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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
Cardinal with Missive - Painting by Unknown - 17th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Cardinal with missive is an original old master artwork realized in the 17th Century. Mixed colored oil painting on canvas. Provenance: Italy. Avery precoius artwork depicting a ca...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Oil

Chiesa e Monastero di Silvestro in Capite - Etching by G. Vasi - 18th century
Located in Roma, IT
Chiesa e Monastero di Silvestro in Capite, delle suore Francescane Vrbaniste is an etching of the Late 18th century realized by Giuseppe Vasi. Signed and titled on plate lower margi...
Category

Late 18th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Etching

Claude-Joseph Vernet 18th century Old Master landscape, grand tour Italy
By Claude-Joseph Vernet
Located in Petworth, West Sussex
Claude-Joseph Vernet (French, 1714 – 1789) Fisherman by a cascade in a gorge Oil on canvas 22.1/4 x 25.1/2 in. (56.5 x 64.7 cm.) Provenance: The estate of the late Betty, Lady Grantchester Du Catalogue Collection #39 Christie's London, 3 Dec 1997, Lot 52 (£41,000) Claude-Joseph Vernet was the leading French landscape painter (with Hubert Robert) of the later 18th century. He achieved great celebrity with his topographical paintings and serene landscapes. He was also one of the century's most accomplished painters of tempests and moonlight scenes...
Category

18th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Oil, Canvas

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

Watercolor, Pencil

18th Century French sanguine drawing of figures in the Roman ruins by Robert
By Hubert Robert
Located in Petworth, West Sussex
Hubert Robert (French, 1733 – 1808) Figures in the Roman ruins Sanguine on paper 29.6 x 35.6 cm. Bearing watermark from ‘Jan Honig & Zoonen, Amsterdam’ Provenance: Hal O’Nians, Fine...
Category

18th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Paper

A Rich Merchant - Painting by Unknown - 18th Century
Located in Roma, IT
A rich merchant is an original old master artwork realized in the 18th Century. Mixed colored oil painting on canvas depicting a merchant looking at a coin in his left hand. Provena...
Category

18th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Oil

The 1564 Medici Danti Map of California
By Fra Egnazio Danti
Located in New York, NY
Florentine, Probably Seventeenth Century Titled L’ultime parti note nel Indie occidentali Dated on the edge of the cartouche: “M.D. LXIII. M.AG” [1564…the month of August] In the 1560s Cosimo I de’Medici, the powerful Duke of Florence, undertook a major renovation of the Palazzo Vecchio, the venerable palace that to this day dominates the city at the Piazza della Signoria. For the Sala della Guardaroba, literally the wardrobe room, but in fact the storeroom of the Duke’s most precious holdings, Cosimo conceived of a grand decorative project that was to reflect in one space the entire cosmos --both an indication of the Duke’s ambition and an allusion to his name. The plan, supervised by Giorgio Vasari, involved the construction of walnut cabinets to contain the Medici treasures, on the outside doors of which were to be placed large hand-painted maps specially commissioned to document and illustrate the current knowledge of the world. Portraits of famous men were to decorate the tops of the cabinets and two large globes –one representing the terrestrial world, the other celestial—were to descend from openings in the ceiling. The commission for the maps, inspired by Ptolemy’s Geographia, was given to the celebrated mathematician and cosmographer, Fra Egnazio Danti (Perugia 1536-1585 Alatri). Fifty-three maps were ultimately created. Thirty were conceived and executed by Danti between 1563 and 1575. The remaining twenty-three were completed by Stefano Bonsignori between 1576 and 1686. They remain in place in Florence in the room for which they were created. The present work is an exact-size painted, drawn and inscribed copy of Danti’s map of California...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Canvas, Pen, Gouache, Watercolor, Ink, Paper

The Assumption of the Virgin
Located in New York, NY
Provenance: Unidentified collector’s mark “D.G.R,” lower right (Lugt 757b) Wilhelm Suida (1877–1959), New York; by descent to: Robert L. and Bertina Suida Manning, New York, until 1996 Private Collection, USA This impressive drawing of the Assumption of the Virgin is the work of the Genoese artist Giovanni Battista Paggi. The son of a nobleman, Paggi received a humanist education and was a self-taught artist. According to Paggi’s first biographer, Raffaele Soprani, it was only after encountering Luca...
Category

