Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
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
Rare on the Art Market, A Drawing by Moitte, A Fashionable Couple, 1766
Located in Stockholm, SE
Pierre Etienne Moitte studied in Paris under Jacques-Firmin Beauvarlet and Pierre-François Beaumont (1719–1769). In 1771, he was accepted (agréé) by the Académie Royale de Peinture e...
Category
1760s Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Pencil
Ancient Persian Miniature - Original China Ink and Watercolour - 19th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Ancient Persian Miniature is an original China Ink and Watercolour realized by an artist of 19th Century.
Good condition for a little brown ...
Category
19th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Watercolor
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 Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Oil
Study of a horse lying on its right side seen from the front
By Adam Frans van der Meulen
Located in Stockholm, SE
Provenance:
Jean-Marc Du Pan (1785–1838), Geneva (L. 1440), passed to his brother
Alexandre-Louis Du Pan (1787–1846);
his sale, Geneva, March 26–28, 1840, included in lots 913–917;
...
Category
17th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Crayon
St. John the Baptist in the wilderness , Ecce Agnus Dei (Behold the Lamb of God)
By Giovanni Francesco Barbieri (Il Guercino)
Located in Middletown, NY
Pen and sepia ink and wash on vellum, 8 7/8 x 10 1/2 inches (225 x 267 mm). In very good condition with some modern notations in pencil on the verso, minor cockling, and a 1-inch hor...
Category
Mid-17th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Watercolor, Vellum, Pencil
17th Century Dutch Old Master Ink Drawing Christ on the Cross Many Figures 1674
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Christ on the Cross
attributed to Jan Luyken (Dutch, 1649–1712)
inscribed 1674 upper corner
pencil drawing, watercolor and ink wash on paper over oard, framed
framed: 12 x 11 inches
...
Category
17th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Color Pencil, Ink, Watercolor
Rare on the Art Market, A Drawing by Moitte, A Fashionable Couple, 1766
Located in Stockholm, SE
Pierre Etienne Moitte studied in Paris under Jacques-Firmin Beauvarlet and Pierre-François Beaumont (1719–1769). In 1771, he was accepted (agréé) by the Académie Royale de Peinture e...
Category
1760s Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Pencil
Fine 1700's Italian Old Master Ink & Wash Drawing Roman Allegorical Providenza
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
'Providenza'
Italian School, 18th century
ink and wash drawing on paper, framed within a light oak wood frame (behind glass)
image size: 10.5 x 7 inches
overall framed: 17 x 13 inche...
Category
18th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Watercolor, Archival Paper
Mythological combat scene with Roman soldiers on horseback.
By Virgil Solis
Located in Middletown, NY
Pen and brownish black ink on grayish-cream laid paper, 6 1/2 x 8 inches (165 x 175 mm), irregular hexagonal sheet with margins. Some archival repairs along the top sheet edge, scatt...
Category
16th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Laid Paper, Pen
Baldassarre Franceschini, Sleeping Cupid, Valentine's Day Gift
Located in Harkstead, GB
A beautiful 19th century copy by Giuseppe Rocchi of Baldassarre Franceschini's Sleeping Cupid, presented in a very attractive gilt frame with hand carved mouldings. A very peaceful i...
Category
Mid-19th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Watercolor
French School 18th Century, Portrait of a gentleman, pastel
Located in Paris, FR
French School of the 18th Century
Portrait of a gentleman
Pastel on paper
25 x 18 cm
Framed : 49 x 32 cm
The mounting of this work is marked "Attribué à Saint Aubin", which means t...
Category
1770s Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Pastel
19th Century Italian Miniature Painting Christ Garden of Gethsemane Angels
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Italian School, late 19th century
Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane
miniature painting, framed
framed: 3.5 x 3 inches
image: 2.5 x 2 inches
provenance: private collection, Italy
con...
Category
Late 19th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor
Landscape - Pencil and Watercolor by Jan Pieter Verdussen - 1750
Located in Roma, IT
Landscape is a beautiful drawing in watercolor and pencil on ivory-colored paper realized by Jan Peter Verdussen.
In good condition; only a smallspots at the edges of the drawing an...
Category
1750s Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Ink, Watercolor
French Neo classical school, Allegory of Time, original drawing
Located in Paris, FR
Neo classical school, France, end of the 18th Century
Allegory of Time,
Pen and black ink on paper, gray ink wash
30.5 x 19 cm
irregularly shaped
In g...
