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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
Snail
Located in New York, NY
Signed and dated
Category

2010s Old Masters Art

Materials

Paper, India Ink

The Basilica of Constantine
Located in Chicago, IL
A very fine impression of the 3rd State, still with the address and price which were eliminated in the following 4th state. The presence of the address and price confirms that this ...
Category

18th Century and Earlier Old Masters Art

Materials

Etching

19th Century Etching of the Ancient Caracalla Baths in Rome by Luigi Rossini
Located in Alamo, CA
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...
Category

1820s Old Masters Art

Materials

Etching

Florence Lightingale (Couchsurfing Series)
Located in London, GB
Cristina Schek Florence Lightingale - Couchsurfing Series, 2020 Framed Archival Pigment Print Anti-Reflective Museum Glass Signed certificate of authenticity included. 42 x 60 cm (un...
Category

2010s Old Masters Art

Materials

Digital, Giclée

Carolus de Mallery, by Lucas Vorsetman the Elder after van Dyck
Located in Middletown, NY
An exalted portrait of fellow Flemish engraver and publisher Karel van Mallery. Lucas Vorsterman the Elder (after Anthony van Dyck). Carolus de Mallery, from Icones Principum Viror...
Category

Mid-17th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Laid Paper, Engraving, Etching

CHILD - Alfonso Grassi Pastel on paper Portrait italian Painting
Located in Napoli, IT
CHILD - Pastel on paper cm.51x41 signed lower right by Alfonso Grassi, Italy. Wooden frame with passeportout cm.94x73
Category

Late 20th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Paper, Pastel

Baby Bumble Bee
Located in New York, NY
Signed and dated
Category

2010s Old Masters Art

Materials

Paper, India Ink

Escuela flamenca (siglo xviii) - Óleo sobre tela - Paisaje con figura a caballo
Located in Sant Celoni, ES
La obra no va firmada, es de autor anónimo Se presenta enmarcada la pintura El estado de la obra se puede ver, es aceptable, pero con algunas restauraciones antiguas y la tela está...
Category

Late 18th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Oil

Crucifixion
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Jean Pichore workshop, 1500-1541 Crucifixion Metal cut engraving printed on vellum with vintage hand coloring c. 1500-1541 Miniature (image) size: 4 3/4 x 3 1/8" Including decorated ...
Category

16th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Engraving

Le Voyage - Halte au bord de l'Oued
By Georges Washington
Located in Paris, FR
Georges Washington 1827-1910 American Le Voyage - Halte au bord de l'Oued Oil on canvas Signed lower right Canvas: 16 7/8" high x 23 5/8" wide Frame: 29...
Category

Late 19th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Fine 18th Century Old Master Oil Painting Dead Game in Landscape
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Still Life with Dead Birds 18th Century Italian School oil painting on canvas, framed framed: 16 x 20 inches canvas: 13 x 17 inches provenance: privat...
Category

18th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Oil

Regency portrait drawing of Lady Nugent
Located in London, GB
Collections: With Ellis Smith, London; Private collection, to 2015. Literature: G.C. Williamson, John Downman A.R.A., his Life and Works, p. lviii no...
Category

19th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Pencil, Watercolor

Oil Painting of Landscape with 'The Papal Palace at Avignon'
By Pieter Bout
Located in London, GB
Provenance: Sotheby’s December 5th 2006, Lot 388 Bout was a Flemish painter, draughtsman and etcher. He is known mainly for his landscapes, city, coast and country views and archite...
Category

Early 18th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Oil

18th Century portrait oil painting of a girl with an orange
By Robert Byng
Located in Nr Broadway, Worcestershire
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...
Category

