Wall Decorations

Italian 18th Century Miniature Capriccio with Ruins and Figures attr. to Giovanni Panini. Beautifully executed Gouache miniature painting of Roman ruins and figures. It is attribute...

Beautiful wooden wall plaque relief sign, made in the Brutalist style in Germany in the 1970s. This is a wonderful Zodiac sign. This can be used as a Wall decoration or as a decorati...

A 17th Century baroque painting of a sideview of Jesus Christ Salvator Mundi or Saviour of the World in sfumato Saint Savior of the World, a title given to Christ on the Catholic f...

This antique stunning portrait of Madonna in Sorrow came out from a Palazzo in Florence and an absolute eye catcher. The colors and details are incredible and very typical for an Ita...

This is a gorgeous antique Early 17th century Flemish Verdure landscape tapestry depicting a beautiful and rich summer scene of a countryside with lush trees and vegetation, and bird...

19th-century Spanish School: "Portrait of a Musketeer," HSP. (chip on the cartouche). Dimensions: 80 x 59 cm. good condition

Pair of stunning 17th / 18th Century Italian School oil on canvas mounted on board paintings of Lions and Leopards. Italian artists incorporated ele...

17th century French Baroque wool and silk tapestry. Work of Felletin, ca 1690 France.

French Rouen faience decorative wall plate, hand painted with blue, green and yellow decors. Dimensions: Length 32 cm / 12.59 in, height 22 cm / 8.66 in,...

Make a bold artistic statement with this Vintage Boho Silas Seandel Brutalist Wall Sculpture. Crafted by renowned artist Silas Seandel, this striking piece showcases the rugged, abst...

Pair of magnificent, large gilt and hand-carved wooden wall brackets in the Baroque/ Rococo style featuring elaborate and elegant foliate scrolls, measuring 22 by 14 1/2 by 10 inche...

17th century old master oil painting of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux. Spanish school. Dramatic expression and perfect use of chiaroscuro, the art of light and shadow effects, makes th...

This is a gorgeous antique late 17th century Flemish verdure landscape tapestry depicting a beautiful and rich summer scene of a countryside with lush trees and vegetation, with two ...

An excellent example of decorative wall sculpture dating to the 1970s, by artist and maker Stephen Chun. Chun studied at art school in Taipei, graduati...

Early 18th century Italian Venetian inland painting, a large size oil on canvas Baroque mountain landscape with stream, bridge, waterfall, wayfarers and a village in the background. The woodland is animated by figures, a caravan with horsemen fishermen. This monumental Italian Baroque landscape painting has a strong impact and an excellent composition balance, as it depicts in the center the luminous perspective of a fortified village, whose side wings consist of two mountain rocks with dark wooded vegetation crowded by characters, horsemen, paths, streams.On the left side, with respect to the observer, there is a path that runs alongside a stream that flows into a waterfall in the center of the composition. from a caravan of travelers on foot and on horseback traveling along it in both directions: going up the slope on the mountainous coast you can see a church and a village near the top. The right part of the painting depicts a more sparse and dry vegetation, painted in the chromatic tones of ocher, inside of which there are dead plant, dry branches and a smaller number of figures on the rugged mountain. The iconographic inspiration of this wooded representation seems to be in the large trunk of the withered conifer in a central position, which represents a dead tree, as a? reminder of the transience of everything in life, whose phases are summarized in the two mountainous coasts. In the background a village painted in light and soft blue colors, in stark contrast to the previous scene, seems  to reassure and project us into a future season. With a suggestive theatrical effect, more than 250 cm wide, this Baroque Italian painting comes from a private collection of Milan, the canvas has been lined and shows minor painting retouches at a horizontal seam of the canvas. It is unframed, it has just a wooden profile covering the canvas edge. It is an antique Italian landscape, the perfect opportunity to make a statement. Get the perfect size painting for a great living room, to create that eye-catching focal point. You can make an impact with a single large work by hanging this early 18th century Italian Baroque painting...

Highly textured, abstract wall relief of sawn, stained, and collaged wood and found wood objects by Lithuanian-born American artist Josef Twirbutt. T...

