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Item Ships From: London
'The Bather' by Louis Latapie (1924)
By Louis Latapie
Located in London, GB
'The Bather', oil on fine art paper, by Louis Robert Arthur Latapie (1924). A captivating example from the long tradition of depicting the bather, this early work by celebrated Frenc...
Category

1920s London - Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Paper

Florentine Expressions: A Portrait Series V
Located in London, GB
"Florentine Expressions: A Portrait Series V", oil on canvas, mounted on board, Florentine School (circa 1980s-90s). This gallery has acquired a number of paintings through an interm...
Category

Late 20th Century Modern London - Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Board

Florentine Expressions: A Portrait Series IX
Located in London, GB
"Florentine Expressions: A Portrait Series IX", oil on canvas, mounted on board, Florentine School (circa 1980s-90s). This gallery has acquired a number of paintings through an inter...
Category

Late 20th Century Modern London - Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Board

Market Day in Piazza Grande Locarno Switzerland
Located in London, GB
'Market Day in Piazza Grande, Locarno, Switzerland', oil on board, by unknown artist (1947-48). Locarno is an utterly charming Italian-speaking resort located on the northern shore o...
Category

1940s Expressionist London - Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

Expressions in Bloom: Portraits from the 20th Century XIV - Florentine School
Located in London, GB
'Expressions in Bloom: Portraits from the 20th Century XIV', oil on canvas mounted on board, Florentine School (circa 1980s-90s). This gallery has acquired a number of paintings thro...
Category

1980s Modern London - Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Board

Portrait of a Young Woman
By Peter Robert Keil
Located in London, GB
'Portrait of a Young Woman', oil on board, by Peter Robert Keil (1983). A wide-eyed woman gazes out to the viewer with an inquisitive gaze. The artist's use of exuberant colours beli...
Category

1980s Modern London - Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

Prince Valdemar Christian of Schleswig-holstein of Denmark, signed L de Moni
Located in London, GB
The portrait of Prince Valdemar Christian of Schleswig-Holstein, painted after Justus Sustermans, captures the young prince in a moment of poised elegance. Depicted as a young man, t...
Category

Late 18th Century London - Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Florentine Expressions: A Portrait Series I (circa 1980s-90s)
Located in London, GB
"Florentine Expressions: A Portrait Series I", oil on canvas, mounted on board, Florentine School (circa 1980s-90s). This gallery has acquired a number of paintings through an interm...
Category

Late 20th Century Modern London - Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Board

Expressions in Bloom: Portraits from the 20th Century IV - Florentine School
Located in London, GB
'Expressions in Bloom: Portraits from the 20th Century IV', oil on canvas mounted on board, Florentine School (circa 1980s-90s). This gallery has acquired a number of paintings throu...
Category

1980s Modern London - Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Board

'Feminine Forms: Harmony in Curves', German School (circa 1980s)
Located in London, GB
'Feminine Forms: Harmony in Curves', oil on board, German School (circa 1980s). Two nude figures portrayed in the abstract posture differently. Both are curvaceous and Rubenesque. Re...
Category

1980s Modern London - Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

Grand Prix Racer
Located in London, GB
'Grand Prix Racer', French School, oil on board (circa 1960s). The 'good ole' days' of Formula One racing are depicted in this thrilling mid-century...
Category

1960s Modern London - Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

'Portrait of a Bird in Snow' French Vintage Oil Painting
Located in London, GB
'Portrait of a Bird in Snow', oil on board, by Anna Costa (circa 1960s). This is a unique still-life painted by the artist in warm colours in an Impressi...
Category

1960s Impressionist London - Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

Florentine Expressions: A Portrait Series XI
Located in London, GB
"Florentine Expressions: A Portrait Series XI", oil on canvas, mounted on board, Florentine School (circa 1980s-90s). This gallery has acquired a number of paintings through an inter...
Category

Late 20th Century Modern London - Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Board

