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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
Animal Anatomy - Etching by Jacques Baron - 1771

Animal Anatomy - Etching by Jacques Baron - 1771

By Jacques Baron

Located in Roma, IT

Plate from Buffon's Histoire Naturelle, Tom. III – Pl. XII, p. 242 This copperplate engraving presents a detailed anatomical study of the organ of hearing, with particular emphasis ...

Category

1770s Old Masters Art

Materials

Etching

Animal Anatomy - Etching by Jacques Baron - 1771

Animal Anatomy - Etching by Jacques Baron - 1771

By Jacques Baron

Located in Roma, IT

Plate from Buffon's Histoire Naturelle, Tom. III Pl. XVII, p. 266 Copper engraving, 1771 edition This highly detailed copper engraving presents a complex anatomical study of the pe...

Category

1770s Old Masters Art

Materials

Etching

Animal Anatomy - Etching by Jacques Baron - 1771

Animal Anatomy - Etching by Jacques Baron - 1771

By Jacques Baron

Located in Roma, IT

Plate from Buffon's Histoire Naturelle, 1771 Edition, Tom. III – Pl. 16, p. 266 This finely executed copperplate engraving presents a detailed anatomical study of the posterior abdo...

Category

1770s Old Masters Art

Materials

Etching

Animal Anatomy - Etching by Jacques Baron - 1771

Animal Anatomy - Etching by Jacques Baron - 1771

By Jacques Baron

Located in Roma, IT

Plate from Buffon's Histoire Naturelle, Tom. VIII Pl. LII, p. 396 Copper engraving, 1771 edition This finely executed copper engraving presents a comprehensive anatomical study of ...

Category

1770s Old Masters Art

Materials

Etching

Euphorbia (Spurge) /// Antique Botanical Botany Plants Engraving Buffon Science
Euphorbia (Spurge) /// Antique Botanical Botany Plants Engraving Buffon Science

Euphorbia (Spurge) /// Antique Botanical Botany Plants Engraving Buffon Science

By Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon

Located in Saint Augustine, FL

Artist: Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon (French, 1707-1788) Title: "Euphorbia (Spurge)" (Dodecandrie, Trigynie, Plate 411) Portfolio: Histoire Naturelle Year: 1749-1789 Medium...

Category

1740s Old Masters Art

Materials

Watercolor, Laid Paper, Engraving, Intaglio

Le Mâtin - Etching by Jacques de Sève - 1771

Le Mâtin - Etching by Jacques de Sève - 1771

By Jacques de Seve

Located in Roma, IT

Buffon, Histoire Naturelle, 1767–1771 – Tom. V, Pl. XXV (p. 300): Le Mâtin Copper engraving depicting Le Mâtin (mastiff-type dog) in profile, set within a courtyard scene. The anima...

Category

1770s Old Masters Art

Materials

Etching

Animal Anatomy - Etching by Juste Chevillet - 1771

Animal Anatomy - Etching by Juste Chevillet - 1771

Located in Roma, IT

Buffon, Histoire Naturelle, 1771 – Tom. IX, Pl. XXII (p. 258) Copper engraving from the 1771 edition illustrating detailed anatomical studies, including a dissected organ with label...

Category

1770s Old Masters Art

Materials

Etching

Animal Anatomy - Etching by Juste Chevillet - 1771

Animal Anatomy - Etching by Juste Chevillet - 1771

Located in Roma, IT

Buffon, Histoire Naturelle, 1771 – Tom. IX, Pl. XXXIII (p. 332) Copper engraving from the 1771 edition, depicting detailed anatomical studies of the male reproductive system, includ...

Category

1770s Old Masters Art

Materials

Etching

Animal Anatomy - Etching by Juste Chevillet - 1771

Animal Anatomy - Etching by Juste Chevillet - 1771

Located in Roma, IT

Buffon, Histoire Naturelle, 1771 – Tom. IX, Pl. XXXV (p. 342) Copper engraving from the 1771 edition depicting anatomical studies of the male genital organs and a quadruped skeleton...

