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.
Elderly Shepherd Leaning on a Staff (after Parmigianino)
Located in Middletown, NY
A lovely chiaroscuro woodcut by Antonio Maria Zanetti the elder after a work by Parmigianino (Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola). Printed on cream laid paper, laid down to a cream lai...
Laid Paper, Woodcut
![Les Plaisirs du Bal [before 1st State] (The Pleasures of the Ball)](https://a.1stdibscdn.com/archivesE/upload/a_3653/1523031811466/Watteau_after_The_Pleasures_of_the_Ball_master.jpg?width=240)
$11,000
Les Plaisirs du Bal [before 1st State] (The Pleasures of the Ball)
By (After) Jean-Antoine Watteau
Located in Chicago, IL
Les Plaisirs du Bal (before 1st State), 1730 The Pleasures of the Ball Pure etching only by Gérard Jean-Baptiste Scotin II (born Paris 1698) 495 x 640 mm.; 19 3/8 x 25 1/8 inches ...
Etching
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...
Etching
Ancient Roman Fresco Herculaneum - Original Etching G. Morghen - 18th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Ancient Roman Frescofrom the series "Antiquities of Herculaneum", is an original etching on paper realized by Giovanni Morghen in the 18th Century. Signed on the plate. Good ...
Etching
Beggar with a Wooden Leg
Located in Middletown, NY
Etching on handmade wove paper, 3 3/4 x 2 3/4 inches (95 x 70 mm), thread margins. Third state (of five), likely printed early 19th century. In very good condition with light handlin...
Etching, Handmade Paper
$1,750Sale Price|30% Off
Moses Breaking the Tablet of the Law (after Parmigianino. 1503-1540)
By Daniel Ramée
Located in Plano, TX
Moses Breaking the Tablet of the Law. (after Parmigianino. 1503-1540.) Pencil drawing mounted onto paper. 12 1/4 x 3 3/4 inches. Collector's seal verso: Gustav Grunwald, (Lugt 1155b)...
Pencil
$2,975
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...
Etching
Canal with a large Boat and Bridge – after Rembrandt van Rijn
Located in Middletown, NY
Heliogravure on cream laid paper, 3 1/4 x 4 1/4 inches (80 x118 mm), thread margins. In good condition with a soft vertical crease and minor uniform toning. Printed early 19th centur...
Laid Paper, Photogravure
The Spectacle Seller
By Adriaen Jansz van Ostade
Located in Middletown, NY
Etching and drypoint on cream laid paper, 4 x 3 3/8 inches (102 x 86 mm), 1/4 inch margins. Signed in the plate, lower left corner. The 3rd state (of 6), after the rounding of the pl...
Laid Paper, Drypoint, Etching
Peasant Family on the Tramp – after Rembrandt van Rijn
Located in Middletown, NY
Etching on cream laid paper, 4 5/8 x 3 1/2 inches (118 x 89 mm), thread margins. Laid down to a medium weight laid support, scattered nicks and corner wear. The top and bottom corner...
Laid Paper, Etching
Beggar and Beggar - Engraving after Rembrandt - 19th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Beggar and Beggar, Coming From Behind a Hillock is an engraving on ivory-colored paper realized by Charles Amand Durand after an etching by Rembrandt. This wonderful piece of art bel...
Engraving
The Organ Grinder
Located in Middletown, NY
Etching on cream laid paper with a large heraldic watermark which is partially trimmed, 4 3/16 x 3 5/8 inches (105 x 84 mm), margins trimmed but preserving the signature in the lower...
Etching
Soleil - Les Fleurs Animées Vol.I - Lithograph by J.J. Grandville - 1847
Located in Roma, IT
Lithograph on paper. Plate from the Series "Les Fleurs Animées". Single sheet with passepartout. "...The rebellious caciques are sacrificing Christians to the sun, and you suffer ...
Lithograph
The Quacksalver
Located in Middletown, NY
Etching on cream laid paper. 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch margins. In good condition with a band of minor discoloration along top and bottom sheet edge verso. One circular 1.5 inch- sized ar...
Laid Paper, Etching
The Arrival of the Angels - Original Etching by J.B. Huet - 18th Century
Located in Roma, IT
The Arrival of the Angels is an original artwork realized by Jean-Baptiste Huet (1745-1811) in the Late 19th Century. Etching print. Signed on plate. Good conditions. The artwork...