Portrait of Lady Catherine Edwin (Montagu) in a Woodland c.1697; Fine Provenance
By Michael Dahl
Located in London, GB
This exquisite portrait, presented by Titan Fine Art, is by Michael Dahl; it was part of the extensive collection owned by Thomas Wyndham of Clearwell Court in Gloucestershire. It ma...
Category

17th Century Old Masters London - Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Portrait of Gentleman Blue & Cloak, Portrait of Lady, Fine Carved Gilded frames
Located in London, GB
Portrait of a Gentleman with Blue Cloak and Portrait of a Lady in Russet Dress c.1697 Thomas Murray (1663-1735) These fascinating portraits are exquisite examples of portraiture in ...
Category

17th Century Old Masters London - Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

'Portraits of Timeless Expressions No. 11' Florentine School (circa 1980s-90s)
Located in London, GB
'Portraits of Timeless Expressions No. 11', oil on canvas mounted on board, by Florentine School (circa 1980s-90s). This gallery has ...
Category

1980s Modern London - Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Board

The Chess Match
By Raymond Debieve
Located in London, GB
'The Chess Match', oil on cardstock paper, by Raymond Debiève (1973). Rich colours, bold, painterly brush strokes and an unusual subject for a work of art, Debiève has created this s...
Category

1970s Modern London - Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

Portrait of a Gentleman in Doublet & Ruff c.1595; Elizabethan oil on copper
Located in London, GB
Portrait of an Elizabethan Gentleman in a Black Doublet c.1595 Manner of Hieronimo Custodis (died c.1593) Oil on copper Unsigned This exquisite oil on copper portrait, painted around 430 years ago, is a splendid survival from the Elizabethan era - the golden age in England’s history, when Queen Elizabeth I was on the throne. It is a time that is sandwiched between two golden ages of English renaissance culture, the reigns of Henry VIII and Charles I. This period produced a style of painting quite unlike that anywhere else in Europe and one that deserves serious assessment. Just a couple of years after our portrait was painted, English painting developed on another course, driven mainly by the artists Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger and Isaac Oliver; they depicted a new mood that was pervading Elizabethan and Jacobean society, which was that of romantic melancholy. Elizabethan painting...
Category

16th Century Old Masters London - Portrait Paintings

Materials

Copper

Woman With Blue Eyes
By Peter Robert Keil
Located in London, GB
'Woman with Blue Eyes', oil on board, by Peter Robert Keil (1985). A topless redhead gazes out to the viewer with her intense blue eyes. A mysterious blue hand sneaks into view from ...
Category

1980s London - Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

Portrait of a Smiling Woman
By Peter Robert Keil
Located in London, GB
'Portrait of a Smiling Woman', oil on board, by Peter Robert Keil (1983). A cheerful look on the painting's subject puts a smile on the face of the viewer as well. Her beautiful blue eyes express a contentedness suggesting life is good...
Category

1980s Modern London - Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

Every Single Minute (Minden Egyes Perc) - Figurative Portrait Painting
Located in East Quogue, NY
Figurative painting of a couple by contemporary Hungarian artist Gabor Rosko. Oil on panel, 72 x 72 cm. Signed and dated on verso "RG GR 1987-2001" Gáb...
Category

Early 2000s Contemporary London - Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Wood Panel

Portrait of Flying Childers Racehorse Oil on Canvas British 18th Century
Located in London, GB
Thomas Spencer (British, active c. 1740-1756) A Portrait of Flying Childers Oil on canvas With an incorrect label "a racehorse second at new market by John Wotton” With an indistinct...
Category

18th Century English School London - Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Echoes of the Stage-original artwork-contemporary figurative painting
Located in London, Chelsea
This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet Contemporary Art Gallery and online. This original figurative drawing, painted in acrylic on canvas...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist London - Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Portrait of Catherine Murray, Countess of Dysart, Roses, Gilded Frame, Van Dyke
By Anthony van Dyck
Located in London, GB
This exquisite Grand Manner work, presented by Titan Fine Art, is an evocative example of the type of portrait in vogue during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Beautifully ...
Category

