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Old Masters Art

OLD MASTERS

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.

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Style: Old Masters
One People - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative, Africa, People, Linocut
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Shipping Procedure Unmounted artwork Ships in a well-protected tube from Nigeria Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity. About Artist Tosin Oyeniyi is an intrinsically talente...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Old Masters Art

Materials

Canvas, Linocut

Óleo sobre tela San Victoriano JOSE MARIA GALVAN Y CANDELA (Madrid 1837 - 1899
Located in Sant Celoni, ES
JOSÉ MARÍA GALVÁN Y CANDELA (1837-1899) "San Victoriano y compañeros mártires". Firmado a mano en la parte inferior derecha. Y en la parte trasera inscripción a mano con información ...
Category

18th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Oil

The Musical Contest between Apollo and Marsyas, signed P. Sion, Antwerp 17th c.
Located in PARIS, FR
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, ...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Oak, Oil, Wood Panel

View of an Antique City, a wash landscape by Jan de Bisschop (1628 - 1671)
Located in PARIS, FR
The attribution to Jan de Bisschop has been confirmed by the RKD with the following comment: "We base this attribution on the dark washes, the subject represented and the monogram". ...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Pen, Ink

Winter Landscape De Jode Paint Oil on canvas Old master 17th Century Flemish Art
Located in Riva del Garda, IT
Hans de Jode (The Hague, 1630 - Vienna, 1663) Fantasy winter landscape with bridge and tower About 1650 Oils on canvas (62 x 93, in frames 82 x 112) The work is accompanied by an expertise of Dr. Fred G...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Oil

Rotterdam Port See Italian Paint Oil on canvas 18th Century Old master Flemish
Located in Riva del Garda, IT
Pair of views of Rotterdam: The Stock Exchange building / View of the canal with the old port Eighteenth-century Vedutist painter oils on canvas 47 x 66 cm. - with frame 56 x 75 cm. This pleasant pair of paintings depict two glimpses of the city of Rotterdam, investigated here as vivid documentaries of the habits and customs from the public life of the wealthy Dutch port city, as well as one of the founders of the Dutch East India Company, is an excellent example of 18th century Vedutism We see, in particular, in the first work the monumental Palazzo della Borsa (defined as Il Beurs), designed by the architect Adriaen van der Werff in Westnieuwland, initially a place destined for legislation on trade, where merchant-bankers met periodically to exchange securities credit and enter into sales; it is located on the bank of the Nordblaak River and shot with the Gaapers Bridge in the foreground. The second work immortalizes the docking of the ancient port of Rotterdam, with the foreground view of the two city gates (the Wester Old Hoofdpoort on the left and the Ooster Oude Hoofdpoort on the right); in the background on the left the St. Laurenskerk (Church of San Lorenzo), also called the Great Church of Rotterdam, is the only medieval structure, while on the right the English Church. Very well executed, characterized by a marked brightness and a chromatic range with bright colors and highlighted by the contrast between lights and shadows, our canvases are a very interesting testimony of eighteenth-century Rotterdam, portraying two of the views that have historically influenced a lot on economic history of the city. We can attribute the authorship to an author of the full eighteenth century, inspired by the pictorial style of the Italian landscape painters and whose iconography was presumably drawn from the numerous prints with perspective views made through the optical cameras. In particular, these views of Rotterdam draw their iconographic origin from a collection of perspective prints of the most influential European cities, made by the engraver Johann Balthasar Probst (1732-1801), characterized by a remarkable refinement in the line, at the service of a sense of perspective of undoubted value, and above all characterized by a strong Nordic taste. Descendant of a large family of Augsburg engravers, Probst contributed to making his workshop an important European publishing center between the 17th and 18th centuries, among the major German print publishers in the first half of the 18th century. Despite his travels, including in Italy, between Venice, Rome and Naples, not all the cities he portrayed were drawn from life but taken from earlier prints and drawings and filtered through northern European clichés. Many of these engravings have been lost and are now difficult to find on the antiques market.
Category

