Old Masters Art

Ercole De Maria (…. – 1640 ca.) Title: Penitent Saint Peter Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: without frame 66 × 50 cm – with frame 80.2 x 60.2 x 5.7 cm Not signed Expertise by And...

This spectacular red chalk drawing depicts an elderly woman, her eyes bulging, her hand stretched out towards the sky. This disturbing character, who seems close to dementia, and the elongation of her arm with its Mannerist overtones, plunge us into the Florentine artistic milieu of the first half of the 17th century. The proximity of this drawing to some characters in the fresco in the Pitti Palace representing The Muses, Poets and Philosophers chased from Parnassus, the last masterpiece of Giovanni da San Giovanni, leads us to propose an attribution to this artist and a dating of around 1635-1636. 1. Giovanni da San Giovanni, the painter of contradiction We take here the title of the monography dedicated to the artist by Anna Banti in 1977, which remains the reference book for this artist. The son of a notary, Giovanni Mannozzi, known as Giovanni da San Giovanni, abandoned his studies to go to Florence at the age of sixteen, where he entered the studio of Matteo Rosselli (1578 - 1650) around 1609 and enrolled in the Academy of Drawing Arts in 1612. Around 1615 he produced his first known works, mainly frescoes for the city's tabernacles. He became famous in Florence for his originality, combining an obsessive application to the study of drawing and the reading of poetry and history with a disheveled appearance. Between 1619 and 1620 he decorated the facade of the Antella Palace in Piazza Santa Croce, a decoration that still partly survives today. The death of Cosimo II in 1621 put an end to the Florentine building activity and Giovanni da San Giovanni left for Rome to find other sponsors with the painter Francesco Furini...

Girl with a Basket in a Lane in the Roman Countryside Oil on canvas, late 19th century Signature and date traces in the bottom right On the reverse, the work bears an ancient autographed dedication reading ‘Authentic Pio Joris’, which confirms its authenticity and enhances its collectible value. This artwork, never before on the market, comes from an important Italian private collection and is beautified by an impressive antique frame in gilded wood. There is an original antique brass plaque...

A fierce battle scene with women warriors. (after Perino del Vaga) Engraving on oval-shaped light laid paper, 8 1/4 x 10 3/4 inches (260 x 274 mm), the full sheet, trimmed at the pl...

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...

This painting, Belief, distills Bruno Surdo’s larger concerns into a single, commanding image. The seated elder figure, cropped so that the face is only partially visible, becomes le...

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...

Abraham Brueghel (Antwerp 1631 – Naples 1690) workshop Portrait of the Greek philosopher Diogenes with a still life of fruit and flowers Oil on canvas 130 x 94 cm. - Framed 153...

We would like to thank Dr. Ursula Härting for confirming that this painting belongs to the studio of Jan Brueghel the Younger, by means of a certificate issued on December 12, 2024. This rare study, executed directly with a brush on a prepared wood panel without any prior drawing, features some twenty birds, most of them domesticated. It is a fascinating testimony to the transmission of forms created by Jan Brueghel the Elder...

Pietro Francesco Gambone (Turin, 1682 – c. 1737) Flower arrangement with a vase in the classical style 135 x 109 cm. Framed: 152 x 124 cm. Work accompanied by an expert repor...

Otto Vautier the Younger was born in 1893 into a distinguished family of Swiss artists. He was the son of Louise Marie Schnell and Otto Adolphe Paul Vautier, a respected painter affi...

Unknown (European, probably Eighteenth Century) Shepherds and Peasants in a Landscape Ink, watercolor, and gouache on vellum; 12 5/8 x 19 3/8 inches Framed: 20 x 28 inches (approx.)

Amaizing 19' century Roman landscape depicting a part of Villa Borghese with Trinità dei Monti. With a finely carved gilt wood coeval frame. Measurements with frame cm 65 x78 wit...

A Tavern Interior - 18th Century Old Master, Figurative Oil Painting by Schaak Little is known about the artist J.S.C. Schaak. He was active in England as a portraitist between 1760-1770. His name indicates his German or Dutch origin. Especially portraits of generals...

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...

This large 18th century etching by Giovanni Battista Piranesi is entitled "Vaso antico di Marmo adornato di eccellenti Sculture si nella parte anteriere che nell' opposta, le quail r...

