanda by Nando Kallweit. Elegant figurative sculpture of a female.
Located in Coltishall, GB
Amandas unique silhouette makes her an admirable centerpiece, capable of commanding attention in any setting. Her minimalist design highlights smooth contours and sinuous lines that ...
Bronze
$3,154
H 15.36 in W 6.7 in D 4.73 in
Classical-Style Greek Marble Sculpture Torso Of A Woman Italian Early 20th
Located in Roma, Lazio
A classical-style Greek sculpture depicting the torso of a woman in marble, wearing a draped dress with detailed folds in the fabric. The dress features a gathered neckline, short pu...
Marble
$4,406
H 11.82 in W 5.52 in D 7.88 in
1920s Italian Art Decò Signed Bronze Sculpture Nude of Woman
By Gaetano Martinez
Located in Roma, IT
Wonderful Italian sculpture representing a seated maiden. The artwork rests on a square marble base Signed on the base “Gaetano Martinez Roma” According a written opinion by Prof. Al...
Marble, Bronze
$1,486
H 11.82 in W 2.96 in D 2.96 in
Trisha by Nando Kallweit. Elegant figurative sculpture of a female.
Located in Coltishall, GB
Trishas unique silhouette makes her an admirable centerpiece, capable of commanding attention in any setting. Her minimalist design highlights smooth contours and sinuous lines that ...
Bronze
19th Century Bronze of the Borghese Gladiator Sculpture
Located in Beachwood, OH
The Borghese Gladiator, 19th Century Bronze on marble base Musée du Louvre signed on base 15 x 12 x 8 inches Since its discovery in the early seventeenth century, the Borghese Gladi...
Marble, Bronze
$374,500
H 88.25 in W 21.5 in D 25.75 in
Italian 19th Carved Marble Figure of a Nude Young Bather Girl by Pietro Bazzanti
Located in LA, CA
Pietro Bazzanti - Barzanti (Italian, 1825-1895) "After the Bath" - a fantastic quality and large carved white Carrara marble figure of a semi-nude young maiden standing by the sea-shore. The smiling and posing young beauty, with bare breasts and back, her right arm juxtaposed over her head, while holding a blanket over her waist with her left hand and standing barefoot by a rocky seawall and wavy shoreline. Signed 'P. Barzanti/Florence' (on reverse) and raised on a cylindrical swiveling carved verde antico solid marble pedestal. circa: Florence, 1880-1890. Pietro Bazzanti or Barzanti (Italian, 1825-1895) was a 19th Century Italian sculptor born in Florence. Together with his brother, Niccolò Bazzanti (Firenze, 1802-1869) who was also a sculptor, they both worked the sprawling Florentine studio 'Pietro Bazzanti e Figlio' a hugely successful sculpture studio, operated within the family at their gallery on Lungarno Corsini until the mid-twentieth century. The studio was a place where many talented professors and apprentice sculptors specialized in sculpting marble genre scenes and allegorical figures as well as copies of antique and Renaissance sculpture catered to a prominent international clientele which included European and Russian aristocracy, and the Industrial fortunes being made in England and Americas drove considerable export demand. In 1861 the studio was awarded the medal for 'Ercole con cinghiale sulla spalla' (Hercules with boar on shoulder), 'Due Cani' (Two dogs) and 'Cinghiale' (Boar) sculptures at the National Exposition in Florence. In 1874 he exhibits his works in London and in 1876 in Philadelphia. Bazzanti frequently returned to the subject of 'After the Bath' or 'The Bather' in his works, having carved examples of the bathing Venus after the Antique and in dynamic and dramatic compositions such as the present sculpture. The finely-detailed work relates closely to popular figures produced by Bazzanti’s contemporary, Cesar Lapini, whose La Sopresa depicts a young woman stepping back from approaching waves. The sculptor’s penchant for realism is on full display with the contrasting matte and highly-polished finishes of the gently lapping waves at the figure’s feet, to the jutting rocks and soft skin. Elegant handling of textures is further exemplified in the draped fringe of the cloth. This monumental and Fine work is illustrated in situ at Bazzanti’s studio circa 1900 among other fashionable works of the period. Notes: Pietro Bazzanti was also known as Pietro Barzanti. There are conflicting dates of Pietro Bazzanti/Barzanti's birth/death year. Some auction houses and art galleries have described 'Pietro Barzanti' as Italian, 1842–1881 and Pietro Bazzanti as Italian, 1825-1895. However, according to Alfonso Panzetta – Nuovo Dizionario degli Scultori Italiani dell’ottocento e del Primo Novecento – 2003 Edition –Page 78, 'Pietro Barzanti' was in fact 'Pietro Bazzanti' one and the same, and it questions his year of his birth/death as "Firenze (?), ?, ?." thus we believe that the Italian, 1825-1895 description is the most plausible. Literature: Alfonso Panzetta – Nuovo Dizionario degli Scultori Italiani dell’ottocento e del Primo Novecento – 2003 Edition –Page 78. Auctions: Another example of this sculpture, probably also Pietro Bazzanti but almost a foot shorter (Height 44¾ in. (113.5 cm), unsigned and without its pedestal, was sold at Christie's New York, 19th Century Furniture, Sculpture, Works of Art and Ceramics Sale...