Category
1790s Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
India Ink
Fine 1700's Italian Old Master Ink & Wash Drawing Roman Allegorical Africa
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
'Africa'
Italian School, 18th century
ink and wash drawing on paper, framed within a light oak wood frame (behind glass)
image size: 10.5 x 7 inches
overall framed: 17 x 13 inches
co...
Category
18th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Watercolor, Archival Paper
Interior of a House - Ink and Watercolor Drawing
Located in Roma, IT
Interior of a house is a fine original drawing (China ink and watercolor on paper). Unsigned. This artwork could be attributed to Thomas Stothard.
In ...
Category
Early 19th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Watercolor
Baptism of Christ - Ink Drawing by Anonymous XIX Century
Located in Roma, IT
Baptism of Christ is a beautiful original drawing (pen and ink on paper) by an anonymous of the Neoclassical school of the beginning of the 19th century.
A ...
Category
19th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink
Landscape - Pencil and Watercolor by Jan Pieter Verdussen - 1750
Located in Roma, IT
Landscape is a beautiful drawing in watercolor and pencil on ivory-colored paper realized by Jan Peter Verdussen.
In good condition; only a smallspots at the edges of the drawing an...
Category
1750s Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Ink, Watercolor
The Holy Family with the Infant Saint John the Baptist
By Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino)
Located in Paris, Île-de-France
STUDIO OF RAFFAELLO SANZIO, called RAPHAEL
(Urbino 1483 – Rome 1520)
Title The Holy Family with the Infant Saint John the Baptist
Medium Pen and brown ink, brown wash, over black ch...
Category
16th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink
Dancing Couple
Located in Paris, Île-de-France
Attributed to Charles-Nicolas Cochin the Younger (Paris, 1715 – 1790)
Dancing Couple
Circa 1765–1770
Red chalk on cream paper; verso in black and red chalk
34 × 21 cm
Provenance:
...
Category
Late 18th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Chalk
Fine 17th Century Dutch Old Master Drawing Hunting Party Landscape
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
The Hunting Party
Attributed to Dirk Maes (1659-1717) Dutch.
Figures in a Classical Landscape,
Watercolour and wash on paper,
Mounted, unframed image 6.75" x 9.75" (17.1 x 24.7cm)...
Category
17th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Pencil, Watercolor
Design for a large wooden confessional from the Fantoni Workshop
Located in Middletown, NY
A beautiful 17th century design for a confessional from the most important woodshop in Bergamo.
Pen and grayish black ink on cream laid paper, 11 1/8 x 7 1/4 inches (283 x 185 mm), ...
Category
Mid-20th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Laid Paper
French school 18th Century, A mytholological scene with a couple, drawing
Located in Paris, FR
French school 18th Century,
A mytholological scene with a couple,
Pen and brown ink, brown ink wash on paper
11.5 x 11.5 cm, diameter of the main scene : 10,5 cm
in a modern frame under glass : 33.5 x 33.5 cm
This drawing by a particularly talented 18th-century artist - as yet unidentified - is notable for its mastery of pen and wash...
Category
1760s Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink
Fine 1700's Italian Old Master Ink & Wash Drawing Roman Allegorical Napoli
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
'Napoli'
Italian School, 18th century
ink and wash drawing on paper, framed within a light oak wood frame (behind glass)
image size: 10.5 x 7 inches
overall framed: 17 x 13 inches
co...
Category
18th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Watercolor, Archival Paper
Woman Bathing Her Feet in a Brook by Rembrandt van Rijn
Located in New Orleans, LA
Rembrandt van Rijn
1606-1669 Dutch
Woman Bathing Her Feet in a Brook
Etching on paper
New Hollstein's 309, second state of II
Signed and dated "Rembrandt f. 1658" (upper left)
Created from observations of a live model, this work started as a figure study before evolving into a more imaginative setting. It remains ambiguous whether the scene is set indoors, as suggested by the cushion the figure is seated on, or outdoors, indicated by the foliage in the background. The omission of her feet, suggesting they may be dangling in a brook, adds a charming touch to Rembrandt’s imaginative scene. The figure seems unaware of the viewer, presenting a dignified yet sensual demeanor.
The son of a miller, Rembrandt van Rijn is believed to have been born in Leiden on July 15, 1606. He studied first at the Latin School and then was enrolled at the University of Leiden at the age of 14. He soon left to study art—first with a local master, Jacob van Swanenburch, and then, in Amsterdam, with Pieter Lastman...