18th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

View of Meissen, Germany: A 16th Century Hand-colored Map by Braun & Hogenberg
Located in Alamo, CA
This is a 16th century original hand-colored copperplate engraved map of View of View of Meissen, Germany entitled "Misena Hermun Duvorum Urbs" by Georg Braun & Franz Hogenberg, from their famous city atlas "Civitates Orbis Terrarum", published in Cologne, Germany in 1575. The map depicts a side view and bird's-eye view, looking across the Elbe River (labelled Albis Fluvius on the map; White River in Latin) from the northeast. In the foreground are three women in conversation on a hill above the city, along with a man and a woman in conversation by a road, all dressed in contemporary costumes of the upper class. A coat-of-arms is present in each upper corner. A great castle sits atop a hill in the background on the left. Meissen grew up around Albrechtsburg castle, built by Emperor Henry I around AD 929, and was granted a municipal charter at the end of the 12th century. From 1471 onwards, the castle complex was reconstructed as the residence of the Saxon electors on the northeast corner of the Domberg (Cathedral Hill). Meissen cathedral is a Gothic hall church begun c. 1270; in 1413 a bolt of lightning destroyed its west towers, which were replaced only in the 20th century. Meissen lies to the northwest of Dresden, Germany in Saxony. Meissen is famous for its Meissen porcelain and the Albrechtsburg castle The following is an English translation of an excerpt from Braun's description of the city:  "This city is surrounded by very many rivers, to the east flows the Elbe, to the south the Triebisch, to the west are the mountains, to the north the Meisse, after which the city is said to be named. The city is well-situated in its surroundings, the navigable rivers, the mountains and the healthy air. Around the city there is a good land to grow grain, fertile vineyards on the hillsides and without doubt the mountains are not without ore, for one mile away, up the Elbe, is Scharfenberg, where silver and lead ore are mined.." 
  References: Van der Krogt 4, 2684; Taschen, Braun and Hogenberg...
Category

16th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Engraving

Alligator Tail
Located in New York, NY
Signed and dated
Category

2010s Old Masters Art

Materials

Paper, India Ink

Sketch of a Man in Profile
Located in London, GB
Sketch of a Man in Profile 17th Century French School Ink on paper Image Size: 10 1/2 x 7 inches (26.5 x 17.5 cm) Framed Provenance The estate of Joseph McCrindle Christies Old Masters and British Pictures and Old Master Drawings Sale 12th December 2008 This highly worked picture shows us a man depicted in profile is seen interacting with a scene that extends beyond the boundaries of the paper's composition, the pen strokes intricately portraying the man's face, rendering a detailed, textured complexion. He points his left hand out to something in the distance, with a look of almost alarm. The artist Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione (1609-64) did a series of oriental head studies. The exotic headgear that he wears and this type of oriental head studies, had its principal source was of course Rembrandt, who etched many similar heads during the 1630s. In the seventeenth-century Western European imagination, the turbaned figure represented the epitome of alterity: the Ottoman Turk. Ottoman costume...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Paper, Ink

Feast in the Garden of Love, 17th century Antwerp, Louis de Caullery
Located in PARIS, FR
Louis de Caullery (1582-1621) Antwerp School early 17th century Oil on oak panel Dimensions: h. 51 cm (20.08 in), w. 43 cm (16.93 in) Ebonized wooden frame Framed: h. 67 cm (26.38 in...
Category

Early 17th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Oil, Wood Panel

The So-Called Tempio della Tosse, Near Tivoli. Interior Upright
Located in Fairlawn, OH
The So-Called Tempio della Tosse, Near Tivoli. Interior Upright (Veduta interna del Tempio della Tosse) "Temple of the Cough" Etching, 1764 Signed in the plate From: Vedute di Roma...
Category

1760s Old Masters Art

Materials

Etching

Escuela española (XVII) - Niño Jesús Salvador del Mundo
Located in Sant Celoni, ES
La obra no va firmada El estado de la obra se puede ver, presenta algunas restauraciones antiguas y algunos repintes Se presenta enmarcada la pintura con un marco en madera ebaniza...
Category

Mid-19th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Oil

Escuela española (XIX) - Óleo sobre tela - Retrato de gentilhombre
Located in Sant Celoni, ES
La obra va sin firmar La obra se presenta enmarcada Medidas obra: 60 x 46 cm. Medidas obra: 76 x 64 cm. Estado aceptable aunque si comentar que la tela está reentelada y en la pa...
Category