Etching
Head of a Laughing Peasant
Located in Middletown, NY
Etching on white laid paper, 1 5/8 x 1 1/2 inches (41 x 38 mm), thread margins. In excellent condition with a light pencil inscription on the verso. [Hollstein 6]
Handmade Paper, Laid Paper, Etching
$758Sale Price|20% Off
Óleo sobre tela - Retrato de una anciana - Año 1879
Located in Sant Celoni, ES
La obra va firmada a mano por el artista en la parte media y fechada del año 1879 Se presenta bien enmarcada la pintura El estado de la obra es aceptable Medidas de la obra: 61 cm...
Oil
Farmers enjoying a barn dance with a violinist and a bagpiper.
Located in Middletown, NY
Etching on cream laid paper mounted to a cream laid paper support, 9 x 12 7/8 inches (230 x 327 mm), thread margins. Three small areas of light skinning with one extremely small hole...
Etching, Laid Paper
ARABIAN SCENE - Vigneron landscape oil on canvas painting
By Francoise Vigneron
Located in Napoli, IT
Arabian scene - Francoise Vigneron Italia 2004 - Oil on canvas cm.85x65. In this beautiful oil on canvas Francoise Vigneron was inspired by the oriental ...
Canvas, Oil
Gerard Dou's Portrait of Himself
By Gerard Dou (Leiden 1613 - 1675)
Located in Middletown, NY
Etching on cream laid Arches paper, 6 9/16 x 5 1/8 inches (166 x 129 mm), full margins. Signed in pencil, lower center margin. A very good impression. Titled, dated, and inscribed in...
Handmade Paper, Laid Paper, Etching
VEDUTA DI CHIAIA, Antonio Cardon - Stampa su carta con cornice, moderna
Located in Napoli, IT
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...
Color
$1,800Sale Price|20% Off
At Prime (Igba Ara) - 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...
Canvas, Linocut
Hercule Gaulois, ou L’Éloquence
By Charles-Nicolas II Cochin
Located in Middletown, NY
A classical chiaroscuro woodcut after Raphael executed by Charles Nicolas Cochin Père (1688-1754) & Vincent Le Sueur (1668-1743) . Printed from two bloc...
Laid Paper, Woodcut
$1,516Sale Price|20% Off
Escuela Valenciana (XVIII), tras Juan de Juanes - Inmaculada Concepción
Located in Sant Celoni, ES
La obra no va firmada El estado de conservación de puede ver, es bastante bueno, solo aconsejaría una limpieza ya que está un poco sucia, pero por lo demas, muy aceptable Se presen...
Oil
Early Historical Portrait Believed to be of Scottish Politician David Carnegie
By John Baptist De Medina
Located in Houston, TX
Early historical portrait in the style of William Aikman believed to be of David Carnegie, 4th Earl of Northesk, a Scottish peer and politician. The work features the central figure ...
Canvas, Oil
$4,136Sale Price|20% Off
19TH CENTURY CONTINENTAL SCHOOL OIL PAINTING WOOD PANEL STUDY OF A SAINT
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
19th Century Continental School (unsigned, as one would expect) A study of a saint Medium ; oil on panel, unframed. Size: 26" x 12" inches
Oil
Duck - Colored lithograph on paper 1950s
Located in Napoli, IT
Colored silkscreen print on paper with mahogany wood frame
Paper, Lithograph
$4,250Sale Price|50% Off
AMERICA
By John Speed
Located in Santa Monica, CA
IMPORTANT AMERICAN MAP - ONE OF THE FIRST TO SHOW CALIFORNIA as an ISLAND JOHN SPEED (1552-1629) AMERICA - With Those Known Parts In That Unknown Worlde (sic), 1626-(76) (Burden 217 iv/iv) Engraving, uncolored. Engraved by Abraham Goos and published by Thomas Basset and Richard Chiswell - 4th state of 4 in 1676.15 1/8 x 20 1/2” From “A Prospect of the Most Famous Parts of the World”. Generally good condition. A repaired split in lower centerfold. This is the most common version of this important map...
Engraving
$2,552Sale Price|20% Off
Royal Feminine Linocut Print on Linen and Canvas, Unframed
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...
Canvas, Linen, Ink, Linocut
Then Judas comes to Christ and laments his sin and became his disciple
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Then Judas comes to Christ and laments his sin and became his disciple Woodcut, 1471-1473 Unsigned (as issued) The image depicts a scene from the life of Christ, likely from one of Z...
