European Decorative Art

Lovely large French faience oyster plate in pastel colors with flowers, circa 1900 signed Alfred Renoleau Angouleme.

True Arts & Crafts two-tone geometric pair of stained glass windows. Subtle workmanship which exudes simplified elegance. In very good or...

Majolica plate with orange starfish with six wells blue and white surrounded by green seaweeds Digoin ( East of France ), circa 1900.

English orientalist school; late 19th - early 20th century. "Slave market". Oil on canvas. Presents stamps on the back. Measurements: 26,5 x 36 cm; 27 x 37 cm (frame). The orien...

Beautiful oil on panel painting representing Venetian landscape. The luminosity of this evocative view combined with the impressionistic style of br...

A Fine Italian 19th Century Oil Painting on Canvas "La Madonna della Seggiola" after Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino 1483-1520). The circular painted canvas depicting a seated Madonna holding an infant Jesus Christ next to a child Saint John the Baptist, all within a massive carved two-tone gilt wood, gilt-patinated and gesso frame, which is identical to the frame on Raphael's original artwork. This painting is a 19th Century copy of Raphael's Madonna della Seggiola painted in 1514 and currently exhibited and part of the permanent collection at the Palazzo Pitti, Galleria Palatina, Florence, Italy. The bodies of the Virgin, Christ, and the boy Baptist fill the whole picture. The tender, natural looking embrace of the Mother and Child, and the harmonious grouping of the figures in the round, have made this one of Raphael's most popular Madonnas. The isolated chair leg is reminiscent of papal furniture, which has led to the assumption that Leo X himself commissioned the painting. Circa: 1890-1900. Subject: Religious painting Painting diameter: 28 inches (71.1 cm) Frame height: 55 1/8 inches (140 cm) Frame width: 46 inches (116.8 cm) Frame depth: 5 1/8 inches (13 cm) Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (Italian, March 28 or April 6, 1483 - April 6, 1520), known as Raphael, was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of composition, and visual achievement of the Neoplatonic ideal of human grandeur. Together with Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci, he forms the traditional trinity of great masters of that period. Raphael was enormously productive, running an unusually large workshop and, despite his death at 37, leaving a large body of work. Many of his works are found in the Vatican Palace, where the frescoed Raphael Rooms were the central, and the largest, work of his career. The best known work is The School of Athens in the Vatican Stanza della Segnatura. After his early years in Rome much of his work was executed by his workshop from his drawings, with considerable loss of quality. He was extremely influential in his lifetime, though outside Rome his work was mostly known from his collaborative printmaking. After his death, the influence of his great rival Michelangelo was more widespread until the 18th and 19th centuries, when Raphael's more serene and harmonious qualities were again regarded as the highest models. His career falls naturally into three phases and three styles, first described by Giorgio Vasari: his early years in Umbria, then a period of about four years (1504–1508) absorbing the artistic traditions of Florence, followed by his last hectic and triumphant twelve years in Rome, working for two Popes and their close associates. Raphael was born in the small but artistically significant central Italian city of Urbino in the Marche region, where his father Giovanni Santi was court painter to the Duke. The reputation of the court had been established by Federico III da Montefeltro, a highly successful condottiere who had been created Duke of Urbino by the Pope - Urbino formed part of the Papal States - and who died the year before Raphael was born. The emphasis of Federico's court was rather more literary than artistic, but Giovanni Santi was a poet of sorts as well as a painter, and had written a rhymed chronicle of the life of Federico, and both wrote the texts and produced the decor for masque-like court entertainments. His poem to Federico shows him as keen to show awareness of the most advanced North Italian painters, and Early Netherlandish artists as well. In the very small court of Urbino he was probably more integrated into the central circle of the ruling family than most court painters. Federico was succeeded by his son Guidobaldo da Montefeltro, who married Elisabetta Gonzaga, daughter of the ruler of Mantua, the most brilliant of the smaller Italian courts for both music and the visual arts. Under them, the court continued as a centre for literary culture. Growing up in the circle of this small court gave Raphael the