16th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Ink, Paper, Pen

17th Century Flemish Sculpture of a Religious Figure
Located in Rochester, NY
Antique carving of a saint or martyr. 17th century Flemish hardwood carving. Wonderful wear and rich color.
Category

17th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Wood

17th/18th century portrait , Circle Godfrey Kneller, wife, Earl of westmorland
By (Circle of) Godfrey Kneller
Located in York, GB
Portrait Circle of Sir Godfrey Kneller Bt. (British, 1646-1723) of Katharine, wife of Thomas, 6th Earl of Westmorland, oil on canvas late 17th early 18th century in date. The sitter Katharine is facing dexter and is wearing a cream dress, blue and gold cloak and lace mantilla...
Category

18th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Oil

18th Century by Evangelista Schiano Saint Gennaro Oil on Canvas
Located in Milano, Lombardia
Evangelista Schiano (attr.) (active in the 18th century) Title: Saint Gennaro Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: without frame 102 x 74 cm - with frame 126.5 x 100 cm 19th century car...
Category

Mid-18th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Canvas, Cotton Canvas, Oil

Nadie Nos Ha Visto - Etching and Aquatint by Francisco Goya - 1881-1886
Located in Roma, IT
Los Caprichos . Plate n.79, No One Has Seen Us. Third Edition. Goya derides the monks, showing them as “devotos de la bota”. These religious men have...
Category

1880s Old Masters Art

Materials

Etching, Aquatint

17th Century Oil Painting Portrait of a Young English Boy
By Gerard Soest
Located in London, GB
Gerard SOEST (1600 - 1681) Portrait of a Young Boy oil on canvas 35.5 x 30.5 inches inc. frame Gerard Soest (circa 1600 – 11 February 1681), also known as Gerald Soest, was a portra...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Oil

The Adoration -Painting by Giuseppe Assereto - 1630
Located in Roma, IT
The Adoration is an original modern artwork realized by Giuseppe Assereto (died in Genoa in 1650) in the first half of the 17th Century. Original Oil Painting on Canvas. A 19th Century style gilded wood frame is included. The Autograph of the work was confirmed by Camillo Manzitti. Very good conditions. The frame is in excellent conditions too. Reference: C. Marcenaro, Pittori genovesi a Genova nel '600 e nel '700, Genova 1969, pp. 134 ; 135, n. 55. Z. Wazbinski, Un Quadro Caravaggesco Di Gioacchino Assereto, in Prospettiva, n. 26, 1981, pp. 60 ; 63. F. R. Pesenti, La Pittura in Liguria. Artisti del primo Seicento, Genova 1986, p. 397, nota 23. A. Gesino, Tracce di Matthias Stom nel collezionismo tra la Sicilia e Genova, in Caravaggio e i genovesi, catalogo della Mostra a cura di A. Orlando, Genova 2019, pp. 182 ; 195. The Adoration is an excellent example of the XVII Century Italian Painting. The style of the work denotes the suggestive influence of Assereto father's mature production, when influenced by Mathias Stom (Amersfoort, about 1600 - Sicily, after 1650) expresses dark sensibilities in a southern Italian style. In his works, however, there is an accentuated naturalism and interesting similarities with the production of Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione. Gioacchino Assereto died in 1650, while, according to Soprani, he was intent on painting a Last Supper for the oratory...
Category

1630s Old Masters Art

Materials

Oil

17th Century by Cristoforo Serra Portrait of a Shepherd Oil on Canvas
Located in Milano, Lombardia
Cristoforo Serra (Cesena 1600 - Cesena 1689) Title: Portrait of a Shepherd Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: without frame 92 x 75 cm - with frame 106.5 x 94.5 cm Antique giltwood c...
Category

Early 17th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Cotton Canvas, Canvas, Oil

Ponte S.Angelo - Vintage Offset Print after Giuseppe Vasi - Early 20th century
Located in Roma, IT
Ponte S.Angelo is a vintage offset realized after Giuseppe Vasi in the Early 20th Century. Signed and titled on plate lower margin. Good conditions. Giuseppe Vasi (Corleone,1710...
Category