17th Century Old Masters London - Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Expressions in Bloom: Portraits from the 20th Century III - Florentine School
Located in London, GB
'Expressions in Bloom: Portraits from the 20th Century III', oil on canvas mounted on board, Florentine School (circa 1980s-90s). This gallery has acquired a number of paintings thro...
Category

1980s Modern London - Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Board

Portrait of a Young Woman
Located in London, GB
'Portrait of a Young Woman', oil on board, by Anna Costa (circa 1960s). This is a beautiful, expressive portrait of a young woman painted by the artist using her trademark vibrant c...
Category

1960s Modern London - Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

The Bather
By Charles Kvapil
Located in London, GB
'The Bather', oil on board, by Charles Kvapil (1934). The world of art has for centuries depicted bathers in one form or another. Kvapil's wonderfully allur...
Category

1930s Expressionist London - Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

Woman in Front of the Mirror
Located in London, GB
'Woman in Front of the Mirror', oil on canvas, by Vincent Tailhardat (circa 1990s). A nude woman seated in front of a mirror grooms herself while en...
Category

1990s London - Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Portrait of Gentleman in Armour by Table & Helmut c.1685 Aristocratic Provenance
By Johann Kerseboom
Located in London, GB
Portrait of a Gentleman in Armour beside a Table with Helmut c.1685 Follower or circle of Johann Kerseboom (d.1708) This exquisite Grand Manner work, presented by Titan Fine Art, wa...
Category

17th Century Old Masters London - Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Mother and Child II
By Raymond Debieve
Located in London, GB
'Mother and Child II', watercolour on fine art paper (1970), by Raymond Debiève. In a clear nod to Picasso's influence both stylistically and in terms of subject matter (Picasso pain...
Category

1970s Modern London - Portrait Paintings

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

Grey stallion held by groom in Duke of Grosvenor’s colours British 18C
Located in London, GB
Richard Roper (British, c. 1730-c. 1775) Grey stallion held by groom in the Duke of Grosvenor’s colours Oil on canvas Old chalk inscription '22 Mar 74' verso Property of a gentleman...
Category

18th Century English School London - Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Hare coursing outside a country house with hounds Oil British 18th Century
Located in London, GB
Thomas Burford (British, c. 1710-1779) Hare coursing outside a country house Oil on canvas Property of a gentleman From the collection of Peter Roe Dimensions: (Frame) 12.5 in. (H)...
Category

18th Century English School London - Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Portrait of a Gentleman, David Erskine, 13th Laird of Dun, Wearing Armour c.1700
Located in London, GB
The gentleman in this exquisite oil on canvas portrait, presented by Titan Fine Art, is shown with the grandiloquence characteristic of the English School of painting. He is portray...
Category

17th Century Old Masters London - Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Woman by the Window with Embroidery Frame
By Franz Ludwig Kiederich
Located in London, GB
'Woman by the Window with Embroidery Frame', oil on canvas, by Franz Ludwig Kiederich (circa 1930s). A delightful depiction of a woman, comfortable...
Category

1930s Post-Impressionist London - Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

'Portrait of a Young Man in a Red Tie' French School (1956)
Located in London, GB
'Portrait of a Young Man in a Red Tie', gouache and ink on art paper, French School (1956). Step into the world of mid-20th century European art with a striking portrait that capture...
Category

1950s Modern London - Portrait Paintings

Materials

Paper, Ink, Gouache

Portrait of a Young Woman
Located in London, GB
'Portrait of a Young Woman', oil on board, by Anna Costa (circa 1960s). This is a beautifully expressive portrait painted by the artist using vibrant colour...
Category