Marble
$3,600Sale Price|20% Off
H 6 in W 12.5 in
Contemporary Reclining Bronze Nude Figurative Sculpture 'Spirit', brown, desktop
By Carl Payne
Located in Shrewsbury, Shropshire
'Spirit' by Carl Payne. Edition of 25. A small desktop bronze sculpture of a reclining nude figure captures the timeless beauty of the human form in a moment of repose. The sculptor...
Bronze
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H 7.49 in W 4.34 in D 5.52 in
Ancient style Italian sculptor - Late 18th century figure sculpture - Spinario
Located in Varmo, IT
Bronze table sculpture - Spinario (copy from the antique) - Italy, late 19th century. 11 x 14 x h 19 cm. Entirely in chiseled bronze. - The work is a late nineteenth-century copy ...
Bronze
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H 46.46 in W 20.08 in D 10.24 in
Pair of 19th century scagliola sculptures (Italian Neoclassicism) - Roman figure
Located in Varmo, IT
Pair of scagliola sculptures - Roman figures. Italian manufacture, 19th century. 51 x 26 x h 118 cm (left) - 41 x 28 x h 118 cm (right). Made entirely of scagliola. Depicting two f...
Plaster
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H 8.27 in W 11.82 in D 1.58 in
Georg Christian Freund, Terracotta Relief, Signed and Dated 1899
Located in Stockholm, Stockholm
A fine terracotta relief of Venus and Cupid by Georg Christian Freund, (1821 - 1900), a Danish sculptor. Signed and dated 1899. Mounted in the original hand carved frame, possibly m...
Terracotta
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H 9.82 in W 16.13 in D 2.75 in
Hercules carrying the World, a sculpture after Annibale Carracci's fresco
By Annibale Carracci
Located in PARIS, FR
This vigorous terracotta was inspired by a fresco created by Annibale Carracci to decorate the ceiling of the Camerino Farnese, a room on the ground ...
Terracotta
Female Figural Nude White Carrara Marble by Antonio Piazza
Located in New York, NY
Finely carved antique white Carrara marble sculpture featuring a seated female nude looking down on a rocky plinth. Artist: Antonio Piazza (1875-1925) Signed on base A. Piazza - Car...
Marble
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H 14 in W 6 in D 5 in
Nude Terracotta Sculpture Torso of Hercules 19th Century Roman Academy
Located in Roma, Lazio
The Rome of the renaissance had seen the flourishing of numerous academies, seats of an intellectual nobility enrolled in cardinal and noble patronage at these foundations represented for a new...
Terracotta
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H 16 in W 7 in D 5 in
Nude Terracotta Sculpture Torso of Male Athlete 19th Century Roman Academy
Located in Roma, Lazio
The Rome of the renaissance had seen the flourishing of numerous academies, seats of an intellectual nobility enrolled in cardinal and noble patronage at these foundations represented for a new...
Terracotta