Early 20th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Offset

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

17th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Canvas, Cotton Canvas, Oil

Painting 18th Century Vanitas Still Life Skull Religion Esotericism Occult
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Vanitas 18th century French School Oil on canvas Old frame gilded with gold leaves Dim canvas : 73 X 60 cm Dim frame : 93 X 80 cm Certificate of authenticity
Category

Late 18th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Oil

La Vie de la Vierge - Etching By Jacques Callot - 1633
Located in Roma, IT
La Vie de la Vierge is an original Etching realized by Jacques Callot in 1633. Frontispiece of the series of thirteen prints. P.a. of first edition. Dedicated to the Abbot Maugis, Chaplain of Maria de...
Category

1630s Old Masters Art

Materials

Etching

19th century English School Portrait of a Gentleman, with Riding Crop & Dog
Located in York, GB
(early 19th century) English School Portrait of a Young Gentleman, with Riding Crop and Dog The reverse stamped T Brown, High Holborn, Linen, oil on canvas, The size overall being 104 cm x 84 cm whilst the painting is 89cm x 70cm A charming portrait in overall very good condition housed in a gilt frame The painting has been cleaned recently . There is some old restoration in the form of a small patch to the rear,barely visible to the front. some texturization to top right in certain light Certainly does not detract from this charming painting SHIPPING Free uk delivery Delivery usually within 14 working days.Fully insured delivery. please provide telephone/email details for courier. We ship worldwide for free. All taxes/customs etc to be paid for by purchaser. RETURNS (The Consumer Contracts Regulations) Whilst we are sure that you will be extremely happy with your purchase, if for any reason you are not, then you are entitled to return the item to us for a refund. For all purchases made you are entitled to return the item(s) for a period of up to 14 days following receipt by you or a representative indicated by you. Please contact us to confirm that you are returning the item(s) and the reason for doing so. Upon receipt of the item(s) we will refund the purchase price via your original payment method...
Category

Early 19th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Oil

A Tavern Interior, 18th Century Old Master, Figurative Oil Painting by Schaak
Located in Greven, DE
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...
Category

18th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Copper

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

The Concert Of Insects Between Roses - Lithograph by J.J. Grandville - 1852
Located in Roma, IT
The Concert Of Insects Between Roses is an original lithograph on ivory-colored paper realized by J.J. Grandville from Scènes de la vie privée et publique des animaux, 1852. Publishe...
Category

1850s Old Masters Art

Materials

Lithograph

Ancient Roman Temple Architecture: An 18th Century Framed Etching by Piranesi
Located in Alamo, CA
This is an 18th century etching by Giovanni Battista Piranesi entitled "Veduta del Tempio detto della Tosse su la Via Tiburtina, un miglio vicino a Tivoli" (View of the so-called Tem...
Category

1760s Old Masters Art

Materials

Etching

19th Century Portrait Of A Young Woman Oil On Canvas
Located in York, GB
Fine 19th Century Oil on Canvas Portrait of a Young Woman in large gilt gesso frame Identity of the sitter as yet unknown. The artist has managed to capture her ethereal beauty perfe...
Category

