Old Masters Art

Charming 17th-century genre scene, attributed to the entourage of Adriaen van Ostade, and appraised by Cabinet Turquin. The work vividly illustrates a lively peasant interior, where ...

NAPLES - Oil on oval canvas cm.30x50 by Ettore Ferrante, Italy 2003. Gold leaf gilded wooden frame cm.48x68 available on request Ettore Ferrante is a refined and excellent landscape ...

(Mogliano 1720–1778 Roma) “Veduta degli avanzi del tablino della Casa aurea di Nerone detti volgarmente il Tempio della Pace”, 1774, aguafuerte sobre papel verjurado, firmado Cavalie...

Luca Forte (Naples, 1615 ca. - 1670 ca.) Title: Walnuts, Chestnuts, a Bunch of Grapes and a Quince Medium: Oil on walnut panel Dimensions: without frame 13 x 22.5 cm - with frame 31 ...

François Vivares was known to have produced several copies of images after older masters, such as, in this case, Rembrandt van Rijn. In this set, Vivares reproduces "The Quacksalver" (1635, Bartsch 129), "Beggar man and beggar woman conversing" (1630, Bartsch 164), and "Beggar Seated Warming...

Gioacchino Toma (Galatina, Italy, 1836 – Naples, Italy, 1891) Title: The Ash Rain of Mount Vesuvius Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: without frame 93 x 150 cm - with frame 112 x 166...

This early 19th century etching entitled "Veduta dei Grandi Avanzi delle Terme Antoniane, o di Caracalla" (The baths of Caracalla) was created by Luigi Rossini and included in his pu...

Dominicus van der Smissen Early 18th Century Portrait of Conrad Friedrich Hurlebusch Oil on canvas Image size: 20½ x 16¼ inches Period gilt frame This is a portrait of Conrad Friedrich Hurlebusch, composer, Kapellmeister and organist, whom Van der Smissen most probably portrayed during his stay in Hamburg, Brunswick or Amsterdam. The identification is based on the reproduction of the portrait which was engraved by Pieter Anthony Wakkerdak (1740- 1774). Van der Smissen has reduced the face of the sitters to an egg-shaped oval in three-quarter view, applying diminution to one half of the figure’s torso, which is farther away from the viewer. This partial side view, with the head turned to look at the viewer over the shoulder, creates spatial depth and brings the figure to life by avoiding the stiffness of a frontal depiction. Because the artist chose to highlight the figure from above, a distinct shadow is cast under the tip of the nose, in the shape of a triangle. This is an often recurring and almost ‘signature’-like feature in Van der Smissen’s oeuvre. Hurlebusch's garments are of a very high quality and serve to reflect the sitter’s wealth, status and elegance. During this period, gentlemen often shaved their heads in order to facilitate the wearing of a wig, which wouldbe worn with a suit. Here Hurlebusch has been depicted in a luxurious turban-like cap lined with lynx fur, a highly fashionable and expensive material at the time. Over his shirt, he wears a velvet fur-lined gown adorned with decorative clasps fashioned from silver braid. The elegant informality of his appearance can be seen in his unbuttoned shirt and the unfastened black ribbon hanging from his button hole, which has been artfully arranged into a fluttering drape by the portraitist. The Sitter Hurlebusch was born in Brunswick, Germany. He received the first instructions in his field from his father Heinrich Lorenz Hurlebusch, who was also a musician. As an organ virtuoso, he toured Europe, visiting Vienna, Munich and Italy. From 1723 to 1725 he was Kapellmeister in Stockholm; later he became Kapellmeister in Bayreuth and Brunswick, and lived in Hamburg from 1727 to 1742, where he had contact with fellow composers Johann Mattheson and Georg Philipp Telemann. He made his living composing, performing and teaching. In 1735 and 1736, he is believed to have visited Johann Sebastian Bach in Leipzig, who promoted Hurlebusch’s compositions as the local seller...

We would like to thank Mrs. Ursula Verena Fischer Pace for suggesting the attribution to Donato Arsenio Mascagni. We were immediately seduced by the rich tonalities of this allegory...

Bartolomeo Guidobono (Savona, Italy, 1654 - Turin, Italy, 1709) Title: Bacchanal with Maenads, Satyrs and Nymphs Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: without frame 120 x 110 cm - with f...

"Two Rams Looking Down, One Quarter View, One Straight Ahead" is an original etching by Karel DuJardin. DuJardin completed many delicate etchings of ram...