Category
17th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Etching, Paper
Fine 1700's Italian Old Master Ink & Wash Drawing Roman Allegorical India
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
'India'
Italian School, 18th century
ink and wash drawing on paper, framed within a light oak wood frame (behind glass)
image size: 10.5 x 7 inches
overall framed: 17 x 13 inches
con...
Category
18th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Watercolor, Archival Paper
Fine 17th Century Dutch Old Master Ink Drawing & Wash Visiting Angel
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
The Angel
Dutch Old Master, 17th century
wash with pencil drawing on artist paper, framed
Glass covering
framed: 14 x 12.5 inches
board: 12.5 x 9.5 inches
condition: age related crea...
Category
17th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Gouache, Ink
Study for Assumption of the Virgin
Located in Middletown, NY
Graphite on hand made, fibrous wove paper, finished with gray wash. Unevenly trimmed sheet edges, non-archival tape remnants at all four corners, recto, well outside of image area. Horseshoe-shaped area of light discoloration that extends significantly into the figure's face, beneath the lips, and up over the rear of the head, dog-eared right lower corner with associated light discoloration at crease. DeMin and Belluno inscribed in graphite, verso.
A detailed study showing 'primo pensiero' for Giovanni DeMin's large scale fresco, Assumption of the Virgin...
Category
Mid-19th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Handmade Paper, Graphite
17th C Dutch Old Master Ink & Wash Painting Biblical Figures Rembrandt Pupil
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Figure being Comforted (Job?)
circle of Willem Drost (Dutch 1633-1659) *See notes below
ink and wash drawing on paper (Arms of Amsterdam watermarked)
Dutc...
Category
Mid-17th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Watercolor
Opera dei Pupi
Located in Roma, IT
Watercolour on ivory colored paper stuck onwhite cardboard sheet, 1820 c.a. Representing people attending the typical Sicilian"Operadei Pupi". Excellent conditionsexcept a little sta...
Category
1820s Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor
Ruines Romanes - Roman Ruins - Ink and Watercolor by J. P. Verdussen - 1742
Located in Roma, IT
China ink and watercolor on paper.
Hand dated.
Conditions: Foxing on the top right of the paper
Category
1740s Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Watercolor
In a Gothic Church
Located in Roma, IT
In a Gothic Church is a beautiful original drawing (China ink and watercolor on paper). Hand-signed "Stothard" in brown ink on the lower left margin outside of the image.
Very sweet drawing representing a woman praying...
Category
19th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Charcoal, Ink, Watercolor
17th Century Old Master Drawing
Located in San Francisco, CA
17th Century Old Master Drawing
Old master drawing with figure and putti
Housed in a handsome contemporary wooden frame
Drawing dimensions 4...
Category
17th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Graphite
Fine 18th Century French Old Master Ink Wash Drawing Cain & Abel Fighting
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
'Cain et Abel'
Circle of Franois Devosge
(1732-1811) French
pencil drawing with watercolour wash on paper
size: 12.25 x 9 inches
private collection, France
The painting is in overall...
Category
18th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Washi Paper, Color Pencil
Ancient Persian Miniature - Original China Ink and Watercolour - 19th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Ancient Persian Miniature is an original China Ink and Watercolour realized by an artist of 19th Century.
Good condition for a little brown ...
Category
19th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Watercolor
Fine 1700's Italian Old Master Ink & Wash Drawing Roman Allegorical Magnaminita
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
'Mgnaminia'
Italian School, 18th century
ink and wash drawing on paper, framed within a light oak wood frame (behind glass)
image size: 10.5 x 7 inches
overall framed: 17 x 13 inches...
Category
18th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Watercolor, Archival Paper
Leaning Nude Man (recto); Kneeling Man, Hands Tied Behind His Back (verso)
By Giovanni Francesco Barbieri (Il Guercino)
Located in Paris, Île-de-France
GIOVANNI FRANCESCO BARBIERI, known as GUERCINO
(1591-1666)
Leaning Nude Man (recto); Kneeling Man, Hands Tied Behind His Back (verso)
Black chalk heightened with white on light blu...