A set of three metal artworks with wooden frames. The clean black frames of these three decorative artworks allow the textured maximalism of the pieces to shine, bringing forth the m...

Alberto Carlieri (Italy-Roma 1672-1720), "Christ and the adulteress", Oil on canvas, with frame cm H 115 x L 151 x 6.5, only canvas H 98.5 x L 135 cm...

1960 Vintage Art Nouveau Tapestry Abstract Fish Handwoven 2x4 About Us~ Welcome to Antique Rug Collection. Your #1 Source for handmade Antique Rugs & Tapestries at great prices, cu...

1870 original religious painting. Cherubs Signed by S.Barber Interior measurements: 48.42in x 39.76in Frame: 2.75 in.

Large, impressive, abstract, dimensional, wall sculpture in distressed, neutral tan and taupe hues features a rough-hewn, brutalist texture. The painting is uniquely constructed of u...

This is a gorgeous antique square 18th century flemish verdure landscape tapestry with birds depicting a beautiful and rich summer scene of a countryside with lush trees and vegetati...

18th Century Engraving Sneed Park, the Seat of Joseph Jackson Esquire. Hand colored engraving, “Sneed Park, the seat of Joseph Jackson Esquire. Illustration from the second volume o...

17th Century Italian School Crucifixion Oil on Panel This exquisite 17th-century Italian School Crucifixion oil painting is a masterpiece of...