Mid-19th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Oil

Regency portrait drawing of Arabella Graham-Clarke
Located in London, GB
Collections: The sitter, and by descent; Christie's, 19th March 1928, lot 6; Private collection to 2019 Literature: G.C. Williamson, John Downman, A.R.A., his Life and Works, Lon...
Category

Early 19th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Pencil, Watercolor

Beaver
Located in New York, NY
Signed and dated
Category

2010s Old Masters Art

Materials

Paper, India Ink

17th century Italian Horse Battle scene between Crusaders and their enemy
By Jacques Courtois
Located in Woodbury, CT
Fine huge 17th Century Italian/French Old Master Battle Scene of the Crusades, oil on canvas. Grand scale extensive landscape view of a battle from the 1670-80 period, with cavalry f...
Category

Late 17th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Oil

The Great Landscapes VI (2nd State)
Located in Chicago, IL
Watermark: Wappen von Amsterdam mit Nebenmarke
Category

17th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Etching

Frieze of antique figures, a drawing by the sculptor Antoine-Denis Chaudet
Located in PARIS, FR
Faithful to the neo-classical taste, sculptor Antoine-Denis Chaudet presents us with a frieze of antique figures executed in gray wash over pencil strokes, which is likely inspired b...
Category

Early 1800s Old Masters Art

Materials

Paper, Pencil, Ink

Royal Hospital att Greenwich to the River /// "Vitruvius Britannicus" Engraving
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: Colen Campbell (Scottish, 1676-1729) Title: "Royal Hospital att Greenwich to the River" (Vol. 1, Plates 86, 87) Portfolio: Vitruvius Britannicus; or The British Architect, Co...
Category

1710s Old Masters Art

Materials

Laid Paper, Engraving, Intaglio, Etching

COUNTRY SCENE- Neapolitan School Italian Figurative Oil on Canvas Painting
Located in Napoli, IT
COUNTRY SCENE - Oil on canvas cm.30x24 by Jean Philipe Moreno, Italy 2002. Frame available on request from our workshop. The painting by Jean Philipe Moreno depicts a bucolic scene. Moreno is inspired by the paintings of the Neapolitan School of the 1800s and in particular by the Neapolitan painter Filippo Palizzi...
Category

2010s Old Masters Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Annunciation Allori Religious Leonardo 17/18th Century Paint Oil on canvas Italy
Located in Riva del Garda, IT
The Annunciation Florentine painter, 17th/18th century Follower of Alessandro Allori (Florence, 1535 – Florence, 1607) Oil on canvas 45 x 58 cm  - Framed 55 x 68 cm A sp...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Oil

18th Century portrait oil painting of a gentleman
Located in Nr Broadway, Worcestershire
Follower of Enoch Seeman the Younger German, (1694-1744) Portrait of Gilbert Sympkin Oil on canvas Image size: 29.25 inches x 24.5 inches Size including frame: 38 inches x 33.25 inches A fine three quarter length portrait of a gentleman traditionally identified as Gilbert Simpkin (Sympkin), follower of Enoch Seeman the younger, C1720. The portrait is set in a feigned sculptured oval cartouche, a device used to give a sense of depth. The sitter is depicted wearing a fashionable blue jacket and matching waistcoat with a white chemise and lace jabot. He wears a powdered wig in the fashionable style of the day and is posed holding his hat under his left arm with the fingers of his right hand stretched out. At court, long fingers signified wealth, culture and intelligence. The painting has clearly been executed by an artist of great ability who has been influenced by Enoch Seeman the younger. Gilbert Simpkin (Sympkin) was born in London on 24 August 1683, the son of John Simpkin and Susannah Butler. His grandfather was also called Gilbert Simpkin. He entered Oxford University in 1700 where he studied at St John’s College. In 1702, he became a student of Middle Temple, which at the time was one of the world’s most important centres of legal education. He later settled in Plymouth and then Bristol. He died in Bristol on 15 May, 1744 and was buried at Bristol Cathedral. He remained unmarried and the portrait may well have been commissioned to commemorate when he was first Called to the Bar or perhaps had established his own practice. Enoch Seeman or Seemann the younger was born in Danzig, Germany now Gdansk, Poland in 1694. His father was Enoch Seeman Senior, an artist of Flemish origin and his brothers Isaac, Noah and Abraham also became artists. He came to London with his father and brothers around 1704 and established himself as a portrait artist. From 1717 he became painter to the Royal court painting...
Category

