Antique French Oil Painting of 19th Century Life Amongst Roman Ruins

Saint-Malo, France is located on the Northern coast of Brittany and has a long history of overseas adventures, exploration, and of course, piracy. Saint-Malo eventually became a wealthy French port city over the centuries, allowing for such leisure activities as horse displays, including parading and racing. It is thought that horse racing on the beaches was taking place by at least the early 1800s in Saint-Malo. The oil on canvas painting seen here is a fantastic depiction of such an event during the 1840s. A giltwood frame with thick cavetto molding surrounds the colorful and vivacious scene. In the center of the painting, jockeys ride galloping horses between two flagpoles. There is a definitive international flair, with flags ranging from French to Swedish affixed to a judges’ platform on the side. In the foreground, a procession of petite noblesse arrives, led by a quartet of well-dressed gentlemen on horseback. Two carriages follow, one blue and one green, each led by a team of two horses. Soldiers dressed in blue overcoats and red pants walk the grounds with a leashed dog in tow as a woman in a long, deep blue dress rides by with a green train flowing from her black hat. A sea of spectators gathers behind the judges, lined against the wall surrounding the city. Some enterprising fans are perched atop pruned trees beneath the wall as well. A blue sky filled with white fluffy clouds fills the background, above even more spectators lining the balconies of buildings behind the wall. The wall extends further down the beach, in front of cream colored houses and windmills at the end of the city. At over three and a half feet wide, this 19th century painting of horse racing...

Signed by the artist in the lower left corner (“Lecler”), this oil on canvas painting is entitled In the Sheepfold. A typical day in the life of a farmer dressed in blue with a gold hat, the agriculteur can be seen tending to a hay feeder. Behind the man is a flock of 15 sheep, mostly depicted with tan wool and white faces and ears, with the exception of a small all-white lamb. Some of the livestock is grazing from the feeders, while four of them (including the lamb) are gathered near a large water trough. A pair of chickens can be spotted amongst the herd, including a brown rooster...

Inspired by his voyages as a sailor, the French painter Charles Kuwasseg painted this impressive coastal landscape painting in the 1870’s (the canvas ...

Genre paintings, such as this outdoor scene on a board, depict people engaged in leisurely activities, such as picnicking, hunting, or walking through a park. They were popular durin...

Nature morte (French for “still life”) paintings first became popular in the Netherlands in the 16th century. Assemblies of flowers, fruit, and dead game were the main subject matters, and hundreds of artists from Western Europe would eventually participate in the genre. French artists such as Jean-Baptiste Oudry painted some exquisite scenes, depictions of hunt motifs including game and dogs. These subjects remained highly popular and were used in hunt lodges throughout France. The pair of paintings seen here are very well done 19th century examples of such hunt scenes, each one measuring over 57 inches wide. Both of our paintings depict hunting trophies displayed on an outdoor veranda. The balcony is elaborately styled with cavetto molding, volute scrolls, and a shaped cartouche beneath a bulbous gadrooned finial. Both paintings contain half of the cartouche and most of the finial, as if they were a continuous panoramic scene, complete with a blue sky and large trees in the background The left painting features three felled birds piled on top of a deer carcass, with fruit scattered around them. Beneath the trophies is a coiled horn with a red tassel tied to it. A similar scene can be found on the right painting, with three birds displayed on the edge of the balcony. The birds lie on top of a pale green fabric with tassels that has been loosely folded. Under the textile is a hunting rifle and another horn. A garland of fruit is draped across the rifle’s stock, rising onto the balcony. A beige fabric matte board and molded giltwood frame surround this pair of 19th century nature morte hunt trophy...

This French winter landscape painting from the 1800’s sits securely in the original giltwood frame. The hand-carved frame has several long ribbons, with sinuous fabric curls encompassing a repeating border of two distinct flowers. A slender cavetto molding can be seen inside of the carvings, with a repeating scalloped leaf motif that immediately borders the canvas. The French School painting depicts an overcast winter day with a small patch of blue sky in the middle of gray clouds above snowcapped mountains. Most likely the French Alps, there are a few evergreen trees...

19th century French still life oil on canvas, signed lower right, L. Benoist. Vineyard harvest theme with grape vines and baskets of pea...

Antique old world setting depicting cavaliers in the foreground with Roman columns. The background with a body of water and a mountain range in the ...

19th century Italian school oil painting "Ruins on a Hillside". Unsigned. Oil on canvas, laid down on board. Tiny puncture in sky. Note cows in the pond in the foreground. Framed: 1...

This is a beautiful oil painting in the Palladian style featuring a classical scene of Roman ruins, with a family fishing in the shadows of the ruins and dating from the second half ...

A most attractive Italian 19th century oil on canvas painting of ruins and figures. The two figures at the bottom left are engaging with each other while a man is watching another wa...

Offered here for your consideration is an antique watercolor painting on laid paper. It depicts a cowherd with a cow and sheep at a water trough by ancient architectural ruins. Th...