Paris: Israël Henriet, c1680. Etching with engraving on cream laid paper, laid down to a cream laid paper matrix, 3 1/8 x 7 1/8 inches (78 x 180 mm), the full sheet with thread marg...

This recently rediscovered portrait of Santi di Tito depicts a Florentine senator, with a letter in his hand indicating that the painting was executed in 1574 when the sitter was 66 years old. On the basis of these clues, it is tempting to view it as a portrait of Bartolomeo Panciatichi, who was painted some thirty years before by Bronzino (1503 - 1572). While the treatment of the hands recalls the Florentine tradition of Mannerist portraits, the comparison with Bronzino's portrait illustrates Santi di Tito's search for greater realism, despite the stereotyped composition. 1. Santi di Tito, Counter-Reformation painter and portraitist Santi di Tito was the great painter of the Florentine Counter-Reformation. He proposed a new artistic language that broke away from Mannerism. Little is known about his training in Florence (perhaps alongside Bronzino or Baccio Bandinelli), but this period of training enabled him to join the Company of Saint Luke, the guild of Florentine painters, in 1554. Between 1560 and 1564, Santi di Tito spent time in Rome, where he frequented the workshop of Taddeo Zuccari. This stay had a fundamental influence on his work, thanks to the discovery of the late work of Raphael, but also his encounters with the painters Francesco Salviati and Federico Barocci. Around 1565, Santi di Tito returned to Florence, where he remained until the end of his life, dividing his talents between the creation of important religious paintings and countless portraits. He became one of the city's leading painters, distinguishing himself, in particular, in the creation of large religious compositions in which the spirit of the Counter-Reformation was reflected. In 1568, Santi di Tito became a member of the Confraternity of Saint Thomas Aquinas...

Giuseppe Nuvolone (Milan, 1619 – 1703) Title: Adoration of the Magi Medium: Oil on paper applied to canvas Dimensions: without frame 16.5 x 24 cm – with frame 22 x 29 cm Antique sha...

Guardian (dog) A terrier peers from a square opening like a watchful sentinel. With the inscription Canis Lupus, Surdo links domestic affection to something older and more primal. Th...

Andrea Locatelli (Rome, Italy, 1695 – 1741) Title: Landscape with fisherman Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: Without frame 27 x 28.5 cm – with frame 35 x 47.6 x 3.5 cm Not signed ...

Copperplate stipple engraving with hand coloring in watercolor, 17 1/2 x 10 1/4 inches (445 x 260 mm), the full sheet, full margins. In very good condition with some minor, light sta...

Domenico Maria Canuti (Bologna 1626 - 1684) Title: Toilet of Venus with Cupids and Satyrs Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: without frame 79 x 98 cm - ...

Tome X – Plate LVII, p. 362, from Histoire Naturelle, Générale et Particulière., Paris 1771. Copper engraving. Paris, 18th century. Sheet size: approx. 24.5 x 19.5 cm. A refined ana...

Austrian School 18th Century Tri-Directional Portrait Commemorating the Russo-Turkish War Oil on wooden strips This extraordinary tri-directional portrait exemplifies the rare innovation known as a triscenorama, capturing a pivotal diplomatic moment through ingenious artistic technique. Employing triangularly cut wooden strips, this remarkable work simultaneously depicts three imperial figures central to the Russo-Turkish War of 1735-1739: Empress Anna Ivanovna Romanova of Russia when viewed directly, Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI from the left and Ottoman Sultan Mahmud I from the right, commemorating the Treaty of Nissa that concluded this significant European conflict. The portrait utilizes an exceptionally rare optical technique that predates modern movable imaging technology. When observed from different angles, the painted triangular wooden strips create a transformative effect, revealing entirely different imperial portraits as the viewer shifts position. The precision required to execute such a work demonstrates remarkable technical mastery, as the artist had to conceptualize three distinct portraits as well as the meticulous arrangement of the panels. This sophisticated manipulation of perspective creates an interactive viewing experience considered revolutionary for its time. Almost certainly created by an Austrian artist, this diplomatic artwork likely served as a commemorative piece marking the Treaty of Nissa, signed in September 1739. The treaty concluded Russia's ambitious campaign to secure access to the Black Sea while countering Ottoman raids in Ukraine and the Caucasus regions. Given its exceptional quality and historical significance, this portrait was possibly commissioned by Emperor Charles VI himself, potentially serving as a diplomatic gift to either Empress Anna or Sultan Mahmud I during the treaty negotiations. Under Empress Anna's leadership, Russia sought to counter devastating raids from Ottoman allies, particularly the Crimean Tatars...