18th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Oil

Russian Orthodox Church, Middle 19th Century
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Unknown Russian Artist Russian Orthodox Church, Middle 19th century Unsigned Illuminated in red, yellow blue and green pigments and gold leaf on paper An Illuminated manuscript folio...
Category

Mid-19th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Pigment

Egyptian Figure - Etching Hand Colored by L. Pizzi After A. Tofanelli
Located in Roma, IT
“Idolo Egizio” - Image Dim: cm 48 x 33, Dim: cm 59 x 44. Precious Etching on copper: Hand-colored subject on black ink bottom. Designed by Agostino Tofanelli and engraved by Luigi ...
Category

1790s Old Masters Art

Materials

Etching

Head of Camel - Etching by Stefano Della Bella - 17th Century
Located in Roma, IT
The Archangel Raphael Leaving Tobias' Family is an etching by Rembrandt Camel head is an etching by Stefano Della Bella executed in 17th century. Monogrammed “SDB fec.” Plate 8,1x8,5...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Etching

The Holy Family Religious Paint Oil on table Tuscan School 17th/18th Century Art
Located in Riva del Garda, IT
The Holy Family Tuscan school, 17th-18th century Oil on panel 30 x 24 cm In frame 41 x 33 cm This pleasant devotional painting, commonly referred to as “The Holy Family”, dep...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Oil

Study after Michelangelo’s “The Last Judgment”
By Michelangelo Buonarroti
Located in New York, NY
Italian School, 16th Century Provenance: Private Collection, New York This intriguing drawing is a study by an anonymous 16th-century Italian artist after a vignette in Michelangelo’s fresco of The Last Judgement in the Sistine Chapel. The altar wall of the Sistine Chapel was already richly decorated when Pope Clement VII commissioned Michelangelo to paint his Last Judgment...
Category

16th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Paper, Gouache

Iwoye (Perception 2) - 21st Century, Contemporary Figurative, Africa Linocut
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Shipping Procedure Unmounted artwork Ships in a well-protected tube from Nigeria Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity. About Artist Tosin Oyeniyi is an intrinsically talente...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Old Masters Art

Materials

Canvas, Linocut

Saint Francis of Assisi in Ecstasy
Located in Paris, Île-de-France
Salvatore Rosa (Naples 1615 - 1673 Rome) Saint Francis of Assisi in Ecstasy Pen and brown ink, brown wash over black chalk, on paper 7 x 5 cm Bears the stamps of collections on the...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Ink

18th Century Oil Painting Portrait of Phillip, 6th Viscount Wenman.
By Nathaniel Dance-Holland
Located in London, GB
Sir Nathaniel Dance-Holland (1750-1811) was an English portrait painter and one of the founding members of the Royal Academy in 1768. Justly celebrated in his lifetime he won several...
Category

Late 18th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Oil

17th Century by Pieter Mulier Landscape Oil on Canvas
By Pieter Mulier known as the Cavalier Tempesta (Haarlem 1637 - Milan 1701)
Located in Milano, Lombardia
Pieter Mulier known as Tempesta (Haarlem, Netherland, 1637 - Milan, Italy, 1701) Title: Landscape Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: without frame 49 x 65...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Canvas, Cotton Canvas, Oil

Saint Jerome by Amand-Durand after Albrecht Durer
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Albrecht Dürer, After by Amand Durand, German (1471 - 1528) Title: Saint Jerome Year: 1873 Medium: Heliogravure Size: 9 x 7.25 in. (22.86 x 18.42 ...
Category

1870s Old Masters Art

Materials

Engraving

Adam Elsheimer, etching after a painting of Elsheimer by Jan Meyssens
Located in New York, NY
Wenzel Hollar (1607-1677), Adam Elsheimer, etching after a painting of Elsheimer by Jan Meyssens, 1649, with text and signatures as described below. Ref...
Category