Category
1620s Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Chalk, Charcoal
Study of a Sleeping Girl in a Cap
By Jean-Baptiste Greuze
Located in Middletown, NY
Graphite on greenish gray wove paper. 15 1/4 x 11 5/8 inches (390 x 295 mm). Initialed "G. B." in pencil on the lower right recto. In generally good condition with some minor scattered surface soiling. Condition is consistent with age.
____
This drawing is closely related to two known mid 18th century oils...
Category
18th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Handmade Paper, Graphite
Early 19th Century, Portrait of a young man wearing glasses, gouache
Located in Paris, FR
Early 19th Century,
Portrait of a young man wearing glasses,
gouache on paper
13 x 10.5 cm oval view
In a vintage frame : 41.5 x 39 cm, accidents and lacks in the gilding but but...
Category
1820s Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Gouache
Early 19th century French School, Portrait of a man in profile, oval drawing
Located in Paris, FR
Early 19th century French School,
Portrait of a young man in profile
charcoal on cut paper applied to pink tinted paper
Oval 58 x 47 cm (overall size) the portrait itself 41.5 x 28...
Category
Early 1800s Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Charcoal
La Femme Muse /// Allegorical Symbolism Romantic Old Masters European Drawing
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: Unknown (Likely French, 18th Century)
Title: "La Femme Muse"
*No signature found
Circa: 1780
Medium: Original Pastel Drawing on heavy laid paper
Frami...
Category
1780s Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Pastel, Laid Paper
A dazzling Venetian Regatta Boat Study attributed to Alessandra Mauro
Located in PARIS, FR
This stunning Baroque study depicts a regatta boat, a type of vessel developed in eighteenth-century Venice for the regattas organized by the Serenissima during visits by royalty and princes. We propose to link this drawing to the work of Alessandro Mauro, an artist who specialized in this type of composition, as illustrated by a drawing from him at the Metropolitan Museum.
1. Description of the boat
The greatest decorative fantasy reigns in this preparatory study, which blends mythological and exotic elements with references to ancient Egypt. Our drawing is probably an initial thought, destined to be refined and clarified later in pen and ink (as evidenced by the ink stain in the lower right). A quadriga of seahorses guided by Neptune stands at the stern of the boat, shown well above the waterline (perhaps to outline its empty volume). One of the seahorses is ridden by a newt, while Amphitrite lies at the feet of the sea god.
The center of the boat is occupied by a vast baldachin resting on four atlantes and surmounted by a figure riding an animal (a dragon?). Three figures sit beneath the canopy, one of them on a griffin-shaped seat. This allusion to Egyptian antiquity echoes the winged sun (sometimes a symbol of the god Horus, as in the temple of Edfu in Egypt) that adorns the sides of the promontory on which this baldachin rests.
Another flag-bearer figure crouches at the stern of the boat on a raised seat, on the reverse of which is a crowned mermaid whose arm, extended backwards, rests on a mascaron decorated with a radiant face (Helios?) and whose torso surmounts an elephant's head. The heads of the rowers and their oars are sketched all along the boat, whose sides are embellished with elongated naiads.
2. The Venetian regatta boats
An exhibition held in 2013 at the Ca' Rezzonico (the Venetian eighteenth-century museum) paid tribute to these regatta boats through studies and prints depicting them. The regattas organized by the Serenissima in honor of visiting princes and sovereigns were among the most spectacular ceremonies in Venice. Some important artists of the 18th century contributed to the creation of these extravagant boats which were given exotic names such as bissona, malgarota or peota.
The specialists in this field were Andrea Urbani and the brothers Alessandro and Romualdo Mauro. They were born into a family of theater decorators in Piedmont, but little is known about their detailed biography. Alessandro was the architect of the Dresden opera house and of the St. Samuel Theater in Venice (in collaboration with his brother Romualdo), but also worked as stagehand and set designer in Vienna, Rome and Turin. A drawing produced around 1737 from the Metropolitan Museum (7th photo in the gallery) bears witness to his activity as a regatta boat designer.
This drawing is a much more elaborate version than the one presented here, having been entirely reworked in brown ink. However, a figure at the bow of the boat, executed solely in black chalk, still bears witness to a technique similar to that of our drawing.
It is difficult to know whether the boat depicted in our drawing was a project for an actual boat or whether it remained in the planning stage, but the front of our boat (Neptune and the quadriga of seahorses ridden by a newt) bears several similarities to that of a parade boat depicted in the print published by Michele Marieschi entitled Regatta on the Grand Canal, between the Foscari and Balbi Palaces (last photo in the gallery). This print is dated 1741, which could confirm that our work dates from around 1740.