Antique, decorative oil painting, 18th century. Christian scene. Canvas relined. With a beautiful wooden frame. Dimensions without frame.

This stunning British Old Master exhibited pastoral oil on panel is by noted artist James Ward. Painted circa 1815 with superb provenance, it was e...

John Riley 1646 – 1691 Portrait of William Chiffinch (c.1602-88) Oil on canvas Image size: 30 x 25 inches Original frame Another version of this can be found in the Dulwich Pictur...

Panfilo Nuvolone (Cremona, Italy, 1581 - Milan, Italy, 1651) Title: Still life Medium: Oil on slate Dimensions: without frame cm. 17 x 19.5 - with frame cm. 31.5 x 37.5 Not signed E...

Fighting Dogs French Provincial School, 18th century, unsigned oil on canvas, framed in period antique wooden frame (walnut?) Framed: 26 x 51 inches Canv...

Charming work in the Regency style, mid 19th Century after Sir Thomas Lawrence. High quality painting. Old Christie's Stencil to verso. Would grace any home, suitable for contempor...

18th-century French school Jacob Blessing the Sons of Joseph oil on paper 8 x 14 cm (view) In a modern frame 27 x 35 cm The subject of this small painting can be identified as Jaco...

Biblical Figures, Large Gathering around Christ? Dutch Old Master, early 17th century oil painting on wood panel, stuck on velvet backing board velvet board: 27 x 29 inches board: 25.5 x 26 inches provenance: private collection, France condition: good and sound condition, obvious old panel...

Lithograph on paper. Plate from the Series "Les Fleurs Animées". Single sheet with passepartout.  "...You must have discovered, kind reader, that it is the life of the Pink herself...

This is a 17th century portrait engraving of Jean-Baptiste Racine by Gerard Edelinck (1640-1707), published in Charles Perrault's 'Les Hommes Illustres' in Paris in 1696. Jean Racine (1639-1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille. Racine's works were primarily tragedies. He wrote Phèdre, Andromaque, and Athalie. He did write one comedy, Les Plaideurs, and a muted tragedy, Esther for young readers. His writing is renowned for its elegance, purity, speed, and fury. The American poet Robert Lowell described his style as a "diamond-edge" and the "glory of its hard, electric rage". Racine's works often displayed his psychological insight, the passion of his characters, and the stark reality of his plots and stage descriptions. In 1672, he was elected to the Académie Française, and two years later he achieved the title of "treasurer of France", and later the honorary title of an "ordinary gentleman of the king" to King Louis XIV, and subsequently a secretary of the king . This beautiful engraved portrait is printed on chain-linked, laid paper with wide margins. The sheet measures 17.13" high by 10.75" wide. There is a small spot in the lower margin and a few tiny faint spots in the margins, but the print is otherwise in very good condition. The original descriptive text pages, 81 & 82, are included. Provenance: This engraving was owned by Arthur Pomeroy, 1st Baron Harberton and the Viscount Harberton (1723-1798). He was an Irish politician, who represented County Kildare in the Irish House...

"A sua Eccellenza il Signor Henry Hope Cav. Scozzese Amatore delle Belle Arti from "Vasi, Candelabri, Cippi, Sarcofagi, Tripodi, Lucerne, Ed Ornamenti Antichi", (Vases, candelabra, grave stones, sarcophagi, tripods, lamps, and ancient ornaments) is an etching by Giovanni Battista Piranesi, published in 1778. It depicts stone caryatids...

Circle of John Riley British, (1646-1691) Portrait of a Gentleman Oil on canvas Image size: 29 inches x 24 inches Size including frame: 36 inches x 31 inch...

16th Century Venetian Maestro Title: Deposition of Christ Medium: Oil on panel Dimensions: without frame 40 x 25 cm Painting without frame Not signed Previously part of the Canesso Collection, Paris. Fairs: The International Biennial of Antiques in Florence 2022 (BIAF, Biennale Internazionale dell’Antiquariato di Firenze) Publications: Bozzetti, modelletti, sketches: dalla collezione di Giorgio Baratti (From the Giorgio Baratti Collection) curated by Anna Orlando, Agnese Marengo and Annalisa Scarpa, Genoa, 2022, pp. 22, 23. In this precious panel we can admire a lament over the body of Christ by a large group of bystanders among whom we can recognise the Virgin and, in the foreground, St Catherine of Alexandria...