19th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Oil

18th century ink study for the Leveson-Gower Children
Located in London, GB
Collections: J. Goodfriend, USA. Brown wash and pencil on laid paper Framed dimensions: 13.25 x 11.75 inches This powerful drawing was made at the time that Romney was painting the famous group portrait of the Gower Children now in Abbot Hall Art Gallery, Kendal. Romney was a bold and incisive draughtsman who made numerous rich brown ink studies, principally for historical compositions; by contrast, comparatively few studies linked directly to his portraits survive. The existence of a group of studies for the Gower Children underscores its importance to Romney. The sitters were the five youngest of the eight children of Granville, 2nd Earl Gower who, at the time the portrait was commissioned, was President of the Council in Lord North’s government and one of the best-connected and most influential people in England. The present drawing which is a large scale treatment of the composition in its final form perfectly distils Romney’s conceit: the younger children dancing whilst their elder sister, in the guise of a Bacchante plays the tambourine. The bold and dramatic study underlines both the artistic confidence and classical grandeur Romney gained during his trip to Italy between 1773 and 1775. The commission from Granville, 2nd Earl Gower to paint five of his children came shortly after Romney’s Continental tour. The initial idea, as represented by the present drawing, seems to have been to paint Lady Anne, the figure on the right of the composition playing the tambourine, who was the youngest of Gower’s first four children by his second wife Lady Louisa Egerton and who married the Rev. Edward Vernon Harcourt, later Archbishop of York, with three of her younger half-siblings by Gower’s third wife, Lady Susanna Stewart: at the left Lady Georgina, who became Countess of St Germans following her marriage to the Hon. William Eliot; at the right Lady Charlotte Sophia, later Duchess of Beaufort and in the centre Lady Susanna, later Countess of Harrowby. Romney added a fifth child to the finished portrait, Gower’s son: Lord Granville, later created Viscount Granville and Earl Granville. In Italy Romney had produced a large number of studies of classical antiquities and old master paintings. The commission from Gower offered Romney the opportunity to explore a complex multi-figural group, putting into practice the kind of ambitious classical quotations that Reynolds was currently exploiting. In 1773 Reynolds had completed the remarkable group portrait of the Montgomery Sisters, now in the Tate Gallery, London, which showed them adorning a herm of the Roman god Hymen; the composition used a garland to link the three figures who were shown in classical costume dancing at the foot of a Roman sculpture. Scholars have long pointed to a similar sources for the two compositions: the works of Nicolas Poussin. Whilst the Montgomery Sisters is based, in part, on a Bacchanal now in the Musée des Beaux-Arts, the Gower Children has always been associated with Poussin’s Dance to the Music of Time, now in the Wallace Collection, London. It seems more likely that Romney was looking to an antique source in the form of the Borghese Dancers, a Roman relief, then in Palazzo Borghese in Rome. Romney would have seen the relief of interlocking, dancing maidens and would also have known Guido Reni’s Aurora...
Category

18th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Pencil, Ink

Emperors Caesar Octavian Tiziano Paint Oil on canvas Old master 17/18th Century
By Tiziano Vecellio (Pieve di Cadore 1490 - Venice 1576)
Located in Riva del Garda, IT
Tiziano Vecellio (Pieve di Cadore 1490 - Venice 1576) follower of Portrait of the emperor Julius Caesar (Rome 100 BC - 44 BC), inscribed above C. IVLIVS. CAESAR Portrait of the Emperor Octavian Augustus (Rome 63 BC - 14 BC), inscribed on top OCTAVIANUS II ROM IMP 17th century oil painting on canvas Measurements (cm.): 65 x 50, with frame 81 x 68 cm. The Latin writer Suetonius with his work 'De vita Caesarum' (and in particular with his tradition in the vernacular of 1543, edited by the Florentine scholar Paolo del Rosso) inspired Tiziano Vecellio who, in 1537, painted for Duke Frederick II of Gonzaga portraits of the eleven emperors, adorning the walls for a small room in the Palazzo Ducale in Mantua, later known as the Cabinet of the Caesars. These effigies were intended to establish the link between the new era and classicism with its splendor, as well as to celebrate the value and wisdom of the rulers, who perceived themselves, in their lordships, as valiant new emperors. Titian's paintings soon became enormously popular and many patrons and lords of the time, including Ferdinando d'Avalos, Marquis of Pescara and Governor of Milan or Vespasiano Gonzaga, turned to the workshop of the Cremonese Bernardino Campi...
Category

Late 17th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Oil

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 , 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

Paint Religious 17th Century Oil On Panel Saint Girolamo Leonardo Italy Holy
Located in Riva del Garda, IT
This splendid panel, made in the last decades of the sixteenth century, depicts San Girolamo, a monk who lived between the 4th and 5th centuries, presente...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Oil

19th Century By Giustino Menescardi Ascent to Calvary Oil on Canvas
Located in Milano, Lombardia
Giustino Menescardi (Milan, Italy, c. 1720 - Venice, Italy, after 1779) Title: Ascent of Calvary Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: without frame 47 x 36 cm - with frame 57 x 43 cm Shaped and gilded wooden cassetta frame Publications: Bozzetti, modelletti, sketches: dalla collezione di Giorgio Baratti...
Category