The area between Neptune and the quadriga that precedes him on this strange paddle-boat appears to be partially submerged, confirming that the waterline of our boat was probably intended to be much lower than the one shown in our drawing.
The Correr Museum’s collection holds one of the most important collection of engravings and drawings devoted to these specifically Venetian Baroque productions. These boats were intended to last the duration of a festival. Today, they are only documented by preparatory drawings or prints that testify to the sumptuousness of their decoration. This taste for regatta boats lasted throughout the Venetian eighteenth century, and the conception of regatta boats also attracted great masters such as Giambattista Tiepolo, Francesco Guardi or Giambattista Piranesi...
Category
Mid-18th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Chalk
Interior of the Nieuwe Kerk, Amsterdam
Located in Paris, Île-de-France
Jan Goeree (Middelburg 1670 – Amsterdam 1731)
Interior of the Nieuwe Kerk, Amsterdam (c. 1724)
Red chalk for the architecture, pen and black ink, grey wash on paper
Composition reversed in preparation for engraving
25 × 17.5 cm
Watermark: Hunting horn, Churchill 318 (dated 1724)
Provenance
Private collection, France
Context & Attribution
Trained in the studio of Gérard de Lairesse, Jan Goeree was among the finest Dutch engravers of the early eighteenth century, celebrated for his architectural views of Amsterdam. This drawing is a preparatory study for an engraving of the same subject now preserved in a major public collection. The final print—slightly larger—closely follows the reversed composition of this sheet.
Subject
In the center of the Gothic nave, five bearers carry a catafalque toward a freshly dug grave—a tribute to the naval heroes often buried in the Nieuwe Kerk. This funerary motif, familiar from Dutch painting (e.g. Emanuel de Witte, 1657), evokes the vanitas theme and the transience of earthly life.
Technical Analysis
Goeree’s use of red chalk for the architecture and ink for the figures reveals his working method: the chalk lines could be used to produce a counterproof restoring the correct orientation of the architecture, while the inked figures remained adjustable before the design was transferred to the copper plate.
Place within the Oeuvre
Drawings of church...
Category
Early 18th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Chalk, Ink
Mercurio / Mercury
Located in Middletown, NY
A lovely, early drawing of the Roman god Mercury.
Pen and brown ink on cream laid paper, with a partial crown and shield watermark, 7 1/4 x 4 7/8 inches (184x 123 mm) (matrix). In go...
Category
Mid-18th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Handmade Paper, Laid Paper
FINE 18th CENTURY OLD MASTER CHALK DRAWING - ROMANESQUE FIGURES INTERIOR SCENE
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Artist/ School: French School, 18th century
Title: Classical figures within an interior.
Medium: chalk on paper, mounted.
Size: drawing: 11.5 x 13.5 inches
Provenance:...
Category
Early 18th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Chalk
Hercules vanquishing a drakaina (half‑woman, half‑serpent)
Located in Paris, Île-de-France
Circle of Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo (Venice 1727 – Madrid 1804)
Hercules vanquishing a drakaina (half‑woman, half‑serpent) – interpreted either as Echidna or a personified Hydra
c. ...
Category
18th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink
Woman - Original Ink Drawing and Watercolor by G. Dura - 19th Century
By Gaetano Dura
Located in Roma, IT
Woman is an original watercolor artwork realized in the XIX century by Gaetano Dura.
Good conditions except for yellowing of the paper, some folds on the higher and right margin, a...
Category
19th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Watercolor
Woman in Typical Costumes - Watercolor by M. De Vito - 1820 ca.
Located in Roma, IT
Watercolour on ivory colored paper, 1828. Representing a woman in typical Italian costumes of XIX century. Good conditions with some light stains. The year of composition is hand-wri...
Category
1820s Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor
Carretto Siciliano (Sicilian Carriage) - Watercolor by M. De Vito - 1820 ca.
Located in Roma, IT
Watercolour on ivory colored and watermarked paper"J. Whatm Turkey M.", 1820 c.a.
Beautiful watercolour representing a typical Italian scene of ordinary life in XIX century: people...
Category
1820s Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor
Battle, Knights on Horses - China Ink and Watercolor by T. Fort - 1840s
Located in Roma, IT
Typical battle scene by T. Fort, in very good conditions and signed by the artist.
A very interesting artwork for a connoisseur of the militaria genre!
