Collectit ! by Spectandum Art

Depicted standing and shown frontally, the skeletal figure is largely concealed by a long, cinctured monastic habit. The hooded skull is inclined slightly to one side, and the figure...

This painting combines a lavish still life with human figures. On the left, large jugs and bowls of fruit are presented by a servant depicted as a “Moor”; on the right, a young boy p...

Flower Garland Surrounding the Virgin and Child, after Jan Brueghel the Elder (flowers), Circle of Frans Francken II (figures), Antwerp, circa 1615–1625, Oil on copper This finely executed garland painting on copper belongs to the Antwerp tradition of collaborative devotional cabinet pictures developed in the early seventeenth century. The meticulously rendered floral wreath may be associated with the circle of Jan Brueghel the Elder, while the central figures are attributable to the circle of Frans Francken II. The copper support, favored for high-quality works of this type, provides an exceptionally smooth surface that permits minute precision of detail and preserves the jewel-like luminosity of the colours. Set against a dark, subtly modulated background, the oval garland appears to float freely within the pictorial field, leaving the corners and margins open and lending the composition an airy sense of balance. The wreath is constructed from a carefully orchestrated rhythm of large, voluminous blossoms—roses in varying hues, carnations, anemones, and marigolds—interwoven with a profusion of smaller flowers, leaves, and stems. Each bloom is individually characterized, displaying botanical precision, crisp highlights, and delicate tonal transitions consistent with early seventeenth-century Flemish flower painting...

This painting is attributed by Campo & Campo to Zacharie Noterman after a known composition by David Teniers. Zacharie Noterman or Zacharie Notermann or Zacharias Noterman, Ghent 182...

This evocative three-quarter length portrait, executed in the Venetian School during the 17th century, depicts an imagined figure of an elite Ottoman woman, rendered in rich oils on ...

From the 16th to 19th C the production of decorative arts continued to flourish with the introduction of both rococo and baroque elements signaling an increasingly open attitude to a...

We know very little about the Mechelen landscape painter Karel De San. He appears to have been mainly active during the period 1829-1848. The painterly landscape with the dramatic sk...

Saint Christopher with the Christ Child, Spain, late 16th – early 17th C Polychromed and partially gilded wood. The sculpture represents Saint Christopher carrying the Christ Child ...

Pair of Oak carved Souls in Purgatory, male and female, 17th C, Southern Europe These finely carved polychrome wooden figures represent a rare matched pair of male and female souls ...

Oval Allegorical Composition, Circle of Jean Portaels, Belgian School, mid-19th C, Oil sketch. This work is a preparatory oil sketch, likely executed in connection with a larger all...

Very vivid Still Life.Jean Jacques Foulon was a Belgian painter. He was born in 1923 in Kraainem and died in Brussels in 1980. J.J. Foulon was educated at the Academy of Fine Arts in...

Singerie is a visual art genre that features monkeys imitating human actions, often dressed in stylish clothing, designed to amuse and offer a satirical take on society. The term ori...

« The Roof of Folly: An Allegory of the Fall » This enigmatic 17th-century painting, laden with symbolic content, echoes the allegorical tradition of Hieronymus Bosch, fusing grotes...

This charming bucolic landscape bathes in a soft yellow light. A lady on horseback, accompanied by a boy on a donkey, stops near a shepherd. The herd looks at two fishers and quietly...

Allegorical Scene of the Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804–1806) Attributed to Léon Cogniet (1794–1880) This ambitious and romanticized composition captures a defining moment in Amer...

Pieter Plas placed himself with this pastoral scene in the tradition of the 17th-century painters and draughtsmen such as Nicolaes Pietersz Berchem, Karel du Jardin, Marcus de Bye an...

Although the 18th century, the period of the Enlightenment in France, spawned thinkers who criticized the privileges of the clergy and the truthfulness of certain dogmas, the Roman Catholic faith was very much present in everyday life. Since king Louis XIV had issued the Edict of Fontainebleau in 1685, Protestantism was banned from the country. This Madonna with child illustrates the daily practice of faith. Like many 18th-century Madonna statues...

The impressive life-size statue of St. Anthony (Lisbon, 1195 – Padua, 1231) used to be probably in a church or monastery of the mendicant order of the Franciscans. You can immediately recognize a Franciscan monk by his brown habit, brown hooded cloak...

This pair of female torsos presumably decorated a fair stand or an organ in a theme park. They were most likely part of a significant organ intended to ente...