Category

1770s Old Masters Art

Materials

Etching

Animal Anatomy - Etching by Juste Chevillet - 1771

Animal Anatomy - Etching by Juste Chevillet - 1771

Located in Roma, IT

Buffon, Histoire Naturelle, 1771 – Tom. IX, Pl. XXXII (p. 332) Copper engraving from the 1771 edition illustrating anatomical studies of the male genital organs, shown in multiple d...

Category

1770s Old Masters Art

Materials

Etching

Animal Anatomy - Etching by Juste Chevillet - 1771

Animal Anatomy - Etching by Juste Chevillet - 1771

Located in Roma, IT

Buffon, Histoire Naturelle, 1771 – Tom. IX, Pl. XXXVII (p. 360) Fine copper engraving from the 1771 edition, illustrating anatomical studies of the male reproductive organs, includi...

Category

1770s Old Masters Art

Materials

Etching

Animal Anatomy - Etching by Juste Chevillet - 1771

Animal Anatomy - Etching by Juste Chevillet - 1771

Located in Roma, IT

Buffon, Histoire Naturelle, 1771 – Tom. IX, Pl. XXX (p. 360) Fine copper engraving from the 1771 edition, depicting anatomical studies of the male reproductive organs, including bla...

Category

1770s Old Masters Art

Materials

Etching

Animal Anatomy - Etching by Juste Chevillet - 1771

Animal Anatomy - Etching by Juste Chevillet - 1771

Located in Roma, IT

Buffon, Histoire Naturelle, 1771 – Tom. IX, Pl. XXIX (p. 298) Fine copper engraving from the 1771 edition, illustrating detailed anatomical studies of the urinary bladder and adjace...

Category

1770s Old Masters Art

Materials

Etching

Profile of Man, Old Masters Lithograph after Andrea del Sarto

Profile of Man, Old Masters Lithograph after Andrea del Sarto

By Andrea Del Sarto

Located in Long Island City, NY

Andrea del Sarto, After by Alphonse Leroy, Italian (1486 - 1530) - Profile of Man, Medium: Lithograph, Image Size: 10.25 x 7.5 inches, Size: 19.5 x 14 in. (49.53 x 35.56 cm), Fram...

Category

16th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Lithograph

Heiligie Familie, Old Masters Photogravure Etching by Rembrandt van Rijn

Heiligie Familie, Old Masters Photogravure Etching by Rembrandt van Rijn

By Rembrandt van Rijn

Located in Long Island City, NY

Rembrandt van Rijn, After by Bredius, Dutch (1606 - 1669) - Heiligie Familie, Year: 1906 Date of Original 1646, Medium: Photogravure, Size: 10 x 14 in. (25.4 x 35.56 cm), Printer:...

Category

Late 19th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Etching

Louis XI, Roi de France

Louis XI, Roi de France

By Jean Morin

Located in Middletown, NY

Etching, engraving and stippling on cream laid paper with an indiscernible watermark in the sheet center, 11 15/16 x 8 3/16 inches (302 x 207 mm), trimmed at the plate mark. A very g...

Category

Mid-17th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Laid Paper, Engraving, Etching

Portrait of Carlos de Colonna, Marques de la Espinar

Portrait of Carlos de Colonna, Marques de la Espinar

By Paulus Pontius

Located in Middletown, NY

(after Anthonie Van Dyck) Engraving on cream laid paper, 9 1/4 x 6 3/8 inches (234 x 161 mm), full margins. Water stain throughout bottom, diagonal creases in the area of the bottom right corner, paper tape along top edge on recto. A very well inked impression. __________Flemish painter and engraver Paulus Pontius was born in Antwerp in 1603, and it was in this city that his full life would unfold. At the young age of 13, he was apprenticed to the still life painter Osias Beert, and subsequently to Lucas Vosterman, who was heavily associated with the workshop of Peter Paul Rubens. Vosterman trained Pontius in the skill of engraving, which he took to immediately, finding he had great skill at recreating paintings. Pontius was able to capture the minutiae of light and shadow found on the canvas, and mastered the ability to accurately render the subtleties of brushwork in this alternate media. His success as an engraver cemented his role in the workshop of Rubens, and in 1624, when Vosterman found himself at odds with Rubens, and left Antwerp for England, Pontius assumed his role as foremost engraver in the workshop. It was in this year that Pontius took up lodgings in Rubens's home, and continued to live there until 1631, when courtship and marriage (the first of three) brought him away. After the death of Rubens in 1640, Pontius embarked on a very successful career engraving reproductions of master works by artists including Rubens, Anthony van Dyck, Jacob Jordaens, Pieter van Avont, Abraham van Diepenbeeck...