Early 18th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Canvas, Cotton Canvas, Oil

Portrait Of Thomas Smythe (1514-1577) School of Hans HOLBEIN (1497-1543)
Located in Blackwater, GB
Portrait Of Thomas Smythe (1514-1577), 16th Century School of Hans HOLBEIN (1497-1543) Fine huge 16th Century English Old Master portrait of Sir Thomas...
Category

16th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Oil

17th Century Dutch School Travellers in Winding Landscape Oil on Canvas
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Artist/ School: 17th Century Dutch School Title: An Extensive River Landscape with Figures in the foreground Medium: oil painting on canvas, framed Pai...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Oil

"Mary Magdalene " Antique Italian Grand Tour Oil on Canvas Circa 1840 Guido Reni
Located in Portland, OR
Antique Italian Grand Tour Oil on Canvas painting, "Mary Magdalene," by Achille Leonardi (Italian, 1800-1870), circa 1840. The painting depicting Mary Magdalene looking skyward and in the manner of...
Category

Mid-19th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Animal Figures from Ancient Rome - Original Etching by Various Masters - 1750s
Located in Roma, IT
Animal Figures from Ancient Rome, from the Series "The Antiquities of Herculaneum Exposed", is anoriginal etching from the end of the 18th century, made by Various Old MastersIn very...
Category

1750s Old Masters Art

Materials

Etching

Arcadian riverscape with different figures by a tree [Arcadisch rivierlandschap]
Located in Middletown, NY
A beautiful Arcadian landscape after Johannes Glauber. Amsterdam: 1721. Etching on handmade laid paper with an intact fleur-de-lis watermark. 203 x 275 mm; 8 x 10 7/8 inches, trimm...
Category

18th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Laid Paper, Etching, Handmade Paper

Drawing of a captive woman
Located in London, GB
Collections: Sir Thomas Lawrence, who acquired the contents of Fuseli’s studio; Susan, Countess of Guilford, née Coutts (1771-1837), acquired from the Lawrence estate; Susan, Baroness North (1797-1884), daughter of the above; Mrs A. M. Jaffé, acquired in France, c. 1950 to 2016. Black chalks, on buff-coloured paper Stamped verso: ‘Baroness Norths Collection / of Drawings by H Fuseli Esq.’ Framed dimensions: 26.38 x 20.63 inches This boldly drawn sheet depicting a seated figure was made by Fuseli at an important and highly productive moment in his career. The monumental drawing is closely related to another sheet by Fuseli in the British Museum which Schiff published as subject unknown. Both drawings were made when Fuseli was designing his most important sequence of historical works, including scenes from Shakespeare and Milton, The Nightmare and The Death of Dido which was exhibited at the Royal Academy to great critical acclaim in 1781. The present drawing does not relate directly to any of Fuseli’s finished historical paintings of the period, but evidently the image of a slightly menacing, seated and covered old woman was precisely the sort of motif he was playing with. It is notable that the same figure reappears later in Fuseli’s work as the witch from Ben Jonson’s Witch’s Song which Fuseli produced as both a painting and engraving in 1812. Fuseli returned to London in 1779 from a highly creative and productive period in Rome and established himself as one of the leading history painters of the period. Fuseli re-established contact with his old mentor Sir Joshua Reynolds, becoming a regular guest at his dinner table and visitor to his studio. The earliest and most striking manifestation of this strategy was Fuseli's Death of Dido, exhibited in 1781 at the Royal Academy. Executed on the same scale as Reynolds's version (Royal Collection), Fuseli's vertically oriented picture was hung directly opposite Reynolds's with its horizontal orientation, inevitably inviting comparison between the two works and garnering Fuseli much publicity and favourable reviews in the newspapers. The present, previously unpublished sheet, relates closely to a drawing now in the British Museum. That sheet shows the same seated old woman, drawn on a smaller scale and more schematic in design, seated next to an anatomical drawing of a man. The pose of this figure is related to the pose of Dido in his Death of Dido; the foreshortened torso, arrangement of head, oblique view of Dido’s features and arms all suggest that the study can be viewed as an initial thought for the composition. Fuseli may have initially thought of including the figure of the hunched and covered old woman. Drawn on identical paper to the British Museum sheet, our study is an enlarged depiction of the same figure, more elaborately delineated and developed. The presence of a chain to the right of the figure, suggests that the iconography was related in some way to a scene of imprisonment. Fuseli had first explored the motif of the hooded old woman in an early Roman drawing, 'The Venus Seller'. The idea of a grotesque old woman, hooded and with angular nose and projecting chin seen in profile was most spectacularly used by Fuseli in his sequence of paintings depicting The Three Witches from Macbeth. Fuseli seems to have kept the present sheet and may have returned to it when preparing a painting of The Witch and the Mandrake from Ben Jonson’s Witch’s Song from his Masque of Queens in 1812. Here the same seated figure looks out from under her hood and picks a mandrake by moonlight. Jonson’s drama had been performed at the court of James I in 1609, inspired the subject. To throw the nobility of the queens into relief, the poet added a coven of witches, one of whom declares: ‘I last night lay all alone, On the ground, to hear the mandrake groan; And plucked him up, though he grew full low, And, as I had done, the cock did crow.’ The figure was reversed in the associated etching which was published in 1812. It seems likely that the present drawing remained as part of Fuseli’s working archive of figure studies. The present drawing was presumably purchased with the bulk of Fuseli’s drawings after the artist’s death by Sir Thomas Lawrence. Lawrence’s large group of Fuseli drawings were then acquired by Susan, Countess of Guildford (1771-1837). Lady Guildford was the eldest daughter of the banker Thomas Coutts (1735-1822), who himself had supported Fuseli’s journey to Rome in the 1770s and had remained one of the artist’s key...
Category