Tapestry from the Royal Manufacture of Aubusson, Louis XVI period , made in 1738 at the Gobelins One panel from a series of Gobelins tapestries depicting the History of Esther, illustrating Esther seated and attended by handmaidens, one washing her feet in golden basin, another fastening a bracelet, another offering a mirror, all observed by Mordecai, woven in the workshop of Michele Audran after a design by J. F. de Troy. The Toilet of Esther c.1778-85.Royal Collection Trust-Queens Audience Chamber Windsor Castle The Sketches for the Esther Cycle by Jean-François de Troy (1736) “and the maid was fair and beautiful; whom Mor’decai, ..., took for his own daughter.” (Est. 2:7) A supple and undulating genius, both a flattering portraitist and a prolix history painter, as well as a brilliant genre painter, in a gallant or worldly vein, Jean-François de Troy (Paris, 1679 – Rome, 1752), solicited, although he had passed the threshold of old age, a new royal commission up to his ambitions. To obtain it, he submitted – successfully - for the approval of the Bâtiments du roi (administration), seven modelli painted in 1736 with his usual alacrity. Inspired by one of the most novelistic texts of the Old Testament, the Book of Esther, these sketches in a rapid and virtuoso manner were transformed by the artist, between 1737 and 1740 into large cartoons intended to serve as models for the weavers of the Gobelins factory. Showing undeniable ease and skill in the composition in perfect harmony with the sensitivities of the times, the tapestry set met with great success. The Story of Esther perfectly corresponded to the plan of the Bâtiments du roi to renew the repertoire of tapestry models used for the weavers of the royal factories while it also conformed to the tastes of Louis XV’s subjects for a fantastical Orient, the set for a dramatic tale in which splendour, love and death were combined. Indeed, no tapestry set was woven in France during the 18th century as often as that of Esther. The series of modelli painted by de Troy during the year 1736 looks to the history of French painting and decoration under Louis XV as much as it does the history of the Gobelins. It probably counts among the most important rococo pictorial groups to have remained in private hands. First the Biblical source illustrated by De Troy which constitutes the base of one of the richest iconographical traditions of Western art will be considered. Then the circumstances and specific character of French civilisation during the reigns of Louis XIV and Louis XV which contributed to making the theme of Esther a relevant subject, both attractive to contemporaries and remarkably in line with the sensitivities of the time will be elucidated. An examination of the exceptional series of sketches united here, the cartoons and the tapestries that they anticipate as well as a study of their reception will close this essay. The Book of Esther: A scriptural source at the source of rich iconography. The origin of the Esther tapestry set by Jean-François de Troy – origin and creation of a masterpiece According to the evidence of one of the artist’s early biographers, the chevalier de Valory, author of a posthumous elegy of the master, read at the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture on 6 February 1762, it was apparently due to early16 rivalry with François Lemoyne (1688-1737), his younger colleague who had precisely just been appointed First Painter to the King in 1736, that had encouraged François de Troy to seek a commission allowing him to show off his ease and his promptitude at the expense of a rival who was notoriously laborious: “M. De Troy, retaining some resentment of the kind of disadvantage which he believed to have suffered compared with his emulator looked to regain some territory by making use of the facility his rival did not possess. Lemoyne was excessively long in the creation of his works,and M. De Troy of a rare celerity: consequently, with this particular talent, the latter offered to the court to make paintings appropriate to be executed at the Gobelins Factory; and it is to this circumstance that we owe the beautiful series of the Story of Esther, which would be sufficient alone to give him a great reputation.”17 Beyond the suspicion inspired by the topos, which still constitutes, more or less, a tale of rivalries between artists in ancient literature, there is probably some truth in what Valory reports although A.-J. Dezalier d’Argenville (who indicates rather spitefully that de Troy did not hesitate to “cut prices” to impose himself, benefitting from the productivity assured by the unlikely rapidity of his brush)18 proves to be more evasive: “As he looked to busy himself, he had offered to make the paintings that serve as models for the King’s tapestries cheaply: which did not please his colleagues. He was given a choice of two tapestry series to be made and he took the Story of Esther and that of Jason”.19 Whether or not the choice was actually left to de Troy (which would appear rather casual on the royal administration’s part all the same), it seems likely that the artist, whose contemporaries extol his “fire”, as the faculty of invention was then called, must have ardently aspired to the possibility of using on a very large scale the “creative genius” with which Dezallier d’Argenville credits him. The decoration of the private apartments, the fashion for which Louis XV had promoted at Versailles and Fontainebleau, offered little opportunity to excel in this area. Other than painting for altarpieces, only tapestries could allow comparison with Lemoyne who had been granted – unfortunately for him – a major decoration: the enormous ceiling of the Hercules Room at Versailles. Favoured by the recent improvement in France’s financial situation, the revival of patronage offered de Troy a commission fitting for him, in a field in which, however, he had hardly any experience. Anxious to renew the repertoire of models available to the Gobelins factory, the