French School, after Pierre Mignard Louis XIV on Horseback oil on canvas, unframed painting: 60 x 41 inches provenance: private collection, UK The paint...

LUCAS VAN LEYEN (1494 Leyden 1533) MARK THE EVANGELIST, 1518. (Bartsch 100; Volbehr 98; Filedt Kok 100). Copperplate engraving. Engraved monogram and date at the upper edge. Sheet 4...

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...

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 ...

Antiveduto Gramatica (1569 – 1626) Title: Cryptoportrait of a lady as The Veronica Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: without frame 100 x 74.5 cm - with frame 123.5 x 103.5 cm Not sig...

The Triumph of the Infant Bacchus, Workshop of Hendrick Van Balen (1575-1632) Antwerp, c.1630 Oil on copper, h. 28 cm (11.02 in), w. 35 cm (13.78 in) A large Roman 17th century golden painted frame Framed: h. 52 cm (20.47 in.), w. 58 cm (22.83 in) This artwork is sold with a certificate of authenticity guaranteeing its origin, date of execution, and attribution to the artist. Our finely painted work depicts The Triumph of the Bacchus as a young boy and is one of the most popular mythological subjects in Antwerp at the beginning of the 17th century. Feasting, wine and fun are the themes that constantly appeal to the public. Thus unfolds before our eyes on our painting the procession composed of nymphs, baccantes, fauns, satyrs and children, their bodies naked, partially covered with brightly coloured draperies that help to brighten up the parade. Playing various instruments, dancing and drinking, while carrying vases and poles adorned with grapevines, participants to the rhythm of a noisy brass band make their way to an ancient temple standing on the right. The exaggerated gestures convey to us the frenzy of the excited crowd. The Child Bacchus follows the joyous procession, carried by satyrs and nymphs, crowned with ivy and joyfully raising a cup of wine. In the foreground, the drunken participants leave the procession, the children on the left and the group of bacchantes and satyrs on the right are resting among various objects scattered at their feet: cups, vases, ewers bear witness to the festivities in progress. In the background, a hilly landscape stretches out on the horizon, a semblance of calm that contrasts with the bustle of the foreground. The artist strives to multiply the many details, whether it be figures, costumes, flowers or vegetation, in order to demonstrate his know-how and the perfection of his execution. The acidulous palette with fresh and varied colours is characteristic of Hendrick Van Balen's works. There are several versions identical to ours with similar dimensions painted by Hendrick Van Balen and his workshop. Related works: • Koller Auction, Zurich, 21/09/2007, oil on copper, 28,5 x 37,4 cm. • Staatliche Kunsthalle, Karlsruhe, Inv. N° 809 (oil on copper, 40 x 53,5 cm) • Auktionshaus für Altertümer Glückselig, Vienne, 10/05/1932, ( oil on copper, 34 x 42 cm) • Gemäldegalerie of Pommersfelden, Schloss Weissenstein, oil on panel, 47 x 64 cm Hendrick Van Balen, Flemish painter, born and died in Antwerp (1575-1632). A pupil of Adam Van Noort, he entered the Guild of St. Luke in 1593, later trained in Italy and was Van Dyck's first teacher. He often painted small figures taken from scenes from the Bible or classical mythology, on paintings whose backgrounds and landscapes were painted by Josse de Momper...

Alessandro Longhi (Venice, Italy, 1733 – 1813) Title: Portrait of a young musician in front of his desk with a score in his hand Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: without frame 39.5 ...

Frédéric-Christophe, Comte d'Houdetot (Paris, France, 1778 - 1859) Title: Portrait of Giovanni Antonio Filippini Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: without frame 72.50 x 42 cm - with ...

Joseph-Marie Vien (1716-1809) ‘Ambassadeur de Siam’ and ‘La Sultana Reine’ Both titled lower centre, the drawing of the ambassador inscribed with colours intended for the prints, e...