Woodcut
Bearded man in turban and fur
Located in Middletown, NY
Etching on cream wove paper, 4 3/4 x 3 3/4 inches (120 x 95 mm), wide margins. Scattered light surface soiling, unevenly trimmed wide margins, all consistent with age. Likely printed...
Etching
Si Son de Otro Linage - Etching by Francisco Goya - 1863
Located in Roma, IT
Si son de otro linage is an original artwork realized by the great Spanish artist Francisco Goya in 1810. Original Etching on paper. The artwork belongs to the famous series "Los...
Etching, Aquatint
Fountains of Rome
Located in Middletown, NY
A charming scene with romping dogs and spectators watching the cascading water play a trick on an unsuspecting man who is sprayed as he descends the steps, ...
Laid Paper, Engraving, Etching
Saint Philip; From Christ, the Apostles, and St. Paul with the Creed.
Located in Middletown, NY
An image from the highly celebrated 14-part series titled Christ, the Apostles, and St. Paul with the Creed. Haarlem: c1590. Engraving on light-weight cream laid paper, 5 3/4 x 4 i...
Laid Paper, Engraving
$1,875Sale Price|20% Off
Fine 19th Century French Oil Painting Madonna & Child Carved Wood Scrolled Frame
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
The Madonna & Child French School, 19th century presented in carved wood scrolled frame oil on canvas, framed frame: 27 x 20 inches canvas: 15.5 x 13 inches provenance: private colle...
Oil
Maximilien de Bethune, Duc de Sully
By (After) Frans Pourbus the Younger
Located in Middletown, NY
A portrait of Maximilien de Bethune, Duc de Sully, the Ambassador from Henry IV of France to James I of England; by Gerard Edelinck, after Franz Pourbus the Younger Etching on fine ...
Laid Paper, Etching
$1,102Sale Price|20% Off
Trajan’s Column View Rome Early 19th Century Grand Tour Gouache on Paper
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
This charming gouache on paper painting, from the early 19th century, presents a detailed view of Trajan’s Column in Rome, a historically significant landmark dating back to ancient ...
Gouache
$2,000Sale Price|20% Off
Answer Within, Oil on Canvas Painting, Old Masters Style, 21st Century
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Painting Ships in a well-protected tube from Nigeria This work is unique, this is not a print or other type of copy. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity (Issued by the Gallery)
Canvas, Oil
$1,757
Fine Antique Italian Oil Cannaregio Canal Venice Busy Figurative Scene
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
View on the Cannaregio Canal Venice Italian Grand Tour Scene After Guardi by Italian School (Italian, 19th century, after Francesco Guardi) oil on panel Painting: 8 x 10 inches Prov...
Oil
Le Tour de Clermont en Dauphine apartenant a Monsieur de Tonnerre
Located in Middletown, NY
Etching and engraving on handmade cream laid paper, 3 7/8 x 6 7/8 inches (97 x 173 mm), full margins. In good condition, consistent with age. Several small notations in pencil in t...
Handmade Paper, Laid Paper, Engraving, Etching
The Large Village Fair
Located in Middletown, NY
Hamburg: Lippmann, 1895. Copperplate engraving on cream wove paper with a deckle edge, 10 1/8 x 13 1/2 inches (256 x 342 mm), full margins. In generally good condition with some lig...
Engraving, Handmade Paper
$1,400Sale Price|20% Off
Amukoko (Enjoyment Galore -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...
Canvas, Linocut
Battle of Jerusalem (There occurred a battle over Jerusalem)
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Battle of Jerusalem (There occurred a battle over Jerusalem) Woodcut, 1473 Unsigned This illustration is part of the Speculum humanae salvationis (Mirror of Human Salvation), a popul...
Woodcut
Escuela española (XVIII) - Óleo sobre tela - Virgen Dolorosa
Located in Sant Celoni, ES
La obra no va firmada, es de augtor anónimo Se presenta sin enmarcar la pintura El estado de conservación de la pintura dse puede ver, presenta faltas y precisará restauración Med...
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...
Handmade Paper, Laid Paper, Etching
The Artist's Mother Seated at a Table, Looking Left: Three Quarter Length
Located in New York, NY
Etching and drypoint, circa 1630s. Cream laid paper. Narrow margins.
Etching
$663
Ancient Roman Scene - Etching by Giovanni Morghen - 18th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Ancient Roman Scene from the series "Antiquities of Herculaneum", is an original etching on paper realized by Giovanni Morghen in the 18th Century. Signed on the plate. Good condit...