Duc d’Antin, surintendant des Bâtiments du roi from 1708 to 1736 followed by his successor, Philibert Orry comte de Vignory, gave him the task of producing seven large cartoons inspired by the Book of Esther corresponding to the brilliant sketches or modelli which de Troy had produced in one go, or almost (very few preparatory drawings can in fact be linked to the Esther cycle and all seem to be at the execution stage of the cartoons).20 Subjected to the approval of the Administration des Bâtiments according to the procedure in use for projects being planned for the Gobelins, sketches made rapidly during 1736 were approved and the project launched immediately. Thereupon came the news of François Lemoyne’s death, who, ground down by work and a victim of his private torment, committed suicide on 4 June 1737. Against all expectations, de Troy did not replace his rival in the position of First Painter (which remained vacant until the appointment of Charles Coypel in January 1747), which would perhaps have made him too obviously the beneficiary of the drama. The awarding of the position of Director of the French Academy in Rome came to console him while he had already produced (or he was in the process of finishing), in Paris, three of the seven cartoons of the cycle (The Fainting of Esther finished in 1737 and the Toilet and Coronation of Esther, both finished in 1738). De Troy, we can see, did not follow the order of the narrative but began with the subjects which apparently offered the least difficulty because he had already depicted them, or because they fall into a strong pictorial tradition (such is the case especially for the Fainting of Esther). He had hardly settled at the Palazzo Mancini in August 1738, when his first task which awaited the new director of the French Academy naturally consisted of honouring the royal commission and finishing without delay the final cartoons of the Story of Esther after the sketches he must have taken with him. As prompt as ever, de Troy discharged himself of the execution of the four remaining cartoons in only two years, by beginning with the largest format which allowed him to strike the imagination and to impose himself as soon as he arrived on the Roman stage: the Triumph of Mor’decai which was finished in 1739 (like Esther’s Banquet). The following year, the Mor’decai's Disdain and The Sentencing of Haman were brought to an end in the same Neo-Venetian style, obviously tributary to Veronese with its choice of “open” monumental architecture which is characteristic of the entire cycle.21 The series, it should be noted, was almost augmented with some additional scenes in the mid 1740s. Indeed, the first tapestry set finished at the Gobelins in 1744 proved to be unsuitable for the arrangement of the Dauphine’s apartments at Versailles for which it had been intended to decorate the walls the following year (cf infra). Informed of this, de Troy, considering that the story of Esther offered “several good subjects,” immediately offered to illustrate one or new subject among those “which could appear to be the most interesting”. The directeur des Bâtiments Orry, who managed the State’s accounts, obviously judged it less costly to have one of the tapestries widened to fill in the end of the Dauphine’s bedroom,22 which has probably deprived us of very original compositions, because de Troy had already illustrated the most famous themes, those that benefitted from a strongly established iconographical tradition and from which it was not easy to deviate The Tapestry Set of the Story of Esther Placed on the tapestry looms of the Gobelins at the end of the 1730s in Michel Audran’s workshop, the cycle created by de Troy aroused true infatuation. The few hundred tapestries made between 1738 and 1797 – all in high-warp tapestry and woven in wool and silk except for four in low-warp made in Neilson’s workshop – show the impressive success of a tapestry set that was without any doubt the most frequently woven of the 18th century in France. 29 Only three cartoons had been delivered by de Troy in 1738 when the first tapestry set was begun by Audran under the expert eye of Jean-Baptiste Oudry to whom the Directeur général des bâtiments, Philibert Orry had assigned the (weekly) supervision of the weaving. During the summer of 1738, the piece of the Fainting of Esther, which Oudry judged to be admirable, was finished. During the winter of 1742, Oudry informed Orry that about two ells of the Triumph of Mor’decai had been made “with no faults”,that the Coronation of Esther was finished and that the Esther at her Toilet “a very gracious tapestry” was “a little over half” finished. Exhibited at Versailles in 1743, these two last pieces were admired by Louis XV and the Court. On 3 December 1744, the set of seven tapestries was finally delivered to the Garde Meuble. It was intended, the honour was not slight, to decorate the apartments of the Infanta Maria Teresa Rafaela of Spain whose marriage to the young Dauphin Louis-Ferdinand had been fixed for the following year (it took place on 23 February 1745). Apparently it was thought that the theme of Esther the biblical heroine and wife of a foreign sovereign was appropriate for the apartments of the Spanish Dauphine. As early as the month of March, the architect Ange-Jacques Gabriel informed de Troy that her grand cabinet was decorated with the “Esther tapestry set” specifying however that “for lack of two small or one large piece, we have not been able to decorate the end of the room”. This difficulty led immediately to the Banquet episode being woven a second time in two parts (they were delivered to the Garde-Meuble on 30 December 1746) to garnish the panels on each side of the bed of the Dauphine who would hardly enjoy them (she died on 22 July 1746 and the decoration was installed for the new Dauphine Maria Josepha of Saxony). The appearance of the set’s remarkable border, which imitated a richly sculpted wooden frame, should be mentioned. Conceived in 1738 by the ornamentalist