Circle of Jacob van Loo (French, 1614-1670) - Venus at the Forge of Vulcan

Our still life depicting a metal brazier on ledge is a rare painting by Baudouin Yvart (French, 1611-1690).  Stretcher measures 15 1/4 by 19 inches.  It has an extraordinary ebonized sgraffito frame, 24 by 28 by 1 3/4 inches, with inlaid mother of pearl and pewter mounts.  Professionally relined and mounted on keyed stretcher. Provenance: Private Collection, Paris, by 1974; Anonymous sale; Boisgirard et Associés, Paris, June 26, 1985, lot 26; Jocelyn Fielding Fine Art Ltd., London; Mr. and Mrs. John H. Gutfreund, CEO Salomon Brothers, New York. Literature: Michel Faré, Le grand siecle de la nature morte...

Our exceptional watercolor on paper by the American painter and illustrator, William Thomas Smedley (1858-1920), depicts a distinguished gentleman smoker standing beside a street lamp. Signed and dated 1894. Mounted in period giltwood frame originally glazed and now missing glass. We may install new plexiglass prior to shipment. William Thomas Smedley was born in Chester County, Pennsylvania in 1858 and died in Bronxville, New York in 1920. He studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and later entered the Paris studio of Jean Paul Laurens. He submitted paintings regularly at prestigious exhibitions both in America and abroad during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, including the Paris Salon and the Universal Exposition of 1900. Around the turn of the century the village of Bronxville, located just north of Manhattan, became the center of a small suburban artists' colony. Otto Bacher settled there in 1896 and was followed a year later by Will Hicock Low. Smedley moved to Bronxville in 1898 and was soon joined by his fellow Pennsylvanian, Milne Ramsey.

Our very large, full-length portrait of a distinguished Japanese lady in kimono was painted by Greta Kempton (Austrian-American, 1903-1991), famous for her portraiture and role as the official White House painter under President Harry S. Truman. This oil on canvas, signed lower left, measures 42 by 80 inches and is mounted in a lovely cassetta frame with gilt designs measuring 52.5 by 90.5 inches (4' 4.5" by 7' 6.5") Known as "America's Court Painter", Kempton painted portraits of the Truman family and entire White House cabinet. She enjoyed a lengthy career as a portraitist to important figures from American politics, business and entertainment, plus everyday people from a range of cultures and communities. In 1949 the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington DC held a one-woman exhibition of her paintings. And in 1987 the Harry S. Truman Library in Independence, Missouri held the exhibition Greta Kempton: Forty Years on Canvas. Her portrait of Harry Truman...

Our haunting and beautiful portrait on canvas of Medusa was painted by the Austrian-born artist Karel Eichhoff (1899-?).  Stretcher measures 12.25 by 13.25 inches and the period giltwood frame measures 20 by 21 inches. Signed in lower right. With written authentication completed by the independent appraiser, Antonin Kleinwachter, Brno, Czech Republic, in 1976. Provenance: Jay Waldmann, Southampton, New York. The artist was born in Graz (Štýrský Hradec) in the south-eastern part of Austria.  He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague from 1920 to 1924 under Professor Karl Krattner (1862-1926).  He exhibited at Krasoumná Jednota, the provincial association formed in 1835 to support fine arts. Members included patrons from royalty and the state, including Emperor Francis Joseph...

Our charming painting, German School, circa 1890, depicts Sir Nathan Mayer Rothschild, 2nd Baronet (1840-1915), made Baron Rothschild in 1885, on the far right side, entertaining a g...

Our magnificent oil on canvas by John Henry Frederick Bacon, A.R.A. (1868-1914), entitled The Golden Butterfly, depicts the family of John and Julietta Boyd-Harvey at Tondu House in South Wales in 1907. It was exhibited at the Royal Academy in London in 1907, no. 572. This very large painting depicts the Boyd-Harvey family on the lawn of Tondu House in South Wales, with the mountain and valley of Tondu in the background. John Bacon...