18th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Chalk

17th Century by Giovan Battista Discepoli Coronation of Thorns Oil on Panel
Located in Milano, Lombardia
Giovan Battista Discepoli, called the Zoppo from Lugano [Castagnola (Lugano), Switzerland, 1590 - Lugano, Switzerland, 1654] Title: Coronation of Thorns Medium: Oil on panel Dimensio...
Category

Early 17th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Panel, Oil

Palazzo Barberini - Etching by Giuseppe Vasi - Late 18th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Palazzo Barberini is an original black and white etching of the Late 18th century realized by Giuseppe Vasi. The beautiful etching represents a glimpse of Rome. Signed and titled o...
Category

Late 18th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Etching

18th Century by Giuseppe Pianca Shepherd with Goat and River Oil on Canvas
Located in Milano, Lombardia
Giuseppe Antonio Pianca (Agnona di Borgosesia/VC, 1703 - after 1757) Title: Shepherd with Goat and River Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: without frame 49 x 57 cm - with frame 67 x...
Category

18th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Canvas, Cotton Canvas, Oil

Monastero e Chiesa dei SS. Domenico - Etching by G. Vasi - Late 18th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Monastero e Chiesa dei SS. Domenico is an original black and white etching of the Late 18th century realized by Giuseppe Vasi. The beautiful etching represents a glimpse of Rome. ...
Category

Late 18th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Etching

Arthur Joseph Meadows 19th Century Seascape Off Calais
Located in York, GB
A very fine painting by the renowned seascape painter Arthur Joseph Meadows,Off Calais; fishing fleet returning at low tide. Housed in an antique style gilt frame the size overall is...
Category

19th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Oil

Eighteenth century Old Master drawing - St Jerome
Located in London, GB
Pen, ink and wash Framed dimensions: 9 ½ x 11 ¼ inches Drawn c. 1763 This small, powerful study shows St Jerome contemplating the bible with a cross and sk...
Category

18th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Pen, Ink

The Industrious Prentice - Etching by William Hogarth - 1747
Located in Roma, IT
The Industrious Prentice - Lord Mayor of London is an original etching print realized by William Hogarth in 1747 Signature on the plate on the lower right, with the description on t...
Category