Pierre Josse-Perrot and used in the later weavings until 1768, it tended to reinforce the resolutely painterly appearance of the tapestry set which, in this regard, pushed the art of tapestry as far as its ultimate mimetic possibilities. With the exception of Mor’decai's Disdain which had been removed earlier, the “editio princeps” of the story of Esther (from then on in nine pieces) remained at Versailles until the Revolution. Of the eight surviving tapestries, four are at the chateau of Compiègne and four belong today to the Mobilier National. No less than seven tapestry sets reputed to be complete (one of them in fact only had six tapestries) would be produced officially at the Gobelins up to 1772. Literature: 1- The Œuvres mêlées of an emulator of Racine, the Abbé Augustin NADAL thus include an Esther. Divertissement spiritual which is exactly contemporary with Jean François de Troy’s cycle since it was performed in 1735 and published in Paris three years later. 2-Le Siècle de Louis XIV, 1751, 1785 ed., p. 96-97 for French ed. 3- Lemoyne and de Troy had been obliged to share the First Prize in the competition organised in 1727 between the most prominent history painters of the Académie Royale. 4- Mémoires…, pub. L. DUSSIEUX et al., 1854, II, p.265. 5-The fact that de Troy, at the risk of falling out with his colleagues, did not hesitate to make use of prices in order to convince the new directeur des Bâtiments Philibert Orry, is confirmed by Mariette who adds tersely “it caused much shouting” (pub. 1851-1860, II, p. 103). 6- Abrégé de la vie des plus fameux peintres…, ed. 1762, IV, p. 368-369 20 Early comments on the painter are inclined to present him as a kind of “pure painter”, doing without the medium of drawing, a few intermediary studies between the Esther sketches and the large cartoons at the Louvre nevertheless show that de Troy used red chalk (see in the catalogue, the notice for the Meal of Esther and Ahasuerus under the entry drawing) to change one or other figure. 7-C. GASTINEL-COURAL (cat. exp. PARIS, 1985, p. 9-13) as well as the article by J. VITTET, exh. cat. LA ROCHE-GUYON, 2001, p. 51-55. 8-The Hermitage in St. Petersburg conserves five tapestries of these two royal gifts whose provenance still awaits elucidation (as far as we are aware). In 1766, the Grand Marshal of Russia, Count Razumovski (or Razamowski), acquired the Fainting and the Banquet extracted from the sixth weaving (J. VITTET, 2001, p. 53). 9- Lettres écrites de Suisse, d’Italie…,quoted by J. VITTET, op. cit., p. 54. 10-The tapestry set remained in the hands of a branch of the Hapsburg-Lorraine family until 1933 (ibid. P. 54). 11-Quoted by Chr. LERIBAULT, 2002, p. 97, note 269. 12-Y. CANTAREL-BESSON, 1992, p. 241. Catalogue The Esther at her Toilet Oil on canvas, 57 x 51 cm Provenance: Painted in 1736 at the same time as the six other modelli of the Story of Esther intended to be presented, for approval, to the direction des Bâtiments du Roi; perhaps identifiable among a lot of sketches by Jean-François de Troy in the post mortem inventory of the amateur, historian and critic Claude-Henri Watelet (1718-1786) drawn up on 13 January 1786 and following days (A.N. T 978, n° 30) then in the sale of the property of the deceased, Paris, 12 June 1786, n° 33; Paris, François Marcille Collection (who owned a series of six sketches from which the Triumph of Mor’decai was missing, see infra); Paris, Marcille Sale, Hôtel Drouot, 12-13 January 1857, n° 36; Asnières, Mme de Chavanne de Palmassy ( ?) collection; Paris, Galerie Cailleux; Paris, Humbert de Wendel collection (acquired from the Galerie Cailleux in 1928); by inheritance in the same family; Paris, Sotheby’s, 23 June 2011, n° 61. In order not to add unnecessarily to the technical commentary on each work, the catalogue raisonné by Chr. Leribault which contains a substantial bibliography on the series should be referred to. The other bibliographical references only concern the publications and exhibitions to have appeared and been presented more recently. Bibliography and Exhibitions: Chr. LERIBAULT, 2002, n° P. 247 (repr.); E. LIMARDO DATURI, 2004, p. 28; Exh. cat. NANTES, 2011, p. 138, n° 34, referred to in note 1; Sotheby’s catalogue, Tableaux anciens et du XIXe siècle, 23 June 2011, n° 61 (repr.). Related Works: Tapestry cartoon: The cartoon (oil on canvas, 329 x 320 cm), the third made by the artist in Paris after the sketches had been approved by the direction des Bâtiments, is in the Louvre (Inv. 8315). It previously bore the painter’s signature and the date 1738 (inscriptions which are found on the tapestries). The royal administration paid 1600 livres for it on 21 June 1738 and it was exhibited at the Salon in the year of its creation. Summary Biography 1679 (27 January): Baptism in Paris (Parish of St. Nicolas du Chardonnet) of Jean-François de Troy, son of the painter François de Troy and Jeanne Cotelle, sister of the painter Jean II Cotelle. 1696-1698: Studies (apparently rather turbulent) at the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture. 1698-1708: First trip to Italy. Is obliged to leave Rome in January 1711 after a tempestuous affair (a duel?), de Troy extends the traditional Roman experience as a pensionnaire at the Académie de France by also visiting Tuscany where he stays for a long time, Venice (his art in face has a strongly Venetian character) and Genoa. 1708: De Troy (whose father had been elected Director of the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture on 7 July) is agréé and immediately received at the Académie with Apollo and Diana Piercing with their Arrows the Children of Niobe (Montpellier, Musée Fabre) on 28 July. 1710: First royal commission, paid for on 10 May (a sketch representing “the Promotion of the Order of the Holy Spirit” for the tapestry series of the History of the King). 1716: Jean-François de Troy is elected Assistant Professor at the Academy. 1720: He is appointed Professor. 1723: The artist creates the double portrait of Louis XV...