1640s Old Masters Art

Materials

Etching

GENGHIS KHAN - Italian School - Oil on Canvas Italian Figurative Painting
Located in Napoli, IT
GENGIS KAN - Maximilian Ciccone - Italia - Oil on canvas cm.210x120. In this majestic oil on canvas painting the Artist Ciccone portray the Mongol leader and ruler Genghis Khan...
Category

2010s Old Masters Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Judith Tenant la Tete d'Holopherne, Heliogravure by Baccio Baldini
Located in Long Island City, NY
Baccio Baldini, After by Amand Durand, Italian (1436 - 1487) - Judith Tenant la Tete d'Holopherne, Year: Printed: 1875, Medium: Heliogravure, Size: 7 x 6 in. (17.78 x 15.24 cm), P...
Category

1870s Old Masters Art

Materials

Etching

Antiquities of Herculaneum-Letter N - Etching by Giovanni Mignani - 18th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Antiquities of Herculaneum  - Letter of the Alphabet N,  from the series "Antiquities of Herculaneum", is an original etching on paper realized by Giovanni Mignani in the 18th centur...
Category

Late 18th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Etching

17th century etching black and white landscape scene forest trees figures
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Scene de Brigands" is an etching by Claude Gellee (Le Lorrain). This etching is in the collections of the Louvre and the Art Institute of Chicago. Publisher: Mannocci #11. 5" x 7...
Category

Mid-17th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Etching

Jupiter embrassant l'Amour, Heliogravure by Marcantonio Raimondi
By Marcantonio Raimondi
Located in Long Island City, NY
Marcantonio Raimondi, After by Amand Durand, Italian (1480 - 1534) - Jupiter embrassant l'Amour, Year: 1875, Medium: Heliogravure, Size: 13.5 x 8.5 in. (34.29 x 21.59 cm), Printer...
Category

1870s Old Masters Art

Materials

Etching

Venus Accroupie, Heliogravure by Marcantonio Raimondi
By Marcantonio Raimondi
Located in Long Island City, NY
Marcantonio Raimondi, After by Amand Durand, Italian (1480 - 1534) - Venus Accroupie, Year: 1875, Medium: Heliogravure, Size: 9.25 x 6 in. (23.5 x 15.24 cm), Printer: Amand Durand...
Category

1870s Old Masters Art

Materials

Etching

'A Pair of Forest Landscapes' by Philipp H. Brinckmann (1709 – 1761) Old Master
Located in Knokke, BE
Brinckmann Philipp Hieronymus Spire 1709 – 1761 Manheim Old Master 'A Pair of Forest Landscapes with River and Boat in the Foreground' Signature: signed "Ph. Brinckm" bottom lower ...
Category

18th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Copper

The Lamentation of Christ, 16th Century Oil Old Master
Located in London, GB
Circle of Ridolfo Ghirlandaio 1483 - 1561 Oil on panel Image size: 20 ½ x 16 ½ inches (52 x 42 cm) Handmade contemporary style gilt frame The lamentation of Christ was one of the most popular scenes depicted in European art from the 11th to the 18th century. Depicting the lamentation or pieta from the Italian word for ‘Pity’ of Christ with Jesus’s mother Mary cradling his body. Christ is depicted nude, wearing only a blueish loincloth around his waist, a horizontal scar marking his rib cage. His head and torso are held upright, and his eyes are closed, his right arm lays to his side as does his left. Standing behind him, is the Virgin Mary, outfitted in her traditional dress of a robe with a white veil. She stands behind Christ and bends slightly, looking looking away from Christ to something that has caught her attention, her right hand holding his shoulder. Her left-hand carefully holds his arm. This work is quite unusual with Mary . This stunning work jumps out with its dark background and strong flesh colours. Ridolfo Ghirlandaio was the son of the eminent painter Domenico Ghirlandaio. Following his father’s death in 1494, when he was just eleven years old, Ridolfo is thought to have continued his training with his uncle Davide, who had taken over the Ghirlandaio workshop. Vasari noted that Ridolfo also studied with Fra Bartolommeo...
Category