Etching
Anatomical Study - Etching by Antoine Defehrt - 1771
Located in Roma, IT
Plate from Buffon's Histoire Naturelle, générale et particulière. Tome XI – Plate II (or III), p. 142. Paris, Imprimerie Royale, 1771. Engraving (etching and burin), approx. 24.5 × 1...
Etching
$1,200Sale Price|20% Off
Tower, Original Watercolor Painting, Ready to Hang, Framed
Located in Granada Hills, CA
Artist: August Töpfer Work: Original Watercolor painting, handmade artwork, one of a kind Medium: Watercolor on Satin Paper Year: 1834-1911 Style: Classic Art Title: Tower, Size: 12...
Watercolor, Satin Paper
Saint Simon, from Christ and the Apostles
By Ludolf Ludwig Businck
Located in Middletown, NY
Chiaroscuro woodcut on cream laid paper, printed from three blocks in black, olive-green, and yellow ochre, 8 3/16 x 6 1/4 inches (207 x 157 mm), thread margins. Some scattered light discoloration throughout, lightly backed with laid paper, however the sheet retains translucence when viewed through raking light. Trimmed at or near the margin. Archivally sound small repaired corner tear, upper right, with a very minor (1/4 inch) vertical edge split in the center top margin, above the figure's head. All condition issues are consistent with age, and present an exceptionally good example of this truly remarkable work. With the collector's stamp of Friedrich August II, King of Saxony, last King of Poland (1797-1854), Dresden, on the right corner, recto (Lugt 971). This work likely appeared in a well-known posthumous sale of Friedrich August II's private collection, which was handled by C.G. Boerner, and took place in Leipzig, on May 7-9, 1928, presumably this print was presented as lot 1551. [Stechow 16] Ludolph Busïnck was born at Hann, Germany around 1590. By about 1620 he was actively working as a printmaker in Paris, collaborating with publisher and celebrated cartographer Melchoir Tavernier. Busïnck may have studied printmaking in the Netherlands, evidenced by the influence of Dutch printmaker Hendrick Goltzius we see in the bold woodcuts he produced in France. Busïnck was the first printmaker to create chiaroscuro woodcuts in France, a technique originated by German artist Hans Burgkmair...
Woodcut
$1,658
Rest on the flight into Egypt - Etching by Simome Cantarini - 1640 ca
Located in Roma, IT
Rest on the flight into Egypt is an etching by Simone Cantarini executed around 1640. Cantarini also made a painting with the same subject now at the Louvre Museum. The dimension...
Etching
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...
Etching, Laid Paper
Portrait of Rembrandt's Mother - Engraving after Rembrandt -19th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Portrait of Rembrandt's Mother is an engraving on ivory-colored paper realized by Charles Amand Durand after an etching by Rembrandt. This wonderful piece of art belongs to an editio...
Engraving
Portrait of Marquard Freher, aged forty-nine
By Aegidius Sadeler
Located in Middletown, NY
Engraving on hand made laid paper, 8 1/2 x 5 7/8 inches (210 x 148 mm), thread margins. An approximately 1-inch vertical repaired tear extends into the image area at the top center ...
Handmade Paper, Laid Paper, Engraving
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...
Laid Paper, Etching
$473
Ancient Roman Fresco - Etching F. Cepparoli - 18th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Ancient Roman Fresco is an etching on paper realized by Francesco Cepparoli in the 18th Century. Signed on the plate. Good conditions except for some minor stains and a cutting ...
Etching
Little Girl Playing with a Baby in its Mother's Arms
Located in Middletown, NY
Deuchar, David, (after van Ostade). Little Girl Playing with a Baby in its Mother's Arms; Mother with Two Children. Edinburgh: c 1800. Etching on cream laid paper, 3 3/4 x 2 3/4 inch...
Laid Paper, Etching
Persia & Afghanistan: A Framed Hand-colored 17th Century Map by John Cary
By John Cary
Located in Alamo, CA
This colorful and detailed early 18th century copperplate map by John Cary entitled "A New Map of Persia from the Latest Authorities" was published in London in 1801. It depicts Persia, the region of modern day Afghanistan, the Caspian Sea, the Sea of Aral, the Persian Gulf...
Engraving
$1,400Sale Price|20% Off
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...
Canvas, Linocut
Frontispiece with stepped fountain.
Located in Middletown, NY
Dujardin, Karel. Frontispiece with stepped fountain; a stone wall with water spout pouring water into a rectilinear basin, from which a second spout pour...
Handmade Paper, Etching, Laid Paper