Standing Fang Mabea Maternity of Museum quality, holding a pestle with both her hands. The mother's head is slightly turned to the left, while the child, which she carries on her bac...

Antique French wooden steer's head is used as the exterior sign of a butcher’s shop (in French, they call it a Boucherie). The sign must be over a hundred years old, still has its or...

An intriguing example of a fully articulated circus puppet marionette, in the form of a clown. This figure is fully articulated with iron strings support...

Godefroid Devreese(19 August 1861 – 31 August 1941) was a Belgian sculptor. His work was part of the sculpture event in the art competition at the Olympics. He first studied with his...

The highly expressive wooden skeleton was carved and polychromed in the early 20th century in Burma, today's Myanmar. Unlike many sculptures from that region, his one is not directly...

This pottery vessel, embellished with high relief figures, was made by women of the ethnic group of the Bariba (or Baatonu) in the northern provinces of Benin. The Bariba potters pas...

Most Mambilla or Mambila people live in East-Nigeria; a small fraction migrated across the Cameroon border. They are famous for the originality of their sculptures, especially the so...

Exceptional Zela Couple with shiny patina. The sculptures' cap-like hairstyles are typical for the Zela; as are the ritual scarification's on the front and back of their bodies. Apar...

Mangbetu People, DRC, Very Early Male Statue with Snake Vertebrae Belt and Necklace.

Gustave Fontaine (Etterbeek 1877-1952 Brussels) was a sculptor–painter. He took courses in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode and continued his training at the Academy of Brussels and with the sc...

Gustave Fontaine (Etterbeek 1877-1952 Brussels) was a sculptor–painter. He took courses in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode and continued his training at the Aca...

Gustave Fontaine (Etterbeek 1877-1952 Brussels) was a sculptor–painter. He took courses in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode and continued his training at the Academy of Brussels and with the sculptor Julien...

Saint Erasmus or Saint Elmo (Antioch, ca. 240 – Formia, 303) was an Italian bishop and patron saint of the sailors. His attribute was the capstan, a winch on which the anchor chains were rolled up. He died as a martyr for his faith, and his bones were transferred to Gaeta in the 9th century, where they are kept in the cathedral to this day. The electric phenomenon of Saint Elmus fire is named after Saint Erasmus and the 16th C humanist Desiderius Erasmus. Little is known with certainty about Saint Erasmus' life. However, many legends may have been passed on orally until - no older writings are known with certainty. His birthplace was in present-day Syria. However, the persecution of Christians under Emperor Diocletian forced him to flee to Mount Lebanon...

This beautiful polychrome and highly expressive statue 18th C statue represents Mary Magdalene in prayer, hands joined, eyes raised to the sky.It's of German origin

The cigar store Indian originated as a tradition, not in the United States but in Europe, where carved “Virginie men,” as Europeans called native Americans, were used for advertising...

Gustave FONTAINE ( Etterbeek 1877-1952 Brussels). Sculptor–painter. Took courses in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, continued his training at the Academy of Brussels and with the sculptor Julien Dillens...

Gustave Fontaine (Etterbeek 1877-1952 Brussels) was a sculptor–painter. He took courses in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode and continued his training at the Academy of Brussels and with the sculptor Julien...

19th C Pair of Breton polychromed fruitwood statues depicting Fisherman and his wife .Origin France.

Gustave FONTAINE ( Etterbeek 1877-1952 Brussels). Sculptor–painter. Took courses in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, continued his training at the Academy of Brussels and with the sculptor Julien Dillens...

An exceptionally beautiful antique French wood carving, made in the 17th century. It depicts Madonna standing with open offering arms .The...

Sir Frederick Lugard, baron of Abinger, UK kolonial and administrator Hong Kong en Afrika. Herbert harry Cawood (1890-1957) Signed and dated

Mechelen dolls are rare wooden devotional figurines (mainly walnut was used), which were made by some members of the Guild of Saint Luke. The figures, all individual saints, were made from reference models using highly regulated carving and polychrome techniques. They had to meet several requirements. The shape of the rug had to meet certain criteria and the letter M (from Mechelen) had to be visible in the shape. These devotional or saint figurines...

The Diorama was in a private collection for more than 20 years and is said to have been exposed at the China Exposition 1902 in Copenhagen.This group of Chinese polychromed-decorate...