Theodore Géricaul Fort (1810 - 1896), Simeone Fort's son, belonged to the French school of the XIX century; Théodore Fort...
Category
1840s Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor, Ink
La Porcellana (A Market Scene of Porcelain Vendors)
Located in Greenwich, CT
An old master drawing that can live in a very contemporary environment! Remarkable use of line and expression - should be enjoyed in an important spot - can grace a kitchen or livin...
Category
16th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Handmade Paper, Graphite
Raphael’s Skull
Located in New York, NY
Provenance:
Ettore Calzone Collection, Rome, by 1912.
Exhibited:
“Raffaello: L’Accademia di San Luca e il mito dell’Urbinate,” Accademia Nazionale di San Luca, Rome, 21 October 2020...
Category
19th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Pencil, Paper
Baptism of Christ - Ink Drawing by Anonymous XIX Century
Located in Roma, IT
Baptism of Christ is a beautiful original drawing (pen and ink on paper) by an anonymous of the Neoclassical school of the beginning of the 19th century.
A ...
Category
19th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink
Study after Michelangelo’s “The Last Judgment”
By Michelangelo Buonarroti
Located in New York, NY
Italian School, 16th Century
Provenance:
Private Collection, New York
This intriguing drawing is a study by an anonymous 16th-century Italian artist after a vignette in Michelangelo’s fresco of The Last Judgement in the Sistine Chapel. The altar wall of the Sistine Chapel was already richly decorated when Pope Clement VII commissioned Michelangelo to paint his Last Judgment...
Category
16th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Gouache
Landscape - Watercolor and Pencil by Jan Peter Verdussen - 18th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Landscape is a beautiful dranwing in watercolor and pencil on ivory-colored paper realized by Jan Peter Verdussen.
In good condition; only a sma...
Category
18th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor, Pencil
France 18th Century, Pastorale (Arcadian Landscape), original drawing
Located in Paris, FR
France 18th Century,
Pastorale (Arcadian Landscape)
Black chalk and heightenings of white gouache on blue-grey paper
19 x 31 cm
Framed : 34.5 x 46.5 cm
The atmosphere and the subje...
Category
1760s Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Chalk
18th Century Roman School , A Palazzo with antiques, drawing
Located in Paris, FR
18th Century Roman School
A Palazzo with antiques
Brown ink and pen, brown ink wash on paper
12.5 x 20 cm
Framed : 28,5 x 35.5
This nice drawing represents a genre scene, with a nobleman, priests, a mother and her children...
Category
Early 18th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink
Sleeping Boy - Drawing by Giovanni Fontana - 16th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Sleeping Boy is an original modern artwork realized in the 16th century by Giovanni Fontana.
Ivory colored sheet attached on an ivory colored cardboard (...
Category
16th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Pencil
Theatrical Costume - Watercolor by Alfredo Edel - 1895
By Alfredo Edel
Located in Roma, IT
Theatrical Costume is an original pencil, pastel and watercolor realized by Alfredo Edel in 1895.
Good condition, the artwork is from Amleto and represents Ofelia, with a note writes from the artist on the lower margin.
Hand signed with pencil by the artist.
Alfredo Leonardo Edel (1856–1912), sometimes credited as Alfredo Edel Colorno, was an Italian costume designer popular during the late 19th and early 20th century. He worked at the La Scala opera...
Category
1890s Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor, Pastel, Pencil
Brigante - Watercolor 1820 ca.
Located in Roma, IT
Watercolour on ivory colored paper, 1820 c.a.. Hand titled and signed. Representing brigand. Very good conditions.
Very beautiful and good quality watercolour both for the drawing a...
Category
1820s Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor
Theatrical Costume - Pencil Drawing by Alfredo Edel - 1895
By Alfredo Edel
Located in Roma, IT
Theatrical Costume is an original pencil, pastel and watercolor drawing realized by Alfredo Edel in 1895.
Good condition, the artwork is with watercolor and biacca.
Hand signed with pencil by the artis.
Alfredo Leonardo Edel (1856–1912), sometimes credited as Alfredo Edel Colorno, was an Italian costume designer popular during the late 19th and early 20th century. He worked at the La Scala opera...
Category
1890s Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Pencil, Pastel, Watercolor
Opera dei Pupi
Located in Roma, IT
Watercolour on ivory colored paper stuck onwhite cardboard sheet, 1820 c.a. Representing people attending the typical Sicilian"Operadei Pupi". Excellent conditionsexcept a little sta...