18th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

At Tunbridge Well
By Agostino Aglio
Located in Middletown, NY
Black crayon and graphite with white heightening on blue handmade laid paper. Adhered at all four corners to a period support, on which the title and an illegible date (perhaps 1815) appear to be written in the artist's hand. ________ Aglio was born in Cremona is 1777 and his artistic talent was recognized early in his life. He was promised a place at the University in Milan by the Holy Roman Emperor, however, his formal education was upended before it even began by the invasion of Italy and Austria by Napoleon. Aglio joined the war effort and fought in a series of major battles near Venice before becoming seriously ill. At the age of about 23 he was released from duty, and traveled to Rome to focus on his health, and landscape painting. In Rome, Aglio studied with the renowned artist Campovecchio. At the invitation of well known British architect William Wilkins (designer of the National Gallery and University College London), Aglio relocated to London in 1803. He made London his permanent home, and married Letitia Clarke in 1805. He enjoyed a lucrative career painting frescoes in the interiors of high society townhouses, country manors, and major London concert halls and theaters. Most notably, Aglio painted multiple official portraits of Queen Victoria...
Category

Early 19th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Crayon, Handmade Paper, Laid Paper, Color Pencil, Graphite

Still Life - Francesca Strino Italian oil on canvas painting
Located in Napoli, IT
Still life - Francesca Strino Italia 2005 - Oil on canvas cm.60x60 Francesca Strino, a Neapolitan painter, realises this still life with great pictorial realism. The painter has her ...
Category

Early 2000s Old Masters Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

SPRING PORTRAIT- French School Impressionist - Italian Oil on Canvas Painting
Located in Napoli, IT
SPRING PORTRAIT - Oil on canvas cm.30x24 by Jean Philipe Moreno, Italy 2002. Frame available on request from our workshop. Moreno’s portrait depicts a young Parisian woman, her face ...
Category

2010s Old Masters Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Sleeping Man
Located in Middletown, NY
A superb impression from an important mid-19th century collection. Etching on white laid paper with a partial crown and shield watermark, 4 x 2 7/8 inches (102 mm x 73 mm), margins....
Category

17th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Laid Paper, Etching

Le Marechal Ney passant ses Troupes en Revue
Located in Paris, FR
Paul Emile Perboyre 1826-1914 French Le Marechal Ney passant ses Troupes en Revue (The Marshall Ney reviewing his Troops) Oil on panel Signed lower righ...
Category

19th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Soldier begging for Mercy a preparatory study by Jean-Marc Nattier (1685 - 1766)
Located in PARIS, FR
This rare drawing by Nattier is part of a set of preparatory studies executed in 1717 for one of the painter's first commissions, the painting commissioned by Tsar Peter I of Russia ...
Category

1710s Old Masters Art

Materials

Chalk

Venice See Landscape Bella 18th Century Paint Oil on canvas Old master Italy
Located in Riva del Garda, IT
Gabriele Bella (Venice 1730 – Venice 1799) attributed View of Venice with the Guglie bridge (or the Cannaregio bridge, as it was formerly called) circa 1750/60 oil on canvas, ...
Category

18th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Oil

Two Girls - Engraving after Rembrandt - 19th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Two Girls  is an engraving on ivory-colored paper realized after an etching after Rembrandt by Charles Amand-Durand. This wonderful piece of art belongs to a late edition of the 19th...
Category

19th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Engraving

The Hunchbacked Fiddler (3rd State)
Located in Chicago, IL
The Hunchbacked Fiddler (3rd State), 1654 Etching 266 x 113 mm.; 6 1/2 x 4 7/16 inches Watermark: Fleur-de-lys in a Crowned Shield References: Godefroy 44 III/VI Hollstein 44 III/VI Pelletier, Adrian van Ostade...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Etching