Incredible Mid-Century abstract brutalist door panel. Jagged edges and decorative carvings highlight its raw and dynamic geometric presence. An a...

Fine 17th century Baroque period silk and metallic thread embroidery panel. Excellent vibrant colors of bold burgundy, pale cream and beautiful, elegant teal with a border of textur...

The hand-colored botanical print, Corona Imperialis Polyanthos or Crown Imperial Lily, was originally by Basil Besler (1561-1629) a Nuremberg, Germany pharmacist, and published in t...

Dipinto religioso italiano di Scuola Lombarda Madonna con Bambino e San Giovannino circa 1650 con una buona composizione equilibrata ed armoniosa al centro della quale si trova il Bi...

Julius Caesar Ibbetson 1759-1817 old master painting English, 18th century This English school painting by Julius Caesar Ibbetson (1759-1817) depicts a countryside farm house off of a road with a horse drawn wagon...

An authentic relief work, wall sculpture with a circle in a square, Abstraction, Brutalist, Primitivist, Tribal, circular composition of dried wood twigs forming an optical movement ...

Della Robbia style sculpted portrait plaque of Jeweled Maiden, by Cantagalli An impressive late 19th century example, subtly detailed, three dimensional circular portrait...

A collection of 18 framed prints from engravings of musical instruments from the book by Gabinetto Armonico, which was published in 1722. The book had a total of 150 instruments. The...

Flemish school 17th century "Our Lady with the Child Jesus, St. John, St. Elizabeth and Zacarias". Oil on canvas Relined. Dimensions: 74 x 84 cm good conditions.

Antique French Tapestry Verdure Noblemen Royalty Verdure 5x9 158cm x 272cm 1920 A magnificent antique French tapestry depicting a scene of noblemen amongst incredible, exotic verdur...

A good, signed, antique Dutch delft wall plaque with shaped edge in lozenge form. It depicts an early canal scene with bridge (and town in the bac...