Circle of Jean-Étienne Liotard (Geneva, Switzerland, 1702 – 1789) Portrait of a lady Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: without frame 73 x 58 cm – with frame 87.8 x 73.7 x 4.5 cm Not ...

A an impression after Rembrandt's only state of this image. Paris: 1644. Etching and engraving on high quality buff wove paper 4 7/8 x 4 1/2 inches (124 x 114 mm); sheet 12 5/8 x 1...

17th Century Italian School. A Still Life of Fruit on a Marble Ledge, with a Ewer to the side, Oil on Canvas, Unframed, 22" x 26.5" (56 x 67.3cm). Con...

Shackled Ottoman slaves prepare a communal meal in a military field camp. A superb impression from an important English collection. Rome: M. Scheap, 1658. Engraving on cream laid p...

Portrait of the Princess of Conti - Attributed to Louis Ferdinand Elle the Younger (1648-1717) Late 17th century French school Oil on canvas, h. 100 cm, l. 80 cm Important Louis XIV ...

Conditions : Very good overall Conditions. No repair, normal use of age. Framed 19th Black. Complementary shipping worlwide by DHL, FEDEX. Returning customers : 25% OFF listed price ...

French School, late 18th century, circle of Jean-Baptiste Greuze (1725–1805) Young Girl with a Basket of Fruit Oil on canvas, preparatory work, Unsigned 39 x 31 cm Provenance: Pri...

Woodcut on laid paper, 8 3/8 x 9 1/8 inches (212 x 233 mm), the full sheet. In excellent condition with text and portraits of Empedocles, Sapho, Zeuxis and others on the verso, as is...

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...

A Still Life of Turtles, An Eel, Pike, Lobsters and other Fish on the Shore, A Ship in the Stormy Seas Beyond Signed and dated lower left 1640 Inscribed with inventory number lower right: no. 44 Oil on canvas Framed 29.5 x 37.9 inches Provenance Anonymous sale, London, Sotheby's, 15 April 1999, lot 87, (as 'Circle of Giuseppe...

Frederick Almond Zimmerman American, 1886-1974 Old Colonial Oil on canvas 25 by 25 in, w/ frame 32 ½ by 32 ½ in Signed lower right Inventory Number: 01867 Landscape painter. Born ...

In The Union of Different Skies, Bruno Surdo transforms an ordinary urban crowd into a contemporary history painting. The compressed space, layered figures, and heightened atmosphere...

The Bustling of Time captures one of Bruno Surdo’s recurring strengths: his ability to turn an ordinary public moment into something quietly theatrical and emotionally resonant. At t...

Plate from Histoire Naturelle, générale et particulière, Tom. V, Pl. XXIX, p. 300. Paris, 1771. Etching and engraving on laid paper. Sheet size: 24.5 × 19.5 cm. A finely engraved z...

Rima (English, 20th century) *see notes below signed oil on board, unframed board: 31 x 24 inches provenance: UK collection The painting has some scuffs and scratches but is essentia...

La obra no va firmada El estado de conservación es bueno Se presenta enmarcada la obra con un marco posterior a la obra Medidas de la obra: 40 cm. de altura x 33 cm. de ancho. Me...

Bruno Surdo Summer Form, 2026 oil on canvas 24h x 36w in 60.96h x 91.44w cm BRS164 Bruno A. Surdo b. Chicago, 1963 Bruno A. Surdo is a true native of Chicago. He studied drawing an...

Pen, ink and wash Framed dimensions: 9 ½ x 11 ¼ inches Drawn c. 1763 This small, powerful study shows St Jerome contemplating the bible with a cross and sk...

Agape Seen from behind, the seated dog becomes an image of unconditional love. The title lifts the painting into philosophical territory, invoking a form of love that is selfless and...

Felice Pinariccio, known as Le Lasagna (active in Bologna during the 1560s-1570s) Virgin and Child with Saint John the Baptist and Saint Jerome Pen and brown ink, brown wash heighte...

An image after the draftsman who accompanied Captain James Cook, R. N. on his second voyage of exploration to the South Pacific aboard the Resolution (1772–75). London: Hogg, Alexan...

Guglielmo Caccia said the Moncalvo (Montabone, 1568 - Moncalvo, 1625) Saint Francis of Assisi comforted by an angel Oil on canvas, cm 96 x 73 - (wi...

Crossroads of Time This painting captures the feeling of arriving at a moment where lives, generations, and sensibilities overlap without fully touching. Surdo stages the street like...