The 39-year-old gentleman had himself portrayed as an aristocrat in an idyllic landscape. At the time, parks and forests were environments associated with the lands and pastimes of t...

The Namur painter and engraver, Louis Decoeur (1884-1960) became a member of “L’Effort” around 1910. This artist’s association provided a free studio for painters in Brussels, on the...

Attentive observer, may I challenge you to find some unusual elements in this panel painting? One detail has to do with the symbolic use of color, the other with a later adjustment of the image. Indeed! The Blessed Virgin is not dressed in her usual sky blue cloak, which refers to her purity, but in a red robe. During the Late Middle Ages and early Renaissance, the Virgin often wore such a red garment to refer to the Passion of Christ. After all, the blessing Christ child with his orb would shed his blood for the redemption of mankind. The second strange element catches the eye when one looks closer at the little Jesus. It appears that he was originally depicted completely naked, but got on a transparent loincloth over time. In the past there were several times when nudity in art was subject to some form of censorship. For example, the supervision of Christian art was strongly encouraged by the Council of Trent (1545-1563). This assembly was dealing with the inner-ecclesiastical reform of the Roman Catholic Church. One of the important theologians who followed the council’s guidelines was Joannes Molanus (1533-1585). He did not consider the nakedness of the Christ Child to be edifying and pointed out that children could be endangered in this way. He may have been referring to the dangers of paedophilia. During the 19th century, puritanism emerged. A famous example of a moral preacher was Pope Pius IX...

As the Dutch painter Philips Wouwerman often did, this artist painted travellers stopping at an inn or a farm. One of the men got off his horse to urinate against the facade of the building. The motif of a peeing man was far from an exception in Dutch genre paintings...

Hunting played an essential role in the lives of princes and nobles for centuries. It was no different in the 17th century. Paintings depicting hunting scenes were hung, for example, in the hunting lodges of elites. It should be noted that the upper bourgeoisie also began to show interest in painted hunting scenes during the 17th century. In the Southern Netherlands there were a number of skilled animal painters who produced hunting scenes, including Frans Snijders, Paul De Vos, Jan Roos, Pieter Boel and Jan Fyt. Snijders knew how to render the anatomy of the animals masterfully. Also, he managed to make his animals look intelligent. He let them express a variety of feelings. His colleague, Paul De Vos, seems to have been less familiar with animal anatomy. His animals lack a kind of individuality and psychological expression. The panel shows a boar hunt with dogs. It was a prevalent theme, portrayed by Rubens, Snijders, De Vos and others. Buyers were especially interested in the showdown between animal species. The mental and physical strength appealed to their imagination. The painter of this little work has no solid knowledge of dog breeds. Due to a lack of insight into dogs' bone and muscle structure, he makes them look rather stiff. Mainly the heads have something naïve about them. It cannot be ruled out that the artist of this painting is Jan van Kessel...

Around the middle of the 19th century, the missionary Thomas Savage and the anatomist Jeffries Wyman, described a new animal species – the Troglodytes Gorilla – in their article for ...

Willem Muys was a Dutch, 18th-century painter of history pieces, portraits and cabinet pieces. Above all, he appears to have been active as a painter of ‘wallpaper’. Until the mid-18th century, ‘wallpaper’ was not painted on paper but on coarsely woven linen. Wealthy citizens had their mansions or country estates adorned with ‘wallpaper’ with landscapes, exotic birds or chinoiseries. Willem Muys mainly painted ‘wallpaper’, which means that few of his works have been preserved. They are hardly represented in public collections. The works of his sons, Nicolaas en Robbert, both painters, are a little less rare. The painting with Rebecca and Eliezer...

Around the middle of the 19th century, the missionary Thomas Savage and the anatomist Jeffries Wyman described a new animal species – the Troglodytes Gorilla – in their Boston Societ...

Sir Joshua Reynolds (16 July 1723 - 23 February 1792) was a leading 18th-century English portrait painter and President of the Royal Academy from 1769 to 1792. He was born on 16 July...

After Athena was born fully armed from Zeus' forehead, Triton, acting as a foster parent to the goddess, raised her alongside his daughter, Pallas. The sea god taught both girls the ...

Preparation for Carnival: a three day festival of insatiable eating, drinking and carousing that preceded the forty days of Lent, a period of penitence when the pious drank only wate...

Vase with flower, Alex Lallemand (Ixelles, 1892-1963), signed, Oil spatuled on Canvas.