Pier Francesco Cittadini (Milan, 1616-Bologna, 1681) "Jacob and his family go to Egypt" Oil on canvas, cm 109 x 190 (canvas only) The valuable painting, made in oil on canvas, depicts Jacob and his family go to Egypt and we believe it can be, given the high quality painting, autograph work of Italian Pier Francesco Cittadini (Italy Milan, 1616 - Bologna, 1681) made after 1647. The work, in excellent condition is accompanied by a coeval frame in wood finely carved and golden. The scene depicted, which was confused with the Flight to Egypt in the past years, is instead identified with the biblical episode of Jacob’s journey. In the foreground, reading the painting from left to right, we see a caravan composed of animals, including donkeys, dromedaries, goats, dogs and horses and people, women, men and slaves, who carry on their journey along the banks of a river, following a path that to the right, would seem to lead to the through of a bridge. In addition to the watercourse is described an environment characterized by large rocks and impervious come far to cover the entire verticality of the canvas. On the left, in the distance, we see the tail of the caravan that runs along the steep path. Large trees enliven and harmonize the environment, as well as white and grey clouds characterize the predominantly clear sky and illuminated on the right by sunlight. The story is told in the Bible, Book of Genesis, 30, 25, passage in which is described the flight of Jacob from Haran after the contrasts with Laban, father of his wife Rachel. Jacob is the third great patriarch of the Bible. From his descendants originate the twelve generations of the people of Israel. He is the son of Isaac and Rebekah, who led him to flee from the wrath of Esau to Haran to seek refuge from his brother, Laban. At his uncle’s house Jacob met his daughter Rachel. As soon as he saw his cousin, Jacob was taken. Jacob will stay seven years in the service of Laban to marry his beloved Rachel. But Laban, with a deception, will give him in marriage first Lia, the least beautiful eldest daughter, and only after another seven years the splendid Rachel. From his first wife he will have several children, while Rachel will give birth to the beloved son, Joseph, who will become viceroy of Egypt. After years of service, Jacob asked to be paid with every dark-coloured garment among the sheep and every spotted and dotted garment among the goats. Laban accepted and sent away from his sons all the leaders of that kind. So Jacob took fresh branches of poplar, almond and plane tree, and flayed them, and put them in the troughs. The optical suggestion induced the goats and the sheep to conceive and give birth to dark, striped and dotted garments. He also ensured that all the strongest and healthiest leaders of the flock of Laban would drink near the barked branches, thus assuring a genetic superiority to his part of the flock. His flocks grew numerous and strong and he became richer than his relative, arousing envy. It was clear that Laban would not respect him much longer. At the suggestion of the Lord, Jacob decided to return to Canaan. Trying to avoid any possible dispute, he left with his family while Laban was absent for shearing sheep. But when, three days later, his uncle returned home, he became angry, feeling offended because Jacob had gone secretly and had not allowed him to greet his daughters and grandchildren. In addition, his teraphim, statuettes, or idols, which depicted the family deities, had disappeared. After 7 days of pursuit, Laban and his men reached Jacob’s group on Mount Gilead, in the mountainous region west of the Euphrates River, where his uncle and grandson had a stormy conversation. The younger man was outraged at being accused of stealing idols and told Labano to rummage through his family’s tents at will. Neither of them could know or even imagine that it was Rachel who took the idols and hid them in the saddle of the camel. During the search, she sat down firmly on the saddle, apologizing for not being able to get up, «because I usually have what happens to women» (Gen 31:35). So the loot wasn’t discovered. The author of this work was inspired by the composition of an engraving by Stefano Della Bella (1610-1664) of circa 1647. The engraving by Stefano della Bella bears the title "Iacob sur ses vieux jours quitte sans fascherie pour voir son filz Ioseph, sa terre et sa patrie" and is signed on the bottom left "Stef. of the Beautiful In. et fe." while on the right it is declared "Cum privil. Regis", that is with license of the king. Stefano Della Bella (Italy - Florence, May 18, 1610-Florence, July 12, 1664) was born in a family of painters, sculptors and goldsmiths and was left early orphan of his father sculptor, he dedicated himself first to the art of goldsmith at the school of Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione and Gasparo Mola, then turning his attention to drawing and engraving. He soon began drawing figures and copying the etchings of Jacques Callot, which inspired his early works. Under the protection of the Medici, in particular of Don Lorenzo, cadet son of Grand Duke Ferdinand I, Della Bella has the opportunity to make study trips to Rome, where he stayed from 1633-1636; In Rome he met French engravers and publishers of prints such as Israël Henriet and François Langlois, who influenced his decision to move to Paris in 1639, four years after the death of Callot. In Paris he soon reached, thanks to the engravings commissioned by Cardinal Richelieu, the success also worldly; he frequented courtiers, theatre artists and writers, while refusing too oppressive honors. In 1646-1647 he continued his travels in the Netherlands to Amsterdam, Antwerp and Dordrecht. He returned to Florence in 1650 and resumed working under the protection of the Medici court, working for his patrons. In 1656 he became a member of the Academy of Apatists. The painting object of this study is reasonably attributable to Pier Francesco Cittadini, or Pierfrancesco Cittadini, called the Milanese or the Franceschino (Italy - Milan, 1616-Bologna, 1681) as some exemplary stylistic comparisons proposed to follow can prove. Pier Francesco Cittadini was an Italian baroque painter, mainly active in Bologna. His artistic training first took place with the painter Daniele Crespi...

Italian 17th century still life painting in period carved gilt frame Italian school still life painting from the workshop of a great master. The 17th century Baroque painting in oil...

This is a gorgeous full color antique 17th century Flemish Verdure landscape tapestry depicting a beautiful and rich summer scene of a countryside with lush trees and vegetation, and...