Category
1820s Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor
Drawing Ink 16th 17th Flemish DE VOS Religious Martyrdom of James The Great
Located in PARIS, FR
Flemish school from the beginning of the 17th century (Circle of Martin DE VOS) Drawing Pen and wash 38 x 32 cm (58 x 52 cm with the frame) Inscription "Martin de Vos" Excellent cond...
Category
Early 17th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Handmade Paper
Saint Francis of Assisi in Ecstasy
Located in Paris, Île-de-France
Salvatore Rosa
(Naples 1615 - 1673 Rome)
Saint Francis of Assisi in Ecstasy
Pen and brown ink, brown wash over black chalk, on paper
7 x 5 cm
Bears the stamps of collections on the...
Category
17th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink
French School Of The 18th century, An Ancient Shipyard, Drawing
Located in Paris, FR
French school of the 18th century
An ancient shipyard or building site (?)
Ink and ink wash on paper
17.5 x 23 cm
In a modern frame 32 x 37 cm
Category
1780s Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink
Louis-Félix de La Rue (1730-1777) A Mythological scene, drawing
Located in Paris, FR
Louis-Félix de La Rue (1730-1777)
A Mythological scene
Pen and black ink on paper
Bears an old inscription with the name of the artist on the lower left bo...
Category
1770s Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink
English School early 19th century, Portrait of two children, drawing
Located in Paris, FR
English School early 19th century,
Portrait of two children,
Pencil and light heightenings of white and red gouache
29.5 x 23 cm
In quite good condition : the pape is yellowed by t...
Category
Early 1800s Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Pencil
Portrait of a Slave Ship: 'Le Negrito à l’ancre. Dans le port de la havanne'
Located in Amsterdam, NL
FRANÇOIS MATHURIN ADALBERT, BARON DE COURCY (1805-1839)
'Le Negrito à l’ancre. Dans le port de la havanne'
Indistinctly signed lower left
Titled on the mount
Pencil and watercolour, heightened with white, on paper, 24.8 x 34.6 cm
Literature:
The present watercolour will be illustrated in:
- Prof. Manuel Garcia’s projected book on the disease and the slave trade provisionally titled “Fighting the Yellow Demon of Fever: The Struggle against Disease in the Illegal Slave Trade”.
- Prof. Micael Zeuske’s forthcoming Global history of slave trade.
Exhibited:
Mexico City, 1998, Palacio Virreinal, El Barón de Courcy, illustrationes de un viaje, 1831-1833, no. 108
Note:
Baron de Courcy was in the Caribbean in late 1832 and early 1833, following his tour of Mexico in 1832, on the last leg of his “Grand Voyage...
Category
Mid-19th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Watercolor, Gouache, Pencil
Three studies executed in the Pitti Palace in 1761 by Jean-Honoré Fragonard
Located in PARIS, FR
This brilliant study sheet, of which we present here a counterproof, is a souvenir of Fragonard's return journey from Italy. Between April and September 1761, he accompanied the abbot of Saint-Non on his way back to France. Three studies after the masters taken from the Pitti Palace’s gallery in Florence are gathered on this sheet. Although The Ecstasy of Saint Margaret...
Category
1760s Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Carbon Pencil
Jean-Henri Cless (1774-1812) Portrait of a young woman, signed drawing
Located in Paris, FR
Jean-Henri Cless (1774-1812)
Portrait of a young woman in a landscape
signed "Cless fec" for fecit on the lower left
Brown ink and brown ink wash on paper
Size of the sheet : 31.5 x 22 cm
Size of the motive : 24.5 x 17 cm
very simply framed under glass without actual frame 32 x 22.5 cm
This pre...
Category
Early 1800s Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Pencil
Old Masters figurative drawings and watercolors for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Old Masters figurative drawings and watercolors 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 figurative drawings and watercolors created in this style to introduce contrast in an otherwise neutral space in your home, the works available on 1stDibs include elements of orange and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Michela De Vito, Jan Pieter Verdussen, Jan Peeter Verdussen, and Augustin de Saint-Aubin. Frequently made by artists working with Paint, and Watercolor 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 figurative drawings and watercolors, so small editions measuring 1.89 inches across are also available. Prices for figurative drawings and watercolors 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 $121 and tops out at $50,000, while the average work sells for $1,001.