Category

Mid-17th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Laid Paper, Engraving

Mimufops (Mimusops); Ibricaria (Shingle Oak) /// Botanical Botany Plants Buffon
Mimufops (Mimusops); Ibricaria (Shingle Oak) /// Botanical Botany Plants Buffon

Mimufops (Mimusops); Ibricaria (Shingle Oak) /// Botanical Botany Plants Buffon

By Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon

Located in Saint Augustine, FL

Artist: Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon (French, 1707-1788) Title: "Mimufops (Mimusops); Ibricaria (Shingle Oak)" (Octandreie, Monogynie, Plate 300) Portfolio: Histoire Nature...

Category

1740s Old Masters Art

Materials

Watercolor, Laid Paper, Engraving, Intaglio

Study of a Priestess holding a Caduceus

Study of a Priestess holding a Caduceus

Located in Middletown, NY

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...

Category

Early 19th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Ink, Watercolor, Laid Paper

Picris (Sunflower); Helmintia (Bristly Oxtongue) /// Botanical Botany Plants Art
Picris (Sunflower); Helmintia (Bristly Oxtongue) /// Botanical Botany Plants Art

Picris (Sunflower); Helmintia (Bristly Oxtongue) /// Botanical Botany Plants Art

By Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon

Located in Saint Augustine, FL

Artist: Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon (French, 1707-1788) Title: "Picris (Sunflower); Helmintia (Bristly Oxtongue)" (Syngenesie; Polygamie, Plate 648) Portfolio: Histoire Na...

Category

1740s Old Masters Art

Materials

Watercolor, Laid Paper, Engraving, Intaglio

Ruine di Sepolcro antico
Ruine di Sepolcro antico

Ruine di Sepolcro antico

By Giovanni Battista Piranesi

Located in Fairlawn, OH

Ruine di Sepolcro antico Etching, 1743 Signed in the plate bottomleft in the caaption plate From: Prima Parte, 1743 Second edition: 1750-1778 Watermark: R 37-39 A lifetime impression printed during Piranesi’s life, before the plates are moved to Paris by his sons in the 1790’s Coniditon: Excellent/Very good Image size: 14 5/8 x 9 3/4 inches Reference: Robison 17 iii/V Piranesi In Rome: Prima Parte di Architetture e Prospettive "Although Piranesi studied architecture in Venice, he never was able to find work in the field other than a few jobs involving remodeling in Rome. While Piranesi was struggling to support his architectural endeavors upon his arrival in Rome in 1740, he spent a short period of time in the studio of master painter Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1696-1770) in addition to his apprenticeship with Giuseppe Vasi. The first production of Piranesi’s early years in Rome and a culmination of his training under Vasi, Tiepolo, and his uncle, was the Prima Parte di Architetture e Prospettive (1743). The Prima Parte was a collection of twelve etchings of imaginary temples, palaces, ruins, and a prison. During this time, Piranesi was still developing the unique style of etching he is known for today, and as such the Prima Parte differs significantly in technique compared to later works. In the Frontispiece of the Prima Parte, Piranesi’s lines are definite and exact with very little flow to them, designed in the form of traditional etching. The detail is immaculate, and yet perspective of the piece is oddly simple and familiar to the viewer. Piranesi’s technique employs miniscule markings and lines, intricately woven together to create a stippling effect. The Prima Parte, described as “rigid” by art historian Jonathan Scott, came to be seen as a stark contrast to his later sketches, which were much lighter and freer. Influenced by the style of Tiepolo, which epitomized the lightness and brightness of the Rococo period, Piranesi adopted some of the more painterly techniques of the masters he apprenticed under. Piranesi made the medium of etching appear as though it was a sketch or a painting, hence a “freer” and more fluid design in his later works. For example, the frontispiece of the Prima Parte read as an etching to Piranesi’s audience, but in his later vedute, the style of etching almost appears to be made of brushstrokes. Moreover, at the same time Piranesi was working on the Prima Parte, he aided the artist Giambattista Nolli. There is a small section of Nolli’s map...