excellent manners and social skills stressed by Vasari. Court life in Urbino at just after this period was to become set as the model of the virtues of the Italian humanist court through Baldassare Castiglione's depiction of it in his classic work The Book of the Courtier, published in 1528. Castiglione moved to Urbino in 1504, when Raphael was no longer based there but frequently visited, and they became good friends. He became close to other regular visitors to the court: Pietro Bibbiena and Pietro Bembo, both later cardinals, were already becoming well known as writers, and would be in Rome during Raphael's period there. Raphael mixed easily in the highest circles throughout his life, one of the factors that tended to give a misleading impression of effortlessness to his career. He did not receive a full humanistic education however; it is unclear how easily he read Latin. Early Life and Works His mother Màgia died in 1491 when Raphael was eight, followed on August 1, 1494 by his father, who had already remarried. Raphael was thus orphaned at eleven; his formal guardian became his only paternal uncle Bartolomeo, a priest, who subsequently engaged in litigation with his stepmother. He probably continued to live with his stepmother when not staying as an apprentice with a master. He had already shown talent, according to Vasari, who says that Raphael had been "a great help to his father". A self-portrait drawing from his teenage years shows his precocity. His father's workshop continued and, probably together with his stepmother, Raphael evidently played a part in managing it from a very early age. In Urbino, he came into contact with the works of Paolo Uccello, previously the court painter (d. 1475), and Luca Signorelli, who until 1498 was based in nearby Città di Castello. According to Vasari, his father placed him in the workshop of the Umbrian master Pietro Perugino as an apprentice "despite the tears of his mother". The evidence of an apprenticeship comes only from Vasari and another source, and has been disputed—eight was very early for an apprenticeship to begin. An alternative theory is that he received at least some training from Timoteo Viti, who acted as court painter in Urbino from 1495.Most modern historians agree that Raphael at least worked as an assistant to Perugino from around 1500; the influence of Perugino on Raphael's early work is very clear: "probably no other pupil of genius has ever absorbed so much of his master's teaching as Raphael did", according to Wölfflin. Vasari wrote that it was impossible to distinguish between their hands at this period, but many modern art historians claim to do better and detect his hand in specific areas of works by Perugino or his workshop. Apart from stylistic closeness, their techniques are very similar as well, for example having paint applied thickly, using an oil varnish medium, in shadows and darker garments, but very thinly on flesh areas. An excess of resin in the varnish often causes cracking of areas of paint in the works of both masters. The Perugino workshop was active in both Perugia and Florence, perhaps maintaining two permanent branches. Raphael is described as a "master", that is to say fully trained, in December 1500. His first documented work was the Baronci altarpiece for the church of Saint Nicholas of Tolentino in Città di Castello, a town halfway between Perugia and Urbino. Evangelista da Pian di Meleto, who had worked for his father, was also named in the commission. It was commissioned in 1500 and finished in 1501; now only some cut sections and a preparatory drawing remain. In the following years he painted works for other churches there, including the Mond Crucifixion (about 1503) and the Brera Wedding of the Virgin (1504), and for Perugia, such as the Oddi Altarpiece. He very probably also visited Florence in this period. These are large works, some in fresco, where Raphael confidently marshals his compositions in the somewhat static style of Perugino. He also painted many small and exquisite cabinet paintings in these years, probably mostly for the connoisseurs in the Urbino court, like the Three Graces and St. Michael, and he began to paint Madonnas and portraits. In 1502 he went to Siena at the invitation of another pupil of Perugino, Pinturicchio, "being a friend of Raphael and knowing him to be a draughtsman of the highest quality" to help with the cartoons, and very likely the designs, for a fresco series in the Piccolomini Library in Siena Cathedral. He was evidently already much in demand even at this early stage in his career. Influence of Florence Raphael led a "nomadic" life, working in various centres in Northern Italy, but spent a good deal of time in Florence, perhaps from about 1504. Although there is traditional reference to a "Florentine period...