1740s Old Masters Art

Materials

Etching

Circa 1400, Spanish school of 'The Prophet Daniel', tempera on panel with gildin
Located in Petworth, West Sussex
Spanish school, circa 1400 The prophet Daniel Tempera on panel with gilding 35.1/4 x 10.5/8 in. (89.5 x 28 cm.) Condition: The painting has been recently stabilised and cleaned up. ...
Category

15th Century and Earlier Old Masters Art

Materials

Wood Panel, Tempera

Chiesa di S. Andrea alla Valle - Etching by Giuseppe Vasi - Late 18th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Chiesa di S. Andrea alla Valle is an original black and white etching of the Late 18th century realized by Giuseppe Vasi. Signed and titled on plate lower margin. Good conditions ...
Category

Late 18th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Etching

Portrait of William Pitt, Earl of Chatham: Rare Framed Mezzotint after Brompton
By Edward Fisher
Located in Alamo, CA
This is a large framed very rare hand-colored copperplate mezzotint engraved portrait of William Pitt, the Elder, 1st Earl of Chatham by Edward Fisher, published in London in 1779 after a painting by Richard Brompton. Pitt is depicted attired in a flowing regal appearing cape, standing in an ornate room with his left hand outstretched over a serious of manuscripts and scrolls that are laying on a table or desk to his left. The table is covered by a beautiful oriental carpet. The manuscripts include the Magna Carta, a map of the colonies, including Long Island and Staten Island, and papers entitled "A Plan for the Reconciliation between Great Britain and the Colonies", "A Motion Made in 1775 for the Recall of Troops from Boston", "A Provisional Act for Settling the Troubles in America Offered to the House of Lords in 1775", and "It is doing Nothing to repeal a few Scraps of Paper or Pieces of Parchment called Acts of Parliament. But our Business is to repeal the Ill-Will and the Animosity unfortunately now subsisting between Great Britain and North America". This engraving is held by the British Museum and the British Royal Collection Trust. This large framed mezzotint engraving is presented in a brown wood frame with gold-colored beaded inner and outer trim, and a cream-colored French mat. The frame measures 31.63" high by 26.63" wide by 0.75" deep. There are three short tears along the right edge and mild creasing in the left upper, left lower and right lower corners. It is otherwise in very good condition. William Pitt (1708-1778) was a member of the British parliament from 1735 to 1761 and prime minister from 1766 to 1768. Pitt was an advocate for the American colonies leading up to the War of Independence. He called for an amiable relationship between Great Britain and the colonies and opposed the Stamp Act and military action in America. He advocated for a withdrawal of English troops from Boston in 1775 and the settling of troubles in America, as two of his manuscripts on the table outline. Pitt's colleague, Lord Shelburne (later the Marquess of Lansdowne) shared his sympathies and after Pitt's death, signed a peace treaty with the United States in 1782. The American city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is named for William Pitt, the Elder. The name originated when the conflict between the British and French over territorial claims in the Northeast were settled in 1758. General John Forbes and his British army, supported by the American colonial troops, expelled the French from Fort Duquesne (which had been constructed by the French in 1754). Forbes re-named the site for William Pitt the Elder, who at the time was a British statesman. The earliest known reference to the new name, Pittsburgh, is in a letter sent from General John Forbes to Pitt, dated November 27, 1758. Pitt's son, William Pitt, the Younger, like his father, also served as British Prime Minister. Edward Fisher (1730-1785) was born in Ireland in 1730. He was originally a hatter, but learned engraving in London. He became a member of the Incorporated Society of Artists in 1766, and exhibited there fourteen times between 1761 and 1776. He engraved more than sixty portraits. In addition to this portrait of William Pitt, Earl of Chatham, after Richard Brompton he engraved several portraits after Brompton, including George, Earl of Albemarle, as well as engraved portraits after paintings by Joshua Reynolds, including the Shakespearean actor David Garrick, Hugh, Earl of Northumberland, and Elizabeth, Countess of Northumberland and Laurence Sterne, and Hope Nursing Love, as well as Robert Brown, after Mason Chamberlin, Colley Cibber, after Jean-Baptiste van Loo, Christian VII of Denmark, after Nathaniel Dance, Simon, Earl Harcourt, after Hunter, Roger Long, after Benjamin Wilson...
Category