1960s London - Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

Portrait of a Lady in Green Dress & Pearl Jewellery c.1660 Painting John Wright
By John Michael Wright
Located in London, GB
In this exquisite work, painted around the time of the Great Fire of London in 1666, a beautiful young woman is wearing a green dress over a white chemise and a russet-coloured scarf...
Category

17th Century Old Masters London - Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Ronny Moortgat, First Over the Line, Original Oil Seascape
Located in London, GB
Signed lower right. Image dimensions: 40cm x 50cm, 15 ¾" x 19 ¾" A beautiful original oil seascape painting by Ronny Moortgat. Ronny Moortgat is one o...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary London - Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, Paris
By Lucien Génin
Located in London, GB
'Parc des Buttes-Chaumont' in Paris, gouache on art paper, by Lucien Génin (circa 1930s). A charming depiction of well turned out Parisians enjoying a day at the park. Boaters, strollers and swans all co-mingle around the peaceful lake. The reflection of the rocky bluff in the water is superbly treated by Génin. It's a cheerful and uplifting image of days-gone-by in 1930s Paris. The park takes its name from the 'bare hill' (chauve-mont) that once occupied the site. It became a place where gypsum was mined, and where the limestone was quarried to be used in buildings in Paris and the United States. Worse, though, it was a site that also became a dumping ground. Luckily, during the 19th-century renovation of Paris under Napoleon III, chauve-mont was chosen as a place for a large park, as part of the emperor's fascination with endowing Paris with green spaces. The artificial lake created at that time wraps around a hilly central island. The lake attracts waterfowl and other birds and is stocked with fish. The 19th-century planners cleaned up the site and added tons of soil to fill the pits left by a limestone mining operation. Then dynamite was used to "sculpt" the site into the craggy shapes seen today, including the 50-metre-high central hill with cliffs, an interior grotto, pinnacles, and arches. Up on top, overlooking the rest of the park - and depicted in this artwork - is a small, round belvedere, based on the Roman Temple of Vesta in Italy. From that spot you can see a lovely view of Montmartre and the white cupolas of the Sacre-Coeur. The painting is in very good condition. It has been newly framed and glazed with museum-quality glass (anti-reflective and UV protection) to preserve this significant artwork for decades to come. Dimensions with frame: H 62 cm / 24.4" W 76 cm / 29.9" Dimensions without frame: H 48.5 cm / 19.1" W 63 cm / 24.8" About the Artist: After the devastation of the First World War, Lucien Génin (1894 - 1953) left his provincial home in the autumn of 1919 to find his fortune among the lively Parisians in the heart of Montmartre. Génin befriended the painters Frank Will, Gen Paul, Émile Boyer, Marcel Leprin...
Category

1930s Post-Impressionist London - Portrait Paintings

Materials

Paper, Gouache

Conestabile Madonna Old Master Renaissance
By (after) Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino)
Located in London, GB
After Raphael Conestabile Madonna 1483 - 1520 Oil on canvas Image size: 8 x 8 inches (20.5 x 20.5 cm) Original ornate hand carved gilt frame Conestabile Madonna Made in compositiona...
Category

16th Century Old Masters London - Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Tête de Femme Blonde by Pierre-Auguste Renoir - Portrait painting
By Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Located in London, GB
*PLEASE NOTE UK BUYERS WILL ONLY PAY 5% VAT ON THIS PURCHASE. Tête de Femme Blonde by Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) Oil on canvas 26.1 x 19 cm (10 ¹/₄ x 7 ¹/₂ inches) Signed upp...
Category

Early 1900s Post-Impressionist London - Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

19th century portrait painted in St Petersburg in 1819
Located in London, GB
Signed, inscribed and dated, lower right: 'Geo Dawe RA St Petersburgh 1819', also signed with initials, lower centre: 'G D RA'; and signed and inscribed verso: 'Geo Dawe RA Pinxit 1819 St Petersburgh'; Also inscribed on the stretcher by Cornelius Varley with varnishing instructions. Collections: Private collection, UK, 2010 Literature: Galina Andreeva Geniuses of War, Weal and Beauty: George Dawe...
Category