Views of North African cities (Tunis, Algiers, and Jijel) alongside ethnographic descriptions of the "Peoples of Barbary." Paris: Châtelain, 1723. Copperplate engraving on cream la...

Nicolas Chaperon (1612–1653/4) Fauness and Putti Black chalk, red chalk, wash in red chalk and grey on paper, 195 x 313 mm Unsigned Provenance: Private collection Expert opinion ...

Late 15th Century Florentine School Madonna with Child Bas-relief Pietra serena (a blue-gray sandstone) 85.5 x 60.5 cm Provenance: - via Stefano Bardini purchased in 1896 by Prince ...

Signed and dated

Artist: Cornelius Nozeman (Dutch, 1720-1786) Title: "Larus, Cinereus (European Herring Gull)" (Plate 101) Portfolio: Nederlandsche Vogelen (Dutch Birds) Year: 1770-1829 Medium: Origi...

Giovanni Maria Butteri (Florence, Italy, 1540 - 1606) Title: Portrait of Francesco I Medium: Oil on panel Dimensions: without frame cm. 47.7 x 39 - with frame cm. 55.2 x 46.5 Not signed Expertise by Carlo Falciani, art historian Fairs: The International Biennial of Antiques in Florence 2024 (BIAF, Biennale Internazionale dell’Antiquariato di Firenze) Publications: From Sacro to Profano, the Giorgio Baratti art collection from Milan, exhibition catalogue curated by Daiva Mitrulevičiūtė, Giovanni Matteo Guidetti and Ileana Maniscalco, (16 February – 27 September 2020), Vilnius, National Museum - Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania, pp. 566-569. This valuable portrait, by the painter Giovanni Maria Butteri, an exponent of Mannerism and active mainly in Florence, portrays Francesco I de' Medici (1541 - 1587) eldest son of the Grand Duke of Tuscany...

A mid-19th century view of a New York institution still in operation. New York: The New York Mirror, c1835. Engraving on wove paper, 10 x 13 3/4 inches (254 x 349 mm), the full sheet. The sheet is significantly worn with scattered multiple edge tears, creases and toning throughout. The Institution for the Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb was founded in 1817 by the Rev. John Stanford...

Pastel on paper, oval 9 x 7 ¼ inches; 230 x 185 mm Inscribed on the verso: ‘The Revd Henry Dabzac D.D./ late Senior Fellow of/ Trinity College Dublin/ ever to be lamented by all that knew/ Him. Extensive learning, zeal, gently tempered/ by a spirit of charity & above all, a strong/ faith & a piety deservedly gained/ the character of a great and good man./ This exceptional man died 12th May 1790/ This picture was his give to Jane [Mary] Crofton, his sincerely [missing] sister.’ Collections: Rev. Dr Henry Dabzac gift to his sister, Jane Crofton (d.1797); Sir Hugh Crofton (1763-1834); By descent to 1990; Private collection, Dorset to 2020. Literature: Robert Staveley, Traces of Past and Present, Dublin, 1895, p.74; Neil Jeffares, Dictionary of Pastellists Before 1800, online edition, no.J3751247 This characteristic pastel portrait by Hugh Douglas Hamilton was made early in his career; it depicts precisely the kind of education, well-connected Irish sitter who fuelled his success. The Reverend Henry Dabzac was from a distinguished Huguenot family, a celebrated academic historian, Dabzac received the Donegall lectureship in 1764 and from 1785 was Librarian and Senior Fellow of Trinity College, Dublin. According to his earliest biographer, Hamilton was the son of a peruke-maker based in Crow Street, Dublin. As Anne Hodge has pointed out, this places Hamilton’s father at the heart of the city: Crow street was a narrow thoroughfare formed part of the busy warren of streets bordered by the old Houses of Parliament and Trinity College at one end, and by Dublin Castle at the other. It is perhaps telling that in this early portrait, Hamilton shows Dabzac in a splendid powdered wig and his clerical bands. In 1754 Hamilton was apprenticed to James Mannin, a ‘pattern drawer’ who two years later was appointed master of the school of ornament at the Dublin Society’s drawing school, run by Robert West. Here Hamilton took the first prize in the 1755 competition, winning a premium of £1/16/. Hamilton developed a popular and profitable method of making pastel likenesses of sitters in a distinctive oval format. Hamilton developed a technique of using a sharpened pastel to hatch shaded areas of the features and, in the case of this portrait of Dabzac, the white powdered wig, which is drawn with particular care. In 1764 Hamilton moved to London where this small, oval pastels proved...

