Matthew Cook Art

Saint Michael the Archangel expels the rebellious angels from paradise (probably a preparatory sketch) Roman school, 17th/18th century Oil on canvas 99 x 73 cm Framed 119 x 94 ...

17th-century German portrait of the wine merchant Caspar Roemerskirchen at the age of 26 in 1628, Franz Kessler (attr.) This highly decorative portrait depicts the 26-year-old Caspa...

Flowers - Carlo De Tommasi Italia 2007 - Oil on canvas cm. 80x50. With frame cm. 100x70 Frame available on request from our workshop. In this precious oil painting, Carlo De Tommasi ...

Roman school of the early 18th century Luigi Garzi (Pistoia 1638– Rome1721) attributed Still life of fruit supported by three angels Oil on oval canvas 116 x 91 cm., Framed 140 x 119 cm. Authentication on a photograph by Prof Giancarlo Sestieri, who attributes the work to the sphere of Luigi Garzi This magnificent canvas, depicting a sumptuous composition of fruit supported by three prosperous winged cherubs, from which comes a parchment bearing the Latin expression "Amor est vitae essentia", is to be placed in the production of a Roman author active between the second half of XVII century and the first of the following century. The iconography that sees represented cherubs with fruit or flowers is frequent in the Baroque period, especially in the Roman area, starting from the 1600s, with that particular depictional tendency aimed at illusionistic and frivolous images, to a type of paintings or frescoes of strong value decorative, intended for the private context and depicting jubilation of cherubs, angels or cherubs, and of which our canvas represents a perfect example. We can recall, among the most illustrious iconographic precedents, the elegant mirrors painted by Mario Nuzzi and Carlo Maratta that adorn the hall of Palazzo Colonna in Rome, and again the canvas preserved in the Rouen museum and the similar ones in Palazzo Chigi in Ariccia, with the collaboration for the figurative parts of Filippo Lauri. The commercial and furnishing success of similar works is also testified by authors such as Guglielmo Cortese known as Borgognone (1628 - 1679), Franz Werner Von Tamm (1658 - 1724), Giovan Battista Gaulli (1639 - 1709), Giovanni Paolo Castelli known as Spadino (Rome 1650 - 1740) and the aforementioned Carlo Maratta (1625 - 1713) The work, studied by Giancarlo Sestieri, was brought closer to the sphere of the eclectic Pistoian painter Luigi Garzi, one of the protagonists of Roman painting in the decades of transition between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. In our painting we can find the typical elements of his painting: the soft and delicately chiaroscuro light, the sculptural classicism of the figures as well as the stupendous luministic and chromatic effects. Luigi Garzi's training and artistic activity took place in the Eternal City and he was in effect a Roman artist. He moved to Rome from Pistoia, his hometown at a very young age, and joined the atelier of Andrea Sacchi, who directed his studies towards classicism, comparing himself with the works of Raphael, Domenichino and Nicolas Poussin, but also with the Emilian one. , with particular attention to the school of Guido Reni. But the Emilian examples were undoubtedly preceded, particularly by Giovani Lanfranco, who modeled his taste and style, together with a modulated cortonism, while those pre-eighteenth-century sensibilities are due to the lesson of Carlo Maratta. However, there is no doubt that the painter oriented his personality without ever bowing to imitation, reaching a refined elegance and autonomy of language, as the canvas in question clearly demonstrates in which the different influences find a refined amalgamation in perfect harmony with the baroque evolution between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, indicating a dating to its earliest maturity. These attitudes led the painter to obtain awards and prestigious commissions as soon as possible, such as the frescoes of Palazzo Borghese...

18th Century Military portrait of a young officer in Napoleonic period military dress. The painting is not signed but the subject is Major Alexander Brown. The work is oil on canvas later mounted on board and presented in a fine 'Regence style' carved gilt frame. There are labels to the back referring to the subject, 'Major Brown of Trinity' and a framers trade label from Edinburgh. A magnificent and imposing portrait of a young military officer in the prime of his life. His red uniform adorned with fine buttons, fringed epaulettes and high gilt collar. His ruddy complexion offset by his stylish hair, a quiff and swept forward to the sides as was the fashion at the time. Sir David Wilkie RA (18 November 1785 – 1 June 1841) was a Scottish painter, especially known for his portraits, including formal royal ones, and scenes from his travels to Europe and the Middle East. He painted successfully in a wide variety of genres, including historical scenes. His main base was in London, but he died and was buried at sea, off Gibraltar, returning from his first trip to the Middle East. He was sometimes known as the "people's painter". He was Principal Painter in Ordinary to King William IV and Queen Victoria. Apart from royal portraits, his best-known painting today is probably The Chelsea Pensioners Reading the Waterloo Dispatch of 1822 in Apsley House. Sir David Wilkie was actually admitted in 1799 (despite only being 14) through the influence of the Earl of Leven...

Godfrey Kneller (Lübeck 1646 – London 1723) Portrait of an English noblewoman, presumably Mary Capel, Countess of Essex (1679–1726) Oil on canvas 128 x 104 cm. In frame 146 x...

Francesca Volò Smiller, called Vincenzina (Milan, 1657 - 1700) attributed Floral composition overflowing from an embossed vase (LINK) Oil on canvas 79 x 61 cm. Framed 89 x 70 cm. T...

French 18th century old master portrait of a majestic lady dressed "à la Turque" The sitter at the viewer with a kind and enigmatic smile and twinkling eyes. She looks elegant and kind, yet also has an intelligent and determined aura, reflecting the character of someone who is in charge of her own life and destiny. De Silvestre paid great attention to her spectacular outfit, which is striking in its portrayal of the sumptuous fabrics and their decorative richness. She is wearing a luxurious royal blue robe à la...

Willem Wissing (Amsterdam, 1656 – Stamford, 1687) attributed Portrait of the Duchess of Marlborough as Minerva Oil on canvas 128 x 103 cm – in a gilt frame 149 x 125 cm. Prov...

Early 17th-century Lombard painter Daniele Crespi (Busto Arsizio, 1597-1600 – Milan 1630), Circle of Saint Sebastian oil on canvas Dimensions: 82 x 60 cm. In frame 100 x 7...

Workshop of Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, Il Guercino (1591–1666) Attributed to Ercole Gennari (Cento, 1597–Bologna, 1658) Victorious Hercules oil on canvas 136 x 112 cm. In ...

Seventeenth-century Tuscan painter Angel of the Annunciation Oil on canvas 52 x 74.5 cm Framed 94 x 71 cm The work on offer, characterised by a refined sacredness, depicts...