Georg Philipp I RUGENDAS (1666-1742) - Frederick I of Prussia
By Georg Philipp Rugendas the Elder
Located in Paris, Île-de-France
Georg Philipp I RUGENDAS (1666-1742) Frederick I of Prussia Red chalk, ink and brown wash on paper 45x42 cm This drawing has been long considered representative of Charles VI. In r...
Category

Early 1700s Old Masters Art

Materials

Ink, Watercolor

Trajan entre la ville de Rome et la Victoire, Heliogravure
By Marcantonio Raimondi
Located in Long Island City, NY
Marcantonio Raimondi, After by Amand Durand, Italian (1480 - 1534) - Trajan entre la ville de Rome et la Victoire, Year: 1875, Medium: Heliogravure, Size: 12 x 17 in. (30.48 x 43....
Category

1870s Old Masters Art

Materials

Etching

Antique 19th Century Neoclassical Bacchanal Painting Dancing of the Nymphs 1850
By Cornelius van Poelenburgh
Located in Portland, OR
A good antique Dutch/Flemish oil on panel painting, after Cornelis van Poelenburgh, circa 1850. The painting portrays a number of nude and par...
Category

Mid-19th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Oil, Panel

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

Parrot, Snake, Lizard and Ducks, 17th Century Genoese School
Located in Blackwater, GB
Parrot, Snake, Lizard and Ducks, 17th Century Genoese School Fine Large 17th Century Italian Old Master from the Genoese School of a parrot, ducks a lizard and snake, oil on canva...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Oil

Jan Cornelis Sylvius
Located in Middletown, NY
Heliogravure on cream laid paper, 6 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches (164 x 138 mm), thread margins. Uniform toning on the recto, and scattered light foxing and various notations in purple ink and...
Category

19th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Handmade Paper, Laid Paper, Etching

Rembrandt's Mother, Photogravure by Rembrandt van Rijn
Located in Long Island City, NY
Rembrandt van Rijn, After by Bredius, Dutch (1606 - 1669) - Rembrandt's Mother, Year: Of Original 1639 (printed 1906), Medium: Photogravure, Size: 14 x 10 in. (35.56 x 25.4 cm), ...
Category

Late 19th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Etching

Judith and Salome, a pair of oil paintings on canvas by Francesco Conti
Located in PARIS, FR
This widely referenced pair of paintings is one of Francesco Conti’s most successful productions. Francesco Conti is one of the finest painters of 18th-century Florence. In the shimmering colors typical of his best work, he represents two opposite characters from the Bible: the virtuous Judith, whose courage saves her people by cutting off the head of the invader Holofernes, and the depraved Salome, who under the influence of her mother becomes responsible for the beheading of the prophet John the Baptist. The artist's talent lies in his ability to treat these two macabre subjects with a light touch, presenting us with two attractive women who seem to twirl with glee amidst the severed heads... 1. Francesco Conti, the “Florentine Tiepolo” Francesco Conti is a major painter of the Florentine school of the 18th century; he can even probably be considered, along with Giovanni Domenico Ferretti (1692-1768), as one of the two main painters of the second quarter of the Florentine 18th century. Born in Florence in 1682, Francesco Conti began his apprenticeship in the workshop of Simone Pignoni (1611 - 1698), a disciple of Francesco Furini; he was also influenced by the Venetian Sebastiano Ricci. A protégé of Marquis Riccardi, he accompanied him to Rome between 1699 and 1705, where he frequented Carlo Maratta's studio. He settled permanently in Florence in 1705. Painted exclusively on canvas, the majority of his work consists of religious subjects, altarpieces or private devotional works. It is likely that Conti himself was a devout churchgoer, as evidenced by his affiliation, in the third decade of the eighteenth century, to the Society of the Disciples of Saint-John-the-Baptist, and his entry, at the end of his life, into the fraternity of the Venerable Society of the Holy Trinity. In Florence, Conti worked for the Grand Duchy's major patrons, including the last Medici - in particular Giangastone and Annamaria Luisa, Electress Palatine - and confirmed his role as a reference painter under the Lorraine Regency, as master of the Public Drawing School, which was closely linked to the institute responsible for the manufacture of semi-precious stone mosaics, then located in the Uffizi complex. Matteo Marangoni, an art critic of the early 20th century, praised his "brushwork full of elegance and true spirit of the 18th century", pointing out that Conti was "probably one of the best colorists" of the Florentine school of his time. These two characteristics led the art historian Paolo dal Poggetto to nickname him the "Florentine Tiepolo". 2. Judith and Salome, two biblical characters opposing each other These two paintings form a pair presenting two biblical episodes, which have in common the depiction of a "heroine" carrying the severed head of a man. While the Salome episode might at first appear to be an echo of the Old Testament story of Judith, each character is the exact opposite of the other. Judith, whose story is told in the Book of Judith, is a beautiful young widow from Bethulia who, accompanied by her maid, went into the camp of the invading Assyrians and won the confidence of Holofernes, the general commanding the enemy army. Invited to a great feast on the fourth evening, she took advantage of Holofernes' drunkenness to cut off his head. “She went up to the bedpost near Holofernes’ head, and took down his sword that hung there. She came close to his bed, took hold of the hair of his head, and said, “Give me strength today, O Lord God of Israel!” Then she struck his neck twice with all her might, and cut off his head. Next she rolled his body off the bed and pulled down the canopy from the posts. Soon afterward she went out and gave Holofernes’ head to her maid, who placed it in her food bag...
Category