This beautiful maiolica pottery charger is from Montelupo, Italy and is boldly decorated with a soldier walking, carrying a tool of the day. Vividly painted in yellow, green, and blu...

17th century, Pair of paintings depicting Architectural Caprices with Bacchanal and Sacrifice Scene, Alberto Carlieri (Rome 1672-1720) Oil on canvas; Dimensions: canvas cm H 73.5 x W...

Very good Quality oil on relined canvas in the Manner of Claude Lorrian cargo ships on the banks of the river po Italy Very similar to the Landscape with Merchants in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. Our version could be after the engraving by Boydell and James Mason on 1st January 1769. Interestingly, the source painting for the painting was once in the collection of Robert Trevor, 4th Baron Trevor (from 1764), and subsequently (from 1776) 1st Viscount Hampden. 18th-Century Italian Landscape in the Manner of Claude Lorrain This exquisite 18th-century Italian Landscape in the manner of Claude Lorrain captures the essence of Italian Baroque landscape painting, showcasing the serene beauty and harmony of the classical countryside. Drawing inspiration from the Golden Age landscape painting, it reflects the elegance and detail characteristic of Claude Lorrain-style artwork, featuring sweeping vistas, balanced compositions, and an idealized landscape scene that exudes timeless charm. A Classical Italian Countryside Painting...

17th century Italian old master painting Madonna and Child with St. Anne and St. John the Baptist. Important Tuscan School Old Master painting in oil on a hand shaved wood panel. ...

A set of three mid 18th century baroque style polychrome cherubs, each with hooks to the reverse. Ready for hanging on an interior wall as desired. Over 270 years old, these quaint ...

Exceptional Brutalist wall hanging plaque, by noted American sculptor Thom Tex Wheeler. Constructed of aluminum, brass, copper, and hard stone, mounted on a black painted plywood ...

Pair of 18th C. tapestry panels featuring intricate and richly detailed designs. They display classical motifs, including large architectural elements resembling columns adorned wit...

17th century Dutch Old Master painting with provenance, Barnyard with farm animals and peasants. This Dutch oil on canvas painting is a jewel among the g...

"The Tears of Saint Peter", Follower Domenikos Theotokopoulos- El Greco 19th Century El Greco Museum. Toledo, Castilla la Mancha, Spain. Saint Peter's Tears El Greco (1541-1614) Oil...

A large antiqued reproduction oil painting after Anthony Van Dyck. Aptly titled "The Three Ages of Man" Features an antiqued canvas with unique craquelure and Baroque scalloped fra...

A fine and large flemish 17th-18th century Baroque figural tapestry "A Royal Courtship" depicting an allegorical courting scene of a young princess meeting her prince at the watchful eye of a mesmerized queen standing behind her. A young girl supports the princess' dress train...

Bar designed by Billy Joe McCarroll and David Gillespe and produced by Forms and Surfaces, Inc., Santa Barbara, California. The bar features a Brutalist facade with a parquet wood...

Brutalist mosaic aluminum and brass wall sculpture/ decor by Belgian artist Raf Verjans.

18th Century Antique French Tapestry Verdure Wool & Silk 7x11ft 213cm x 323cm "This is very fine antique Flemish tapestry made of wool & silk depicting noblemen beneath a large verd...

EXAMINED LIFE 1 is part of a series of wall sculptures made of cast plaster combined with holography. This sculpture was cast in a hard hydrocal plaster which includes casts of machi...

1890 Antique French Tapestry Arts & Crafts Ceremonial 8x9 7'10" x 8'5" 239cm x 257cm 1890 "This is an outstanding very large antique French tapestry- This room size piece incorporat...

Rapture of Europe Oil on canvas. 17th century, following the model of VERONESE, Paolo Caliari (Verona, 1528-Venice, 1588). Oil on canvas showing a scen...

A pair of antique Altar Frontals Dating from 18th Century Gold silk ground brocaded with a Crown above Eight Point Stars , Cross, and stylized Pomegranates Lined in crimson silk ...

This is a large gorgeous Large Antique 17th Century Brussels Religious Tapestry depicting a scene with a bishop and attendants standing on the right, along with kneeling and standing...