PORTRAIT OF D. MARIA BÁRBARA DE BRAGANÇA (1711-1758), QUEEN OF SPAIN Circle of Louis-Michel van Loo (1707-1771) Oil on canvas Her Royal Highness, the Infanta Maria Barbara of Braganza (1711-1758) was the first-born child of King John V of Portugal (1689-1750) and his queen consort Maria Anna of Austria (1683-1754). Born in December 1711, she had the Convent Palace of Mafra built in her honour following a vow made by her royal father. Her status as Princess of Brazil, inherent to 18th century Portuguese presumptive heirs, would however be superseded once the queen gave birth to two male princes, D. Pedro (1712-1714) and D. José (1714-1777), preventing her from ascending to the throne. Daughter of one of the most illustrious monarchs of his time, Maria Barbara was carefully educated to become a fond admirer of the arts, and of music in particular, having had the Italian composer Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757) as her music teacher. On the 10th January 1723 the young princess was betrothed to the Infante Ferdinand of Spain (1713-1759), eldest son of King Philip V (1683-1746). Six years later, on the 19th January, she entered her new country in a carefully choreographed ceremony that became known to history as the “Exchange of the Princesses”. This unique event took place on a specially built Bridge-Palace, a wooden, luxuriously decorated structure that included various modules and rooms, on both banks of the river Caia, the natural border between the town of Elvas in Portugal and of Badajoz in Spain. Simultaneously, on the same day that the Portuguese Infanta crossed the border to marry the Spanish Crown Prince, her new sister in law, the Infanta Mariana Victoria of Bourbon (1718-1781), her husband’s sister, crossed the same bridge in the opposite direction to marry Prince D. José, the Portuguese heir to the throne. Once married, Maria Barbara would spend 17 years as Princess of Asturias, only becoming Queen of Spain at her husband’s accession following the death of Philip V in 1746. She is portrayed in the 1743 painting by Louis-Michel van Loo (1707-1771) now in the Prado Museum, in which Philip V had himself represented with all his close family. The new Queen would take an important role at court eventually becoming the liaison between her husband and the King of Portugal, particularly throughout the negotiations for the Treaty of Madrid (1746-1750). Maintaining her interest in music, she patronized the Italian castrato singer Farinelli (1705-1782) while remaining close to her old master Scarlatti, having herself composed some sonatas for a large orchestra. She would also commission and fund the building of the Royal Salesians Monastery complex in central Madrid, where both her and Ferdinand VI are buried. The portrait we are presenting for sale shows the Queen in half-length, turning left at three quarters. She is wearing a blue low-cut dress embroidered with flowers and foliage, over a lace cuffed white blouse, and an ermine cloak pined on the left-hand side by a diamond broach. The powdered hair style is held sideways by a seven diamond and black plume headdress and topped by a small gold and pearl crown. The right arm rests on a cushion while the left hand, at chest height, holds a miniature male portrait. The Infanta’s features are analogous to the 1725 portrait by the painter Domenico Duprà (1689-1770), also in the Prado Museum collection. Further similarities can be found in another portrait by Louis-Michel van Loo, in which a seven diamond and black plume headdress is also present. In this work, the cushion supporting Maria Barbara’s right arm has also some obvious similarities to our painting. The same diamond headdress reappears in Van Loo’s above-mentioned portrait of Philip V’s family dated from 1743. It is nevertheless in Lisbon’s Ajuda National Palace that it is possible to find an almost identical depiction of the Infanta holding a miniature portrait of her husband. In it, the future Ferdinand VI is portrayed facing right at three quarters and wearing a curly wig, suit of armour, the golden fleece insignia and a blue band, in a composition that closely resembles an 18th century Spanish school painting that appeared in the art market in January 2016. Another detail common to various portraits of the Portuguese Infanta and Queen of Spain is the small gold and pearl crown on her head. In another Van Loo painting, also from the Prado Museum, in which Maria Barbara is portrayed as Queen, this crown is represented together with a headdress similar to the one previously described. Another two paintings by the same artist, at the Royal Academy of Saint Ferdinand, include the same ornament. We must also refer the paintings by the artist Jean Ranc (1674-1735). In one, dating from 1729 (Prado Museum), the Infanta is depicted outdoors holding a flower bouquet and wearing a yellow silk dress with red cloak, and a set of diamond and ruby jewellery that includes a headdress similar to the one present in our portrait. Another work by the same artist, belonging to the Complutence University of Madrid, depicts the Infanta sumptuously dressed in identical colours to our painting and wearing an elaborate headdress and diadem. These portraits, beyond their iconographical importance as contemporary records of the Infanta and Queen Maria Barbara, are also illustrative of 18th century fashion for jewelled head dressing. Often, flowers were combined with joyful adornments, composing almost theatrical displays that would reinforce the ostentatious nature of the image. The ornamental flowers and the chromatic character of the jewels would complement the luxury of the colourful dresses in blue, crimson, green or other silk shades, in compositions whose sole purpose was to highlight a royal sitter’s wealth and power, becoming an essential statement accessory within the strict court protocols and codes of conduct. Circle of Louis-Michel van Loo (1707-1771) Slowly but steadily, the resolute, tranquil and dignified attitude of Renaissance and Baroque portraiture becomes artificial and presumptuous. Mid 18th century society favours elusive expression and psychological deepness, albeit limited to the face, that, with emphasis on detail, on the rich colour palette and on changing costumes and landscapes, associated to the courtliness of gestures, creates a strongly artificial environment while maintaining a highly poetic intrinsic character. Louis-Michel van Loo followed a dynasty of famous Dutch origin artists that had settled in France. Initially taught by his father, Jean-Baptiste von Loo (1684-1745), the younger van Loo studied in Turin and Rome and frequented the Paris Academy. In Rome he worked with his uncle Charles-André van Loo (1705-1765) and become a painter for the Turin Court. In 1737 he arrived in Spain being summoned by Philip V to succeed Jean Ranc as painter of the king’s chamber. In Madrid, his work covers the numerous Court commissions and the Royal Saint Ferdinand Fine Arts Academy, of which he was a founding member and director for the Painting department in 1752. Is production at court consisted essentially of numerous portrait paintings, often Royal gifts...

Circle of VAN DE KASTEELE, Frans (Brussels, c. 1541 – Italy, 1621). "Virgin with angels and saints". Oil on copper. Curly frame in ebony. Devotiona...

Acrylic on canvas painting with hemp rope applications. Artist's Work.

After Carle Van Loo, La halte de chasse (1737) (in english « The hunting halt »). Large oil on canvas with a black lacquered frame with gilt molded hi...

Bring the charm of the French high Society into your home with this beautiful suite of antique paintings. Crafted in France, circa 1760, each oil on canvas composition depicts child-like figures practicing the fine arts of painting, music, sculpture and architecture in the manner of Charles Van Loo. Each artwork is set inside the original, carved gilt wood frame. The allegory paintings are in excellent condition with wonderful details and rich colors. The quality of the present works sets them apart from the numerous studio versions of a set of paintings commissioned by Madame de Pompadour and executed by Carle van Loo...

In our opinion, the masterpiece of Marcel Delmotte's long artistic career, this highly-finished surreal painting depicts four semi-nude female figures, one very pale and ghostly in t...