1710s Old Masters Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

She, 2014 C- Type Print, Dibond / Perspex face mounted in tray frame
Located in London, GB
She, 2014 C- Type Print, Dibond / Perspex face mounted in tray frame Framed: 113 x 103.1 cm 44 1/2 x 40 1/2 in Available editions: 7/7 AP1 AP2 AP3 Edition of ...
Category

2010s Old Masters Art

Materials

C Print

"A Harlot's Progress" Plate 3 Etching
Located in Houston, TX
Etching from the series titled "A Harlots Progress" by William Hogarth. The series consists of six paintings and engravings. The story is about a woman named M. Hackabout who arrived in London and started working as a prostitute. The third plate is of her getting arrest for her choice in profession. The series is a satirical story that emphasizes the dangers of being a prostitute and the health risks that come from it. In 18th century engraving, the detail of the black mole on women and men's face is a symbol of the deadly venereal disease, syphilis. In this plate, Hackabout has already contracted the disease and that is why the black dot is visible on her forehead as well as her madam's. In 1828, William Innell Clement published Harlot's Progress in columns on a single page of his newspaper Bell's Life in London #330. The detail with the cross seen in earlier reproductions of the engraving. Dimensions without Frame: H 14.5 in x W 16.5 in. Artist Biography: William Hogarth ( 10 November 1697 – 26 October 1764) was an English painter, printmaker, pictorial satirist, social critic, and editorial cartoonist. His work ranged from realistic portraiture to comic strip-like series of pictures called "modern moral subjects", perhaps best known to be his moral series A Harlot's Progress, A Rake's Progress and Marriage A...
Category

1730s Old Masters Art

Materials

Etching

18th Century Lanscape Oil Painting of Matlock High-Torr
Located in London, GB
Thomas Smith of Derby Matlock High-Torr Landscape Oil on canvas 27 x 34.5 inches unframed 34 x 41.5 inches including frame Thomas Smith of Derby (died 12 September 1767) was an Engl...
Category

