Bernard Meninsky Art

Northern painter active in Rome in the second half of the 17th century, View of Ponte Milvio Oil painting on canvas 73 x 97 cm in coeval Roman Salvator Rosa frame.

Decorative river landscape in romantic style, Signed lower left 'I Roy', unknown artist, Oil on canvas Dimensions excl. frame: 49 x 65 Dimensions incl. frame: 64 x 80 x 7 cm. In go...

French School, Late 18th Century Alexander the Great in the House of Darius Oil on canvas H. 42 cm; W. 53.5 cm without frame Apocryphal signature lower right "Verhag..." This painti...

Winter Landscape with Red Cottage by Otto Lindberg 1930 This oil on canvas, signed and dated “Otto Lindberg 1930”, captures a serene winter scene in Sweden. A low winter sun filters ...

Rene Genis (French 1922-2004) “Les Falaise Normande” / The Cliffs of Normand. A sea scape with high cliffs, the beach, and two fishermen. The cliffs are in browns, tans and olives a...

A very skillfully painted ink on paper silhouette, unusually with the sitter appearing to be dress in her nightcap. Very Dickensian! English School, 19th Century Portrait of a lady ...

Spanish Colonial School, 18th Century Our Lady of Solitude Oil on canvas In antique gilt frame Dimensions excl. frame: 92 x 72 cm. Dimensions incl. frame: 124 x 103.5 cm. Overall i...

A 1954 Surrealist depiction of a Summer symphony by artist Harold Haydon. Images size: 16 1/2" x 14. Unframed, mounted / floated to a custom Holly Hunt designed gray toned wallpap...

Gabriel Godard (1933-2023) The Red Bush, 1979 Oil on canvas Artwork: 28 x 20 1/2 in. l 71 x 52 cm Framed: 31 1/2 x 24 in. l 80 x 61 cm Signed lower left Condition: Perfect condition...

This delightful turn of the century (early 20th century) oil on canvas painting represents an Italian landscape with one of the most famous squares in the world: Piazza San Marco in ...

Flemish school, 17th century Orpheus and the animals Oil on canvas, 146,5 x 217 cm Provenance: South German private collection. On an impressive, room-filling format, this painting depicts "Orpheus and the Animals." The harp-playing Orpheus sits centrally in front of a tree whose trunk bifurcates above his head. This central tree frames with its crown the scenery towards the horizon and at the same time offers through branches the possibility for many birds to find space. The left half of the picture is characterized by a seascape, at the edge of which the ruins of a castle can be seen deep in the background. This seascape, framed by mountains on the horizon, is the only area where sky can be seen. On this side, waterfowl such as storks, swans and ducks can be seen. In the right half, the viewer looks into a deep European forest. On this right side, more land animals can be found, such as deer, rabbits and lions, among others. Orpheus wears opulent red and gold trimmed clothing, under his blue breastplate we see a white shirt. His feet are adorned by elaborate sandals. His head is surrounded by a radiant laurel wreath ("poeta laureatus"). The young man is clearly identifiable as the singer and poet of Greek mythology, Orpheus, by his harp, the laurel wreath and the animals surrounding him. Orpheus was one of the Argonauts who, under Jason, was searching for the Golden Fleece. He sang so beautifully that he even conquered the angry sea and enemies by the magic of his lyre. During the journey, Orpheus is said to have drowned out even the sirens with his singing. It is said that he was the greatest of all poets and charmed people, animals, stones and trees with his singing. In total, 51 birds and 37 different species are depicted in the painting. The animals are mostly depicted in great detail and, except for a few, can be identified. Mainly European species of animals are shown. Exceptions are the ostrich-like nandu peeking out from behind the deer, as well as the large parrot on the upper left, and the two lions. Similar is the case for the large animal directly behind Orpheus on the right. The shape of the head suggests an arctic fox from the polar regions, even though the body is much too large. The arctic fox was first described in 1555 by Olaus Magnus. However, it could also be a depiction of a brown or black bear. An unusual detail is the animal, which is relatively isolated in the right background and looks to the left. It is not clearly identifiable, but it shows certain similarities with the Australian kangaroo. This was first described by Vespucci in 1500 and further by Francisco Pelsaert in 1629. If it is indeed a kangaroo, this would be one of the earliest surviving pictorial representations. In this painting, Orpheus is accompanied by a small monkey playing a viola da gamba. This is an iconographic peculiarity. In general, this painting has some peculiarities compared to other paintings with "Orpheus and the animals". The central positioning of Orpheus is quite common, but he usually holds a lyre and is dressed in an antique style, but not as opulently. The choice of animals is also remarkable: European animals in particular are seen, hardly any exotic features, such as camels or elephants. The two lions in the right foreground are a quotation from Peter Paul Rubens and his depiction of "Daniel in the Lion's Den", which was realized in an engraving. The present painting can be classified as belonging to the Flemish School of the 17th century on the basis of its painterly and compositional conception. From the circle of Jan Brueghel the Younger are numerous representations of this Orpheus - theme, which take it as an opportunity to show as many exotic animals. There are also echoes of Spanish painters such as Juan de Arellano...

AGNIESZKA STAAK-JANCZARSKA (born in 1994) A graduate of the State Secondary School of Art of Józef Kluza in Krakow. In 2020, she graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow in ...