16th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Oil

Self Portrait
Located in London, GB
Pen and ink, ink wash and pencil on paper, signed and dated (lower right), 38cm x 29cm (65cm x 55cm framed). This penetrating and wonderfully executed self-portrait, is all the mor...
Category

1910s Old Masters Art

Materials

Paper, Carbon Pencil, Ink

Still Life With Carpet Gianlisi 17/18th Century Paint Oil on canvas Old master
Located in Riva del Garda, IT
Antonio Gianlisi II, known as Il Cremonese (Rizzolo San Giorgio, 1677 - Cremona, 1727) Still life with carpet, basket of grapes and figs Oil on canvas 63 x 75 cm - Framed 80 x ...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Oil

The Mother Seated in an Inn
Located in Middletown, NY
Etching on cream laid paper with an indiscernible horizontal watermark, 6 1/8 x 4 11/16 inches (154 x 120 mm). Thread margins. The first state (of two), before the additional work on...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Handmade Paper, Laid Paper, Etching

19th Century Landscape Oil Painting - Deer by the Banks of a Lake
By Jacob Thompson
Located in London, GB
Jacob THOMPSON (1806 – 1879) Deer by the Banks of a Lake 1842 oil on canvas 18.9 x 27.6 inches; 22.5 x 31 inches Inc. frame Jacob Thompson (1806–1879) was an English landscape-pa...
Category

1840s Old Masters Art

Materials

Oil

17th Century by Giovanni Battista Beinaschi Saint Bartholomew Oil on Canvas
By Giovanni Battista Beinaschi
Located in Milano, Lombardia
Giovanni Battista Beinaschi (Fossano, Italy, 1636 - Naples, Italy, 1688) Title: Saint Bartholomew Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: without frame 9...
Category

Mid-17th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Oil, Canvas

17th Century Dutch Old Master Oil Painting Wood Panel Figures in Tavern Interior
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
'Topers in a Tavern' Circle of Jacob Toorenvliet (Dutch 1635 - 1719) oil on panel, framed framed: 9 x 7 inches panel: 7.5 x 6 inches provenance: priv...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Oil

17th Century, Old Master Painting, Oil on Canvas, "The Rest with the Horses".
Located in Berlin, DE
17th century, old master painting, oil on canvas, "The rest with the horses". Relined canvas. The stretcher was also renewed once. The painting is rather dark, like i.a. on photo n...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Landscape Reder 17/18th Century Pait OIl on canvas Old master
Located in Riva del Garda, IT
Christian Reder (Leipzig 1656 - Rome 1729) Landscape with boar hunting Oil on canvas 66 x 132 cm In frame 76 x 143 cm We present this delightful work, of which the matching ...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Oil

'Portrait of a Young Woman' original Hollar engraving after Hans Holbein
Located in Milwaukee, WI
In this print, Wenceslaus Hollar presents a portrait of an unidentified woman, copying a portrait by Hans Holbein the Younger. The identity of the sitter is a mystery: formerly, the portrait was believed to be of Catherine of Aragon, and the National Portrait Gallery in London identifies her as Queen Mary I...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Engraving

17th Century by Nicolas van Houbraken Still Life with Mushrooms Oil on Canvas
Located in Milano, Lombardia
Nicolas Van Houbraken (Messina, Italy, 1668 - Pisa, Italy, 1733) Title: Still life with mushrooms Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: without frame 26 x 32 cm - with frame 38.5 x 33.5...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Cotton Canvas, Canvas, Oil

I Love Her, 2018 C-print mounted on dibond, perspex face in tray frame
Located in London, GB
I Love Her, 2018 C-print mounted on dibond, perspex face in tray frame NB: also available with non-reflective Plexiglass Framed: 113 x 103.1 cm 44 1/2 x 40 1/2 in Edition of 7 plus ...
Category