Still life painting of fruit in a basket Continental, c. 1800 Frame: Height 81cm, width 91cm, depth 7cm Canvas: Height 57cm, width 69cm, ...

Engraving with hand coloring and heightening in watercolor on two leaves of expertly conjoined handmade laid paper, one leaf with a large watermark a feathered dragon, 7 1/4 x 11 1/4...

Oil on panel 13 ⅜ x 9 ⅞ inches; 34 x 25 cm Framed dimensions: 43.4 x 34.3 cm Not signed c. 1730s Collections: James Brydges, Duke of Chandos; Chandos sale, Christopher Cock, Lond...

Ferdinand von Kobell (1740–1799) Figures by a River at the Edge of a Wood Black chalk, stump and white chalk highlights, on paper 19 x 28.8 cm Signed and dated lower right: 1777 P...

Gerard ter Borch The Cards Game Oil on canvas 14 x 15.5 inches unframed 19 3/4 x 21 1/2 inches framed Gerard ter Borch (Dutch; December 1617 – 8 December 1681), also known as Gerard Terburg, was an influential and pioneering Dutch genre painter who lived in the Dutch Golden Age. He influenced fellow Dutch painters Gabriel Metsu...

Inscribed: 3. una Madonna che va in Egitto, verso, and Madonna che va in Egitto, recto Provenance: Private Collection, UK, since 1999 This expressive and boldly executed drawing is the work of Luca...

William Louis Sonntag Sr. was an American Landscape painter and a member of the Hudson River School movement. He was an Academician of the National Academy of Design. His work is in ...

Circle of Robert Byng British, (1666-1720) Girl with Orange Oil on canvas Image size: 29 inches x 24 inches Size including frame: 36 inches x 31 inc...

Figure with Cherubim in Wilderness Italian School, 17th century oil painting on wood panel framed 13 x 11 inches condition: overall for its age very good, though the work is most likely a preparatory...

Colonial School, Mexico, XVIII Century "San Francisco Javier" Oil on canvas 18 x 14 in.

17th Century Neapolitan Maestro Title: Still Life with Cuttlefish Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: without frame 48.5 x 63 cm - with frame 59 x 73.5 cm Antique shaped and gilded woo...

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...

Brown ink and wash on laid paper with a grapes and vine watermark, 6 5/8 x 6 1/2 inches (168 x 164 mm). Laid down to Fellows watermarked wove paper, with uniform age tone, areas of light discoloration, and attenuation of pigment. Unevenly trimmed margins, and paper tape remnant from having been tipped-into a scrap book...

Bernardino Detti (Pistoia, Italy, 1498 - 1572) Title: Face of Christ Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: without frame 41 x 32 cm - with frame 47 x 55.5 cm Antique box frame made of solid wood and walnut burl Not signed Publications: unpublished The painting by Bernardino Detti (1498 - 1572) depicts the face of Jesus...

DENYS CALVAERT (Antwerp c. 1540 – 1619 Bologna), ATTRIBUTED TO Screaming Face Red chalk on paper 17.5 x 14.5 cm After 1608 Unsigned Provenance: Unidentified collection (Lugt L.2339...

Etching on cream wove paper, 6 x 8 1/4 inches (152 x 210 mm); sheet 11 3/4 x 15 1/2 inches (298 x 394 mm), the full sheet. In good condition with minor uniform toning. The structure...

Colored silkscreen print on paper with mahogany wood frame

Hand-colored print of the engraving by Antoine Alexandre Joseph Cardon of the original painting by Gabriele Ricciardelli. Edizioni Pontevecchio. Lily logo and a brush with the inscr...

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...

JEAN-BAPTISTE GREUZE (Tournus 1725 - 1805 Paris) The Death of Coresus, circa 1750 Pen and brown ink, black ink tips, gray wash on black chalk, 455 x 385 cm Bears on the reverse in ...

This large framed 18th century etching by Giovanni Battista Piranesi is entitled "Vaso antico di Marmo adornato di eccellenti Sculture si nella parte anteriere che nell' opposta, le ...

STEFANO DALL’ARZERE (Padua, circa 1520 – 1570) Saint Jerome Praying, with a Landscape in the Background Pen and brown ink, heightened with white over black chalk lines 15.5 x 12 cm...