18th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Oil

Cadiz Island: A Framed 17th Century Hand-colored Map from Blaeu's Atlas Major
Located in Alamo, CA
This is a 17th century hand-colored map entitled "Insula Gaditana Isla de Cadiz" from Johannes (Joan) Blaeu's Atlas Maior, published in Amsterdam in 1662. The map provides an excellent plan of Cadiz Island on the southwest coast of Spain, with its harbor, fortifications, agricultural fields and several surrounding salt processing areas. Numerous sailing ships of various sizes are included in and around the harbor and bay, including five large sailing ships, as well as twenty-four smaller ships. There is a small compass rose overlying the bay. The bridge to the mainland from the island is shown on the right. There is an extremely ornate and colorful title cartouche in the lower left, with its mythological figures reminiscent of Raphael’s Galatea fresco at the Villa Farnesina in Rome. The vibrant colors are vividly preserved. The master colorist tried to emulate a painting by using various tones to create a three-dimensional effect.
 Blaeu's name is present in the plate in the lower right. Blaeu stated in his description of Cadiz: “The main wealth of the islanders consists of salt, which they harvest, and
 the tuna fisheries.” 
 This 17th century hand-colored map is framed in an ornate, partially textured bronze-colored wood frame and glazed with UV protected conservation glass. There is a vertical center fold, as issued. There is a faint crease in the lower right and faint color offset on the left from the right side of the map, resulting from having been in an atlas for hundreds of years. Small foci of paint are present in the upper portion of the left margin and in the left corner margin. The map is otherwise in very good condition. Due in large part to their powerful trade empire, the Dutch became known for cartography in the seventeenth century. This period is considered the Golden Age of Dutch cartography. Their publishing houses produced the highest quality work in Europe, particularly those maps and charts of foreign lands, and Dutch map-making set the bar for cartographic accuracy and artistry into the early-eighteenth century. Some of the most well-known cartographers worked in Amsterdam during this period. Perhaps the most famous of these was the Blaeu family. Willem Janszoon Blaeu, set up shop in Amsterdam. His son, Johannes (Joan), succeeded him upon his death in 1638, continuing in his father’s position as Hydrographer to the Dutch East India Company and selling maps to the public. The Blaeu map presses, located near Amsterdam’s Dam Square...
Category

Mid-17th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Engraving

"Allegory of Justice": A 17th Century Old Master Engraving by van Swanenburg
By Willem van Swanenburg
Located in Alamo, CA
This old master engraving entitled "Allegorie op de Rechtspraak" is by Willem van Swaanenburg after a painting by Joachim Wtewael, published by Ch...
Category

Early 1600s Old Masters Art

Materials

Engraving

Letter L - Etching by Luigi Vanvitelli - 18th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Letter L is an etching realized by Luigi Vanvitelli artist of 18th century. Good condtions. The etching belongs to the print suite “Antiquities of Herculaneum Exposed” (original ti...
Category

Late 18th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Etching

San Francisco de Asís - Oleo sobre cristal
Located in Sant Celoni, ES
Interesante óleo pintado sobre cristal que representa a San Francisco de Asís, pintado con un estilo Naif. No esta firmado, solo va titulado. Se presenta con su marco original de m...
Category

1850s Old Masters Art

Materials

Oil

The Plank Bridge – Landschap met een bruggetje van planken
Located in Middletown, NY
Etching on thin cream laid paper with a partial "M" or "W" watermark, 5 x 5 15/16 inches (126 x 150 mm), thread margins. Inscribed in the plate in the upper-right: “Antoni Waterlo fe...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Etching, Laid Paper

Sheep In A Landscape, 19th Century, Follower Of Eugene Verboeckhoven
Located in York, GB
A fine painting of sheep in a landscape setting follower of the talented Belgium painter of animals Eugene Verboeckhoven. Housed in a 19th century gilt frame. The size overall being 55 cm x 48 cm whilst the painting is 38 x 29 cm. The sheep have been beautifully captured especially their faces. An oil on board study ready to hang Eugene Joseph Verboeckhoven...
Category

19th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Oil

Letter of the Alphabet I - Etching by Luigi Vanvitelli - 18th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Letter of the Alphabet I, from the series "Antiquities of Herculaneum", is an etching on paper realized by Luigi Vanvitelli in the 18th century. Good conditions. The etching belon...
Category

Late 18th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Etching

With King's Privilege - Original Etching by Pierre Charles Trémolières - 18th
Located in Roma, IT
With King's Privilege is an Original Etching (chez Huquier) realized by Pierre Charles Trémolières (1703-1739 Paris). The artwork is in good condition on a yellowed paper, included ...
Category

18th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Etching

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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