Category

1740s Old Masters Art

Materials

Etching

La Facade aux Cariatide, Heliogravure by Marcantonio Raimondi
La Facade aux Cariatide, Heliogravure by Marcantonio Raimondi

La Facade aux Cariatide, Heliogravure by Marcantonio Raimondi

By Marcantonio Raimondi

Located in Long Island City, NY

Marcantonio Raimondi, After by Amand Durand, Italian (1480 - 1534) - La Facade aux Cariatide, Year: 1875, Medium: Heliogravure on Laid Paper, Size: 13 x 9.5 in. (33.02 x 24.13 cm)...

Category

1870s Old Masters Art

Materials

Etching

Quivisia; Portesia /// Antique Botanical Botany Plants Science Engraving Buffon
Quivisia; Portesia /// Antique Botanical Botany Plants Science Engraving Buffon

Quivisia; Portesia /// Antique Botanical Botany Plants Science Engraving Buffon

By Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon

Located in Saint Augustine, FL

Artist: Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon (French, 1707-1788) Title: "Quivisia; Portesia" (Octandreie, Monogynie, Plate 302) Portfolio: Histoire Naturelle Year: 1749-1789 Medium...

Category

1740s Old Masters Art

Materials

Watercolor, Laid Paper, Engraving, Intaglio

La Foi, Old Masters Heliogravure Etching by Marcantonio Raimondi
La Foi, Old Masters Heliogravure Etching by Marcantonio Raimondi

La Foi, Old Masters Heliogravure Etching by Marcantonio Raimondi

By Marcantonio Raimondi

Located in Long Island City, NY

Marcantonio Raimondi, After by Amand Durand, Italian (1480 - 1534) - La Foi, Year: 1875, Medium: Heliogravure, Size: 9 x 4.75 in. (22.86 x 12.07 cm), Printer: Amand Durand, Descri...

Category

1870s Old Masters Art

Materials

Etching

The New Athenaeum, Waterloo Place - Hand-Colored Engraving after Thomas Shepherd
The New Athenaeum, Waterloo Place - Hand-Colored Engraving after Thomas Shepherd

The New Athenaeum, Waterloo Place - Hand-Colored Engraving after Thomas Shepherd

By Thomas Hosmer Shepherd

Located in Long Island City, NY

Thomas Hosmer Shepherd, After by James Tingle, British (1793 - 1864) - The New Athenaeum, Waterloo Place, Medium: Hand Colored Engraving, Image Size: 3.75 x 5.75 inches, Frame Siz...

Category

Early 19th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Engraving

Canard de Miclon (Old Squaw) /// Ornithology Martinet Bird Animal Art Duck
Canard de Miclon (Old Squaw) /// Ornithology Martinet Bird Animal Art Duck

Canard de Miclon (Old Squaw) /// Ornithology Martinet Bird Animal Art Duck

By François Nicolas Martinet

Located in Saint Augustine, FL

Artist: François-Nicolas Martinet (French, 1731-1800) Title: "Canard de Miclon (Old Squaw)" (1008) Portfolio: Histoire Naturelle Des Oiseaux *Signed by Martinet in the plate (printed...