2010s Old Masters Art

Materials

C Print

Male and female portrait, both in silk kimono, possibly textile dealers
By Christoffel Lubieniecki
Located in Amsterdam, NL
CHRISTOFFEL LUBIENIECKI (1659-1729) Pair of portraits of a gentleman and a lady, both in silk kimono, before a country house (circa 1680) Indistinctly signed “C.......” on a box under the man’s left hand Oil on canvas, 79.5 x 67 cm each Both sitters are portrayed wearing a silk “Japanese” coat. During the second half of the seventeenth the Japanese silk coat, an adapted Japanese kimono, became a real vogue in the Dutch elite. The exclusive Dutch trade contacts with Japan can explain the popularity of the kimono-style silk coats in the Netherlands. Everybody who could afford one, dressed in such a fashionable and comfortable coat and, like the present sitters, some proud owners had themselves portrayed in a “Japanese” coat often together with an oriental carpet to underline their standing and international connections. These portraits are the work of the Polish-born portraitist Christoffel Lubieniecki (also known as Lubienitski, Lubinitski or Lubiniecki) Lubieniecki was first trained in Hamburg under Julian Stuhr and after 1675 in Amsterdam under Adriaen Backer and Gerard de Lairesse. He specialized in landscapes, generally of an Italianate character, and in portraits. The loving execution of these contented burghers, enjoying the garden vistas of their country house, places him alongside Amsterdam portraitists such as Constantijn Netscher and Michiel van Musscher...
Category

1680s Old Masters Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Flora with her Nymphs, after Giulio Romano
Located in New York, NY
GIULIO BONASONE (1510-1576) AFTER GIULIO ROMANO (CIRCA1499-1546) Flora with her Nymphs engraving, circa1531-50, on laid paper, watermark Two crossed Arro...
Category

16th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Engraving

A saddled hunter tethered to a stable door, a landscape beyond
Located in Stoke, Hampshire
Jacques-Laurent Agasse (1767-1849) A saddled hunter tethered to a stable door, a landscape beyond Oil on canvas Canvas Size - 17 x 21 in Framed Size -25 x 28 1/2 in Provenance with ...
Category

18th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Oil

The Mother Seated in an Inn
Located in New York, NY
Cornelis Bega (1631/2-1664), The Mother Seated in an Inn, etching, circa 1660-64. Reference: Hollstein 31, a later impression, second state (of 2). In good condition, trimmed outside...
Category

1660s Old Masters Art

Materials

Etching

'Portrait of Henrico van der Borcht, ' original W. Hollar engraving after Holbei
Located in Milwaukee, WI
In this print, Wenceslaus Hollar presents a portrait of D. Henrico van der Borcht, copying a painting or drawing by Hans Holbein. Copying works of famous masters was a common task of...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Engraving