Large German Majolica grape plate, circa 1900.

French Faience plate flowers keller & guerin saint clement, circa 1900.

French Faience plate signed Saint Clement Circa 1900. Decorated with cornucopia and coat of arms with Fleur de lis on the center.

German Majolica plate with morning glory on a yellow basket weave and a green border, circa 1900.

JOSÉ FELIPE ABÁRZUZA RODRÍGUEZ DE ARIAS (Cádiz, 1871-Puerto Real, 1948). "Moors at Dusk". Oil on canvas. On the lower part there is a plaque with the artist's name and title. Frame f...

Majolica plate with orange starfish with six wells blue and white surrounded by green seaweeds Digoin ( East of France ), circa 1900.

French majolica plate with flowers & butterfly, circa 1900.

French majolica plate with flowers & butterfly, circa 1900.

French majolica plate with flowers & butterfly, circa 1900.

Great image of a portrait of a lady After Paulo Uccello Chromo-lithograph Published by The Connoisseur, C.1900 Unframed.

Large French Majolica Platter Swan in a Pond Orchies Circa 1900.

Large French Majolica platter swan in a pond with water lily Orchies Circa 1900.

French majolica plate with flowers & butterfly, Circa 1900.

French Faience Octogonal Plate Fleur-De-Lis Circa 1900. coat of arms on the center "Pau" city in South of France.

Fabulous set of 4 medical prints Unframed. Published, circa 1900. The measurement given below is for one of the prints.

French Majolica leaves & grapes plate Onnaing, circa 1900.

French Majolica bird plate Keller & Guerin Saint Clement circa 1900.

French Majolica grapes plate Orchies, circa 1900.  

A beautiful and decorative collection of nine early 20th century Italian herbiers framed in a large painted white nine-pane window frame, each catalogued by hand with the Latin or bo...

French Majolica strawberries plate Keller & Guerin Saint clement Circa 1900.

French Majolica orchid plate signed Keller and Guerin saint clement, circa 1900.

Lovely French Majolica plate with purple and pink dahlias Orchies, circa 1900.        

A very stylish German Jugendstil iron industrial style owl wall hanging match box holder designed by Hugo Berger for Goberg and dating from around 191...

2 wall plates WMF Style: Jugendstil, Art Nouveau, Liberty year: 1909 Country: Germany Materials: silver plated Several of the WMF objects can be seen in museums. We have specialize...

A lovely pair teasel gold gilt wall art Sculpture ornament. Found at an estate sale in Stockholm, Sweden. It is not marked. A nice addition to your colle...

Small German Majolica Iris Plate Circa 1900.

French Majolica Duckling and insect and plate Keller & Guerin Saint Clement circa 1900. Border with poppies.

Small German majolica birds & grapes plate circa 1900.

German Majolica birds & roses plate, Circa 1900.

Antique Persian Seneh Oriental Rug, in Small size An antique Persian Seneh oriental rug, size 6'0" x 4'6", circa 1900. This handsome collectible carpet features a central medallion ...

French Faience Pink Plate signed Moulin des Loups Hamage Orchies Circa 1900. Chinoiserie period. Bird and flowers. 4 plates available.

Antique oil on canvas of a gentleman in a quality carved gilded frame. A quality painting in a wonderful frame. Free delivery throughout mainland UK. Measurements: H 76 x W 6...

French Plate signed Keller & Guerin Luneville, circa 1900. Modele Chine ( China ) 3 plates available.

Limoges Plaque girl with hoop by A Barriere wall decoration, please note reflections are from the different light ranges Pate Sur Pate With original fr...

Unusual French Majolica plate with a pig head made by Orchies (North of France), circa 1900.

French Majolica Asparagus Plate signed Sarreguemines circa 1900.

French Majolica Bee Wall Pocket signed Sarreguemines circa 1900.

This detailed KPM porcelain plaque features a painting of Franz Joseph and is beautifully accentuated by a wide ornate antique giltwood frame. The porcelain circle measures seven and...

French porcelain oyster plate with seaweeds Limoges, circa 1900.    

French Faience plate signed Emile Galle Saint Clement Circa 1900. Decorated with cornucopia and flowers, butterfly.

A rare, domed, black and white enameled Art Nouveau advertising sign for Wiener Werkstätte, founded by Josef Hoffmann, Koloman Moser and Fritz ...

Eugène Galien-Laloue (1854-1941) "Theatre du Chatelet" watercolor and gouache on paper signed 'E Galien Laloue' lower left, within a giltwood and gesso c...

German Majolica Cherries plate, Circa 1900.

French Majolica grapes plate Onnaing Circa 1900.

This is a wonderful Limoges porcelain plaque painted by the Limoges sought after artist Dubois. It is beautifully painted. It depicts a group ...

Majolica plums plate signed Keller & Guerin Saint Clement, Circa 1900.    

Majolica dragonfly wall pocket by Desvres, circa 1900.     

German Majolica plate with morning glory on a blue basket weave and a brown border, circa 1900.

Small German Majolica leaf plate, circa 1900.

Each painted in the center with either an owl or a peacock roundel, within a band of exotic and woodland animals amongst oak trees, the upper branches...

Important pair of metal with double patina plaques representing an Oriental woman and a Japanese woman, both dressed in traditional outfits, during the tea ceremony. Each is presente...

Small French Faience wall pocket signed Henriot Quimper, circa 1920. Hand painted with a couple of bretons and flowers.