An early impression from an exceptional English collection. Rome: M. Scheap, 1658. Engraving on cream laid paper, 4 5/8 x 5 7/8 inches (117 x 125 mm); sheet 5 x 6 1/8 inches (128 x...

18th-century French school, Two studies for frontispieces, pen and black ink on paper 13 x 8.5 cm each framed: 27.5 x 22 cm each These two drawings, which are particularly delicate...

Antonio Stom (Venice, Italy, c. 1688 - 1734) Title: Architectural Capriccio Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: without frame 88 x 113 cm - with frame 106 x 132 cm Carved, sculpted and...

This is an 18th century etching by Giovanni Battista Piranesi entitled "Veduta del Tempio detto della Tosse su la Via Tiburtina, un miglio vicino a Tivoli" (View of the so-called Tem...

Bernhard Keil, also known as “Monsù Bernardo” (Helsingør, Denmark, 1624– Rome, Italy, 1687) Title: Two blind figures helping each other Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: without fra...

This brilliant study sheet, of which we present here a counterproof, is a souvenir of Fragonard's return journey from Italy. Between April and September 1761, he accompanied the abbot of Saint-Non on his way back to France. Three studies after the masters taken from the Pitti Palace’s gallery in Florence are gathered on this sheet. Although The Ecstasy of Saint Margaret...

The title page from a popular Grant Tour publication featuring a cartouche with Fame and Winged Victory, and an allegory to artistic inspiration. Rome: 1618. Engraving on cream lai...

Provenance: Robert Hollberton, Antigua, ca. 1841 Private Collection, New York The present painting depicts Old St. John’s Cathedral on the island of Antigua. The church was erected in the 1720s on the designs of the architect Robert Cullen. It measured 130 feet by 50 feet with north and south porches 23 x 20 ½ feet. The tower, 50 feet high with its cupola, was added in 1789. The church was elevated to the status of a cathedral, but disaster struck in the form of an earthquake that destroyed the building on 8 February 1843. A memorandum of that date relates the event: “On Wednesday, 8th February, 1843, this island was visited by a most terrific and destructive earthquake. At twenty minutes before eleven o’clock in the forenoon, while the bell was ringing for prayers, and the venerable Robert Holberton was in the vestry-room, awaiting the arrival of persons to have their marriage solemnized, before the commencement of the morning service, the whole edifice, from one end to the other, was suddenly and violently agitated. Every one within the church, after the first shock, was compelled to escape for his life. The tower was rent from the top to the bottom; the north dial of the clock precipitated to the ground with a dreadful crash; the east parapet wall of the tower thrown upon the roof of the church; almost the whole of the north-west wall by the north gallery fell out in a mass; the north-east wall was protruded beyond the perpendicular; the altar-piece, the public monument erected to the memory of lord Lavington, and the private monuments, hearing the names of Kelsick, Warner, Otley, and Atkinson, fell down piecemeal inside; a large portion of the top of the east wall fell, and the whole of the south-east wall was precipitated into the churchyard, carrying along with it two of the cast-iron windows, while the other six remained projecting from the walls in which they had been originally inserted; a large pile of heavy cut stones and masses of brick fell down at the south and at the north doors; seven of the large frontpipes of the organ were thrown out by the violence of the shock, and many of the metal and wooden pipes within displaced; the massive basin of the font was tossed from the pedestal on which it rested, and pitched upon the pavement beneath uninjured. Thus, within the space of three minutes, this church was reduced to a pile of crumbling ruins; the walls that were left standing being rent in every part, the main roof only remaining sound, being supported by the hard wood pillars.” The entrance from the southern side into the cathedral, which was erected in 1789, included two imposing statues, one of Saint John the Divine and the other of Saint John the Baptist in flowing robes. It is said that these statues were confiscated by the British Navy from the French ship HMS Temple in Martinique waters in 1756 during the Seven Years’ War and moved to the church. The statues are still in situ and can be seen today, much as they appeared in Bisbee’s painting, but with the new cathedral in the background (Fig. 1). Little is known of the career of Ezra Bisbee. He was born in Sag Harbor, New York in 1808 and appears to have had a career as a political cartoonist and a printmaker. His handsome Portrait of President Andrew Jackson is dated 1833, and several political lithographs...

Guardian This painting evokes the Madonna and Child tradition while remaining fully secular and contemporary. The male figure’s body becomes a shelter, holding and protecting two chi...