Late 18th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Mezzotint

Palazzo Barberini - Etching by Giuseppe Vasi - Late 18th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Palazzo Barberini is an original black and white etching of the Late 18th century realized by Giuseppe Vasi. The beautiful etching represents a glimpse of Rome. Signed and titled o...
Category

Late 18th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Etching

18th century English scene of a man on his horse with his dog in a landscape
Located in Woodbury, CT
Wonderful 18th century English gouache on paper of a 18th century English scene of a man on his horse with his dog in a landscape One of a set of five all framed in Hogarth frames. ...
Category

1780s Old Masters Art

Materials

Gouache, 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.70x50. Frame available on request from our workshop. In this beautiful oil on canvas Fr...
Category

Early 2000s Old Masters Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Porta S. Paolo - Etching by Giuseppe Vasi - Late 18th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Porta S. Paolo is an original black and white etching of the Late 18th century realized by Giuseppe Vasi. Signed and titled on plate lower margin. Good conditions and aged margins...
Category

Late 18th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Etching

17th Century by Giulio Benso The Expulsion of the Merchants From the Temple
Located in Milano, Lombardia
Giulio Benso (Genoa, 1592 - 1668) Title: The Expulsion of the Merchants From the Temple Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: without frame 121 x 170 cm - with frame 144 x 193 cm Ninetee...
Category

Early 17th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Oil, Canvas

17th Century by Giovanni Paolo Castelli Still Life Oil on Canvas
By Giovanni Paolo Castelli detto Spadino
Located in Milano, Lombardia
Giovanni Paolo Castelli called Spadino (Rome, Italy, 1659 - Rome, Italy, 1730) Title: Still life Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: without fra...
Category

Late 17th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Canvas, Cotton Canvas, Oil

The Basilica of St. Paul in Rome, Early 19th Century Etching by Luigi Rossini
Located in Alamo, CA
"Rovina della gran Basilica di S. Paolo fueri le mura accaduta" (View of the Ruins of the Great Triumphal Arch of S. Paolo Fuori le Mura) from "Le Antichita Romane" (Ancient Rome), published in Rome in 1823. It depicts the destruction of the Basilica of St. Paul after the fire of 1823. People stand in the road and on the right observing the damage amid debris, which includes many fragments of columns. The etching is presented in a silver-color wood frame with an off-white double mat with a black inner mat. There are a few small spots, but it is otherwise in very good condition. See item # LU117324669722 for another Rossini etching...
Category

1820s Old Masters Art

Materials

Etching

Ancient Roman Fresco - Original Etching By F. Cepparuli - Mid-18th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Francesco Cepparuli, Ancient Roman Fresco, original etching hand watercolored. Mid-18th Century. original etching from the end of the 18th century, realized by Francesco Cepparuli. ...
Category

Late 18th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Etching

Giardino e Casino Pontificio - Etching by Giuseppe Vasi - Late 18th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Giardino e Casino Pontificio is an original black and white etching of the Late 18th century realized by Giuseppe Vasi. The beautiful etching represents a glimpse of Rome. Signed ...
Category

Late 18th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Etching

18th century oil painting English portrait of a gent in armor, wearing a wig
By studio of Sir Godfrey Kneller
Located in Woodbury, CT
Outstanding early 18th century English portrait of James Bellevue. The portrait was always believed to be the work of Sir Godfrey Kneller who was known to have painted James Bellevu...
Category

Early 1700s Old Masters Art

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Ancient Roman Busts - Original Etching by Various Masters - End of 18th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Ancient Roman Busts from the Series "Antiquities of Herculaneum Exposed", original etching from the end of the 18th century, made by Various Old Masters. In very good condition, exc...
Category

Late 18th Century Old Masters Art

Materials

Etching

Que se la Llevaron! - Etching by Francisco Goya - 1799
Located in Roma, IT
Que se la Llevaron! is an original etching realized by Francisco Goya in 1799, from Los Caprichos series. The artwork is the plate 8 (as printed on plate on the higher right margin) from the series Los Caprichos, first edition. Good conditions. Los Caprichos. Put on sale the 6 February 1799, at the end of the last carnival of the century, Los Caprichos, first Goya’s printed...
Category

1790s 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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