19th Century Old Masters London - Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

(Donald) Trump - original painting
By Lou Ros
Located in London, GB
Portrait of contraversial former President and current Republican nominee Donald Trump by renowned artist Lou Ros Acrylic on canvas signed, dated and titled on reverse by the art...
Category

2010s Modern London - Portrait Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Original-Meeting Van Gogh-Study Master Series-British Awarded Artist-Ink Drawing
Located in London, GB
-In light of new tariffs, we’ve applied a 20% discount off the market price of this piece to support our collectors in facing potential added costs. At the gallery, we work closely w...
Category

2010s Contemporary London - Portrait Paintings

Materials

Ink, Archival Paper, Charcoal, Gouache, Acrylic

'Portrait of Future Man', German School
Located in London, GB
'Portrait of Future Man', oil on board, Berlin School, (circa 1960s). A thoroughly modern portrait clearly in the style of Italian Futurist, Fortunato Depero (1892-1960). Futurism co...
Category

1960s Futurist London - Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

Nude Viewed from the Back
By Charles Kvapil
Located in London, GB
'Nude Viewed from the Back', oil on canvas, by Charles Kvapil (1937). The world of art has for centuries depicted nudes in one form or another. Kvapil's wonderfully alluring versions may likely be inspired by Courbet and Cézanne. This nude appears on a chair with her back to the artist and viewer. There are plush reds, sensuous pinks and darker, patterned curtains...
Category

1930s London - Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Portrait of a Lady by a Woodland Stream Holding a Shell c.1690; Oil on canvas
By Harman Verelst
Located in London, GB
This elegant portrait, presented by Titan Fine Art, depicts a beautiful young lady seated in a wooded area, resting one arm on a rock, before a landscape and a warm evening sky. She is wearing a white smock under russet-coloured silks, loosely held in place by an immense black diamond clasp on the sleeve, and her body is enveloped in a voluptuous swag of azure silk; the costly fabrics and jewels reveal that the sitter was a paragon of a wealthy and privileged society that she belonged to. Much of the attractiveness of this portrait resides in its graceful composition and the beauty of the youthful sitter. The flowing water in the left margin of the picture and the shell that she holds are compositional devises often used at the time to allude to her potential as wife and mother, recalling Proverbs, Chapter 5, Verse 18: “Let thye fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of thye youth”. Symbolism was a key component to many works of this period and contemporary viewers would have deciphered them immediately. Such images exude a sense of status and Augustan decorum, and were highly influential in transmitting these values into the first half of the eighteenth century. Held in a good quality and condition gilded antique frame. Herman Verelst was from a great dynasty of painters, with many members achieving great success. Specialising in portraits and still life paintings, he was one of the legions of foreign-born artists working in England at the time. Today, many of his pictures are given to other artists or are simply relegated to that term “circle of” which is a great disservice because he had an ability to render faces and drapery on par with some of the best artists at the time. Herman’s work is quite distinctive in the way he rendered faces and this particular pose was a favourite. His faces were portrayed with great skill often using the sfumato technique which gave them a very smooth feel to the skin with no hard lines, and many known works by him show that he could also render drapery with great affect. Our painting was painted in the 1690’s. His father, Pieter Hermansz Verelst...
Category

17th Century Old Masters London - Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Sailors in the Port of Nice
By Alfred Salvignol
Located in London, GB
'Sailors in the Port of Nice', mixed media - gouache, pastel and oil on paper, by Alfred Salvignol (circa 1950s). The Port of Nice is one of the key hubs of Nice and, in fact, of the entire French Riviera, standing out as one of the main harbours for the boats which sail across the Mediterranean Sea. It accommodates both the ships operated by ferry companies and the private yachts of visitors who come to Nice by sea. The artist here depicts a group of crusty sailors watching...
Category