Portrait of William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke, Early 17th Century Portrait
Located in London, GB
English School, (circa 1600) Portrait of William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke Oil on panel, oval Image size: 29¼ x 23⅞ inches Painted wooden frame Provenance: 176, Collection of Francis Greville, 1st Earl of Warwick. The Trustees of the Lord Brooks’ Settlement, (removed from Warwick Castle). Sotheby’s, London, 22nd March 1968, lot 81. Painted onto wooden panel, this portrait shows a dark haired gentleman in profile sporting an open white shirt. On top of this garments is a richly detailed black cloak, decorated with gold thread and lined with a sumptuous crimson lining. With the red silk inside it’s all very expensive and would fall under sumptuary laws – so this is a nobleman of high degree. It’s melancholic air conforms to the contemporary popularity of this very human condition, evident in fashionable poetry and music of the period. In comparison to our own modern prejudices, melancholy was associated with creativity in this period. This portrait appeared in the earliest described list of pictures of Warwick castle dating to 1762. Compiled by collector and antiquary Sir William Musgrave ‘taken from the information of Lord & Lady Warwick’ (Add. MSS, 5726 fol. 3) is described; ‘8. Earl of Essex – an original by Zuccharo – seen in profile with black hair. Holding a black robe across his breast with his right hand.’ As tempting as it is to imagine that this is a portrait of Robert Devereux, the 2nd Earl Essex, we might take this with a pinch of salt. Its identification with this romantic and fatal Elizabethan might well have been an attempt to add romance to Warwick Castle’s walls. It doesn’t correspond all that well with Essex’s portraits around 1600 after his return from Cadiz. Notably, this picture was presumably hung not too far away from the castle’s two portraits of Queen Elizabeth I. The first, and undoubtedly the best, being the exquisite coronation portrait that was sold by Lord Brooke in the late 1970s and now hangs in the National Portrait Gallery. The second, described as being ‘a copy from the original at Ld Hydes’, has yet to resurface. The portrait eventually ended up being hung in the State Bedroom of Warwick Castle. Archival documents present one other interesting candidate. The Greville family’s earliest inventory of paintings, made in 1630 at their home Brooke House in Holborn, London, describes five portraits of identified figures. All five belonged to the courtier, politician and poet Sir Fulke Greville (1554-1628), 1st Baron Brooke, and were hung in the ‘Gallerie’ of Brooke House behind yellow curtains. One of them was described as being of ‘Lord of Pembrooke’, which is likely to have been William Herbert (1580-1630), 3rd Earl of Pembroke. William was the eldest son of Greville’s best friend’s sister Mary Sidney, and was brought up in the particularly literary and poetically orientated household which his mother had supported. Notably, the 3rd Earl was one of the figures that Shakespeare’s first folio was dedicated to in 1623. The melancholic air to the portrait corresponds to William’s own pretensions as a learned and poetic figure. The richness of the robe in the painting, sporting golden thread and a spotted black fabric, is indicative of wealth beyond that of a simple poet or actor. The portrait’s dating to around the year 1600 might have coincided with William’s father death and his own rise to the Pembroke Earldom. This period of his life too was imbued with personal sadness, as an illicit affair with a Mary Fitton had resulted in a pregnancy and eventual banishment by Elizabeth I to Wilton after a short spell in Fleet Prison. His illegitimate son died shortly after being born. Despite being a close follower of the Earl of Essex, William had side-stepped supporting Devereux in the fatal uprising against the Queen and eventually regained favour at the court of the next monarch James I. His linen shirt is edged with a delicate border of lace and his black cloak is lined on the inside with sumptuous scarlet and richly decorated on the outside with gold braid and a pattern of embroidered black spots. Despite the richness of his clothes, William Herbert has been presented in a dishevelled state of semi-undress, his shirt unlaced far down his chest with the ties lying limply over his hand, indicating that he is in a state of distracted detachment. It has been suggested that the fashion for melancholy was rooted in an increase in self-consciousness and introspective reflection during the late 16th and early 17th centuries. In contemporary literature melancholy was said to be caused by a plenitude of the melancholy humor, one of the four vital humors, which were thought to regulate the functions of the body. An abundance of the melancholia humor was associated with a heightened creativity and intellectual ability and hence melancholy was linked to the notion of genius, as reflected in the work of the Oxford scholar Robert Burton, who in his work ‘The Anatomy of Melancholy’, described the Malcontent as ‘of all others [the]… most witty, [who] causeth many times divine ravishment, and a kind of enthusiamus… which stirreth them up to be excellent Philosophers, Poets and Prophets.’ (R. Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy, London, 1621 in R. Strong, ‘Elizabethan Malady: Melancholy in Elizabethan and Jacobean Portraits’, Apollo, LXXIX, 1964). Melancholy was viewed as a highly fashionable affliction under Elizabeth I, and her successor James I, and a dejected demeanour was adopted by wealthy young men, often presenting themselves as scholars or despondent lovers, as reflected in the portraiture and literature from this period. Although the sitter in this portrait is, as yet, unidentified, it seems probable that he was a nobleman with literary or artistic ambitions, following in the same vain as such famous figures as the aristocratic poet and dramatist, Edward de Vere...
Category