Category

1770s Old Masters Art

Materials

Watercolor, Laid Paper, Engraving, Intaglio

Henry Raeburn, (circle) 19th Century portrait of Sir Charles Forbes Edinglassie
Henry Raeburn, (circle) 19th Century portrait of Sir Charles Forbes Edinglassie

Henry Raeburn, (circle) 19th Century portrait of Sir Charles Forbes Edinglassie

By Henry Raeburn (circle)

Located in York, GB

Portrait of Sir Charles Forbes of Edinglassie, Oil on canvas. The size of the portrait is 75 cm x 59.5 cm whilst overall the size is 106 cm x 91 cm In very good condition.There has been some restoration/overpainting etc.There is some minor craquelure. Housed in a period gilt frame decorated with acorns and leaves Overall a good portrait, circle of a fine scottish artist (unsigned) , with an interesting sitter, his details below. sir Charles Forbes of Edinglassie Sir Charles Forbes, 1st Baronet (1774–1849) was a Scottish politician, of Newe and Edinglassie, Aberdeenshire. Forbes was the son of the Rev. George Forbes of Lochell. He was a descendant of Alexander Forbes of Kinaldie and Pitsligo, and was in 1833 served heir male in general to Alexander Forbes, 3rd lord Forbes of Pitsligo, father of Alexander Forbes, 4th Lord Forbes of Pitsligo, attainted in 1745. Forbes was of a bluff but kindly nature, diffident as to his own merits, of a straightforward and manly character. On the death of his uncle in 1821 Forbes succeeded to the entailed estates of the Forbeses of Newe, and was created a baronet by patent in 1823.[1] He married in 1811. His daughter, Elizabeth, married General, Lord James Hay, second son of the seventh Marquess of Tweeddale. Sir Henry Raeburn FRSE, RA, RSA (1756-1823) Scottish portrait painter and Scotland's first significant portrait painter since the Union to remain based in Scotland. He served as Portrait Painter to King George IV in Scotland Raeburn had all the essential qualities of a popular and successful portrait painter. He was able to produce a telling and forcible likeness; his work is distinguished by powerful characterisation, stark realism, dramatic and unusual lighting...

Category

19th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Oil

Scene II, Le Nozze Degli Dei
Scene II, Le Nozze Degli Dei

Scene II, Le Nozze Degli Dei

By Stefano Della Bella

Located in Fairlawn, OH

Scene II, Le Nozze Degli Dei Etching, 1637 Signed in the plate lower left The scene depicts the initial moment when Diana is revealed, surrounded by her nymphs, celebrating a success...

Category

1630s Old Masters Art

Materials

Etching

La Vierge Allaitant l'Enfant, Heliogravure by Albrecht Dürer

La Vierge Allaitant l'Enfant, Heliogravure by Albrecht Dürer

By Albrecht Dürer

Located in Long Island City, NY

Albrecht Durer, After by Amand Durand, German (1471 - 1528) - La Vierge Allaitant l'Enfant, Year: 1873, Medium: Heliogravure, Size: 5.5 x 3 in. (13.97 x 7.62 cm), Printer: Amand ...

Category

Late 19th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Etching

Ballota (Horehound); Marrubium (White Horehound) /// Botanical Botany Plants Art
Ballota (Horehound); Marrubium (White Horehound) /// Botanical Botany Plants Art

Ballota (Horehound); Marrubium (White Horehound) /// Botanical Botany Plants Art

By Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon

Located in Saint Augustine, FL

Artist: Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon (French, 1707-1788) Title: "Ballota (Horehound); Marrubium (White Horehound)" (Didynamie, Gymospermie, Plate 508) Portfolio: Histoire N...

Category

1740s Old Masters Art

Materials

Watercolor, Laid Paper, Engraving, Intaglio

Set of Two Engravings from Campbell's "Vitruvius Britannicus" /// Architecture
Set of Two Engravings from Campbell's "Vitruvius Britannicus" /// Architecture

Set of Two Engravings from Campbell's "Vitruvius Britannicus" /// Architecture

By Colen Campbell

Located in Saint Augustine, FL

Artist: Colen Campbell (Scottish, 1676-1729) Titles: "The Plan of Lindsey House in Lincolns Inn Fields" (Vol. 1, Plate 49) and "Lindsey House in Lincolns Inn Fields" (Vol. 1, Plate 5...

Category

1710s Old Masters Art

Materials

Laid Paper, Engraving, Etching, Intaglio

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.