1950s Expressionist London - Portrait Paintings

Materials

Paper, Pastel, Oil, Gouache

The Cabaret Dancer
Located in London, GB
'The Cabaret Dancer', crayon on art paper, by Kolomon Moore (circa 1930s). The Crazy Years (les Années Folles) of Paris in the 1920s hit an abrupt end in...
Category

1930s London - Portrait Paintings

Materials

Paper, Crayon

The Bloody Shouldered Arabian Horse Oil on canvas 18th Century
By John Wootton
Located in London, GB
John Wootton (1686 - 1764) The Bloody-Shouldered Arabian Oil on canvas Inscribed below, 'Bred by Lord Oxford in 1755 & Sire of many famous Racers, including the Duke of Bolton's 'Swe...
Category

Early 18th Century English School London - Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

A Portrait of a Gentleman, thought to be Moses Diego Lopez Pereira
Located in London, GB
Austrian School, 18th Century A Portrait of a Gentleman, thought to be Moses Diego Lopez Pereira, 1st Baron d’Aguilar, in an elaborate coat and a powdered wig Oil on canvas Provena...
Category

18th Century London - Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Portrait of Frances, Viscountess Scudamore in a Silver Dress & Blue Cloak
By Charles Jervas
Located in London, GB
Portrait of Frances, Viscountess Scudamore in a Silver Dress and Blue Cloak c.1709-1719 By Charles Jervas (1675-1739) This elegant and graceful portrait, presented by Titan Fine Ar...
Category

18th Century Old Masters London - Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Reclining Nude
By Guillaume Dulac
Located in London, GB
'Reclining Nude', oil on canvas, by Guillaume Dulac (circa 1920s). A sensuous portrayal by the artist of a young woman reclining on a divan draped with cloth. Inspired perhaps from Ingres' (1780-1867) classic, La Grande Odalisque...
Category

1920s London - Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Winter in Provence
By Raymond Debieve
Located in London, GB
'Winter in Provence', gouache on art paper, by Raymond Debiève (circa 1970s). There is both beauty and melancholy in this delightfully charming artwork. The artist's naive style is at odds with the refinement, poise and sophistication of the painting. Perhaps the artist was making a statement as well with the broken wall...
Category

1970s Modern London - Portrait Paintings

Materials

Paper, Gouache

Portrait of a Gentleman, Doublet & White Ruff, Gloves Inscribed 1624, on panel
By Frans Pourbus the Younger
Located in London, GB
Titan Fine Art presents this exquisite oil on panel portrait depicting a handsome young gentleman in an exuberant black damask doublet. The pose, with one hand holding gloves and the other akimbo, was one that was well-established for gentleman of the upper echelons of society by the time this work was painted. The principle governing portraits at this time was the recording and defining in visual terms of the position of a sitter in society. In addition to brilliant and complex symbols of luxury, they often contained many symbolic elements too; the inclusion of gloves was often used in portraits that celebrated a betrothal as in ancient times gloves were used to seal a marriage contract. The extraordinary costume of a black shimmering doublet, the brilliant white reticella ruff, and the cuffs edged with lace were immensely costly… this attire proclaims to every onlooker that this is a superior being. The rendering of the reticella lace ruff is exquisite and the artist has recorded the design that runs through the black damask fabric with meticulous attention to detail. The preservation of this black pigment is remarkable considering the age of the work. Black pigments are especially vulnerable to fade and wear over time partly due to environmental condition but also from unprofessional cleaning. This work is an exquisite example from the period. According to the inscription in the upper right, the gentleman was in his 22nd year of age in 1624. The coat of arms, which is displayed without a crest, may be ‘blazoned’ in the language of heraldry, as: Sable on a Chevron between in chief two Roundels and in base a Billet [or possibly Square] Or three Martlets Sable. In plainer English this means a black (Sable) background, spanned by a gold (Or) chevron, above which are two golden solid circles (Roundels), and below which is a gold rectangle (Billet); on the chevron are three small black birds (Martlets). Martlets are a stylised form of heraldic bird, believed to be based on the swift, which are conventionally drawn with small tufts instead of feet. In Continental Europe it is also conventional for them to be drawn without beaks, as appears to be the case here. The birds in this instance also have a vaguely duck-like appearance. Five families have been identified with very close armorial bearings to the one in our portrait. They are the (van) Houthem’s (of Brabant), the Prévinaire’s (of Flanders and Holland), and the Proveneer’s (of Liège) and it must be noted that the locations of these families also fit with the painting’s Flemish origins. However the French Grenières’s (of Île-de-France) and the Jallot’s (of Normandy) are the next closest matches and plausible matches, as Frans Pourbus had settled in Paris just a few years before our portrait was painted. This painting has been assessed by a professional conservator prior to going on sale, and as thus, it can be hung and enjoyed immediately. Frans Pourbus the Younger...
Category