Early 17th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Oil, Wood Panel

Portrait of a Slave Ship: 'Le Negrito à l’ancre. Dans le port de la havanne'
Located in Amsterdam, NL
FRANÇOIS MATHURIN ADALBERT, BARON DE COURCY (1805-1839) 'Le Negrito à l’ancre. Dans le port de la havanne' Indistinctly signed lower left Titled on the mount Pencil and watercolour, heightened with white, on paper, 24.8 x 34.6 cm Literature: The present watercolour will be illustrated in: - Prof. Manuel Garcia’s projected book on the disease and the slave trade provisionally titled “Fighting the Yellow Demon of Fever: The Struggle against Disease in the Illegal Slave Trade”. - Prof. Micael Zeuske’s forthcoming Global history of slave trade. Exhibited: Mexico City, 1998, Palacio Virreinal, El Barón de Courcy, illustrationes de un viaje, 1831-1833, no. 108 Note: Baron de Courcy was in the Caribbean in late 1832 and early 1833, following his tour of Mexico in 1832, on the last leg of his “Grand Voyage...
Category

Mid-19th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Paper, Watercolor, Gouache, Pencil

La Vierge a la Poire, Heliogravure by Albrecht Dürer
Located in Long Island City, NY
Albrecht Durer, After by Amand Durand, German (1471 - 1528) - La Vierge a la Poire, Year: 1873, Medium: Heliogravure, Size: 6 x 4 in. (15.24 x 10.16 cm), Printer: Amand Durand, D...
Category

Late 19th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Etching

A Lively Naval Engagement
Located in Wiscasett, ME
Oil on panel measuring 21" x 24.5," including the frame. The painting is signed in the lower right corner, but we cannot attribute the signature. Probably dating from the late 19th ...
Category

Late 19th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Oil

The Wedding among the Indians of Panama - Etching by G. Pivati - 1746/1751
Located in Roma, IT
Image dimensions: 25.5 x 18 cm. Wedding among the Indians of Panama; Relatives and friends tilling the couple's soil is a fine etching, hand-watercolored, realized by the engraver G...
Category

1740s Old Masters Art

Materials

Etching

17th Century by Andrea Vaccaro Penitent Magdalene Oil on canvas
Located in Milano, Lombardia
Andrea Vaccaro (Naples, Italy, 1604 – 1670) Title: Penitent Magdalene Year: 1630-1635 ca. Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: without frame 75 x 62 cm – with frame 87.5 x 74.7 x 5.5 cm...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Soldier in an Interior, Early 17th Century Dutch Oil
Located in London, GB
Pieter Symonsz Potter Dutch 1600 - 1652 Soldier in an Interior Oil on oak panel, red seal to reverse Image size: 15 x 10 3/4 inches Dutch Ebonised frame Bathed in a well lit roo...
Category

Early 17th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Oil, Board

Still Life Musical Instruments Bettera Paint 17/18rt Century Oil on canvas Art
Located in Riva del Garda, IT
Bonaventura Bettera (Bergamo, 1663 - documented until 1718) Still Life with Musical Instruments (LINK) Oil on canvas 90 x 116 cm - Framed 105 x 131 cm. The merit of the 17th centur...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Oil

18th century landscape etching pastoral nature scene detailed ink trees
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Near Tottenham Midd." is an original etching by John Thomas Smith at the top right of the image, reading "Drawn & Etch'd by J. T. Smith, Engraver of the Antiquities of London & Envi...
Category

1790s Old Masters Art

Materials

Paper, Ink, Etching

Nature morte au bouquet de pivoines et roses sur une table nappée
Located in PARIS, FR
Oil on canvas set to oval Signed and dated F. Bonvin 1876 in the center right Provenance: • France, private collection
Category