17th Century Old Masters London - Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Wood Panel

Flutter of Silk- contemporary figurative painting - original expressive artwork
Located in London, Chelsea
This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet Contemporary Art Gallery and online. In Flutter of Silk, Tom Searles captures the ethereal grace of...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist London - Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Portrait of a Lady in an Elaborate Ruff & Lace Coif c.1610-20, Dutch Old Master
Located in London, GB
This magnificent oil on panel portrait, presented by Titan Fine Art, is a splendid example of the sumptuous female portraits that were painted for members of the upper echelons of society during the early part of the 1600’s. The artist has rendered this portrait with meticulous attention to detail and the surface effects of the fine materials. The elaborate lace coif and cuffs are painstakingly delineated, as is the bold black damask, and sumptuous gold decoration of her skirt and stomacher, which is wonderfully preserved and quite remarkable considering the age of the work and the fact that darker pigments are particularly vulnerable to fading and wear. This work with its spectacular depiction of costume is of absolute quality, it can be rated as one of the best works in the artist’s oeuvre and as such it is an important and splendid example of Dutch portraiture. The Dutch Golden Age of painting was a period in Dutch history, roughly spanning the 17th century, in which Dutch trade, science, military, and art were among the most acclaimed in the world. Dutch explorers charted new territory and settled abroad. Trade by the Dutch East-India Company thrived, and war heroes from the naval battles were decorated and became national heroes. During this time, The Dutch Old Masters began to prevail in the art world, creating a depth of realistic portraits of people and life in the area that has hardly been surpassed. The Golden Age painters depicted the scenes that their discerning new middleclass patrons wanted to see. This new wealth from merchant activities and exploration combined with a lack of church patronage, shifted art subjects away from biblical genres. Dress was a key component in portraits, and the exuberant attire reiterates the incredible wealth of this woman. The sitter will have visited the artist’s workshop and inspected examples on display. They would have chosen the size and the sort of composition and on that basis negotiated the price – which would have also been determined by the complexity of the clothing and the jewels that were to be depicted, and by the materials to be used. When all was considered, this portrait would have cost the sitter (or her husband) a substantial sum. The colour black was regarded as humble and devout yet at the same time refined and sophisticated and the most expensive colour of fabric to dye and to maintain. Citizens spent fortunes on beautiful black robes. Such uniformity must also have had a psychological side-effect and contributed to a sense of middle-class cohesion; the collective black of the well-to-do burgess class will have given its members a sense of solidarity. The colour was always an exciting one for artists and when this portrait was painted there were at least fifty shades of it, and as many different fabrics and accoutrements. Artists went to great lengths to depict the subtle nuances of the colour and the fabrics and textures and how they reflected light and it was an ideal background against which gold and crisp white lace could be juxtaposed to dramatic effect. The sitter is either a married women or a widower as is evident by the clothing that she wears and the position, toward her right, it is highly likely that this portrait was once a pendant that hung on the right-hand side of her husband’s portrait as was convention at the time. She wears a vlieger which was a type of sleeveless over-gown or cape worn by well-to-do married women in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Variations with short sleeves or high shoulder rolls are known. Sometimes sleeves were attached with aiglets, and often slits were made to allow belts or the hands to pass through. Three-piece vlieger costumes of this kind were standard items of clothing in portraits of the women of the civic elite in the period 1600-40 and was a variant of the Spanish ‘ropa’ and served as a trademark of well-to-do married burgher women. Girls and unmarried woman, including beguines, wore a bouwen (a dress with a fitted bodice and a skirt that was closed all round) instead. This clear distinction between apparel for married and unmarried women is clear not only from inventories and trousseau lists, but also from contemporary sources such as the Dutch Spanish dictionary published by Juan Rodrigues in 1634. In it, a bouwen is described as a ‘ropa de donzella’ (over-gown worn by a virgin) and a vlieger as a ‘ropa de casada’ (overgown worn by a married woman). It is striking how few women are depicted wearing a bouwen, unless they are part of a group, family or children’s portrait and it can therefore be assumed that independent portraits of unmarried women were seldom commissioned. It is also believed that the clothing worn in these portraits existed and were faithfully reproduced when cross-referenced with the few exact documents. These sources also demonstrate that clients wanted their clothing to be depicted accurately and with this in mind precious garments and jewels were often left in the painter’s studio. The prominent white lawn molensteenkraag (or millstone ruff) is held up by a wire supportasse and was reserved only for the citizens that could afford this luxurious item that often required 15 meters of linen batiste. The fabulous wealth of this sitter is also evident by the elaborate lace coif and cuffs which have been exquisitely depicted; lace was often literally copied by artists in thin white lines over the completed clothing. The gold bracelet with jewels is a type that was evidently fashionable as it is seen in a number of portraits during the 1610s and 1620. Clothing and jewellery were prized possessions and were often listed in inventories of estates and passed down from generation to generation. There were a great number of jewellers of Flemish origin working at all the courts and cities of Europe, competing with the Italians, and then the French, adapting themselves to the tastes and positions of their patrons and the raw materials available in the country where they worked. The fashion for jewels “in the Flemish style” succeeded that of the Italian style. Cornelis van der Voort, who was probably born in Antwerp around 1576, came to Amsterdam with his parents as a child. His father, a cloth weaver by trade, received his citizenship in 1592. It is not known who taught the young Van der Voort to paint, but it has been suggested that it was either Aert Pietersz or Cornelis Ketel. On 24 October 1598 Van der Voort became betrothed to Truytgen Willemsdr. After his first wife’s death he became betrothed to Cornelia Brouwer of Dordrecht in 1613. In addition to being an artist, Van der Voort was an art collector or dealer, or both. In 1607 he bought paintings from the estate of Gillis van Coninxloo, and after an earlier sale in 1610 a large number of works he owned were auctioned on 7 April 1614. Van der Voort is documented as appraising paintings in 1612, 1620 and 1624. In 1615 and 1619 he was warden of the Guild of St Luke. He was buried in Amsterdam’s Zuiderkerk on 2 November 1624, and on 13 May 1625 paintings in his estate were sold at auction. Van der Voort was one of Amsterdam’s leading portrait painters in the first quarter of the 17th century. Several of his group portraits are known. It is believed that he trained Thomas de Keyser (1596/97-1667) and Nicolaes Eliasz Pickenoy (1588-1650/56). His documented pupils were David Bailly (c. 1584/86-1657), Louis du Pré...
Category

17th Century Old Masters London - Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Wood Panel

Portrait of a Woman with Short Hair
By Peter Robert Keil
Located in London, GB
'Portrait of a Woman with Short Hair', oil on board, by Peter Robert Keil (1983). A wide-eyed woman gazes out to the viewer with a tranquil smile. The colou...
Category

1980s London - Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

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