1870s Old Masters Art

Materials

Oil

Large 17th Century Dutch Old Master Oil Painting Figures Animals Landscape
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Follower of Dirck van Berghen (Dutch School, 17th Century) Pastoral Landscape with a Shepherdess and Livestock Oil on canvas, framed in a French Empire period gilt frame canvas dimensions: 18 x 22 inches framed dimensions: 22.5 x 26 inches This charming pastoral scene, rendered in oil on canvas, is attributed to a follower of the 17th-century Dutch painter Dirck van Berghen, who was known for his bucolic landscapes featuring cattle and rural life. The composition reflects the influence of van Berghen’s mentor, Adriaen van de Velde...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Oil

Dream of Aeneas - Etching after Salvator Rosa - 18th Century
Located in Roma, IT
This etching, representing The Dream of Aeneas, is an 18th century proof after Salvator Rosa (ca. 1663). Signed lower left “S.Rosa” The state of preservation is good. Some foxings ...
Category

18th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Etching

Landscape Reder 17/18th Century Pait OIl on canvas Old master
Located in Riva del Garda, IT
Christian Reder (Leipzig 1656 - Rome 1729) Landscape with pastoral idyll Oil on canvas 66 x 132 cm Framed 76 x 143 cm We present this delightful work, of which the matchin...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Oil

Study of an architectural devotional with a Sacred Heart and three Putti
Located in Middletown, NY
Etching on light cream laid paper, 8 x 5 1/2 inches (200 x 138 mm), 1/8-inch margins. Minor repairs, including expertly repaired lower right corner, and minor light in-painting at l...
Category

Mid-18th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Laid Paper, Etching

Escuela griega (XIX) - San Sísoes Magno - Óleo sobre plancha
Located in Sant Celoni, ES
La obra no va firmada Se presenta enmarcada la pintura con un marco bastante actual Medidas obra: 29 cm altura x 19 cm ancho. Medidas marco: 48 cm altura x 38 cm ancho. Estado ta...
Category

Mid-19th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Oil

18th Century by Giuseppe Bonito The Painter's Studio or Allegory of Painting
Located in Milano, Lombardia
Giuseppe Bonito (Castellammare di Stabia, Italy, 1707 - Naples, Italy, 1789) Title: The Painter's Studio or Allegory of Painting Medium: Oil on canvas ...
Category

Mid-18th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Oil, Canvas

17th century etching animal print sketch ram sheep tree black and white signed
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Ram Eating Bark" is an original etching by Karel DuJardin. DuJardin completed many delicate etchings of rams. 3 3/4" x 7 3/4" art 16 3/8" x 19 1/8" f...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Etching

Still Life Fresco With Birds - Etching by Vincenzo Segoni - 18th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Still Life Fresco With Birds from "Antiquities of Herculaneum" is an etching on paper realized by Vincenzo Segoni in the 18th Century. Signed on the plate. Good conditions with som...
Category

18th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Etching

Real (Titian)_Greg Miller_Acrylic/Collage/Canvas_Figurative_Portrait_Text
Located in 326 N Coast Hwy. | Laguna Beach, CA
GREG MILLER "Real (Titian)" Acrylic, Collage on Canvas 36 x 36 in. Drawing from the diverse cultural and geographic makeup of his Californian roots, Greg Miller explores his relati...
Category

2010s Old Masters Art

Materials

Mixed Media, Acrylic, Canvas

Old Masters art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Old Masters art available for sale on 1stDibs. Works in this style were very popular during the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artists have continued to produce works inspired by this movement. If you’re looking to add art created in this style to introduce contrast in an otherwise neutral space in your home, the works available on 1stDibs include elements of orange, yellow, blue and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Charles Amand Durand, Giuseppe Vasi, Thomas Holloway, and Vincenzo Campana. Frequently made by artists working with Etching, and Paint and other materials, all of these pieces for sale are unique and have attracted attention over the years. Not every interior allows for large Old Masters art, so small editions measuring 0.4 inches across are also available. Prices for art made by famous or emerging artists can differ depending on medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $11 and tops out at $1,495,000, while the average work sells for $546.

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