Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller

Oil on Canvas "the Prohibited Reading" After Karel Ooms

About the Item

A Large Continental Oil on Canvas "The Prohibited Reading " after Karel Ooms (Belgium, 1845-1900). This beautiful executed painting depicts a historical scene of an old man and a young woman who are huddled over a bible. The pair is gazing in apparent concern or alarm, over the old man's shoulder, towards something outside of the picture. The scene is likely set in the 16th or 17th century when Protestants were prosecuted, amongst others, for reading the bible in the vernacular, a practice prohibited by the Catholic Church at the time. Signed (l/r) A. Ribas 15-12-913. Within a giltwood carved frame. circa: Probably Belgium, 1913. Karel Ooms was born in Dessel on January 27, 1845 as the youngest son of a large peasant family. At school his extraordinary talent for drawing was discovered. When he was twelve his hometown provided financial support which allowed him to study at the Antwerp Academy of fine Arts. One of his teachers at the Academy was Nicaise de Keyser, one of the key figures in the Belgian Romantic-historical school of painting and a painter of mainly history paintings and portraits. After graduating from the Academy 1865 Karel Ooms was welcomed with pomp in his home town Dessel. He painted two altarpieces for the local church Saint Nicolas, to express his gratitude to his city. Karel Ooms settled as an independent artist in Antwerp around 1871. He quickly established a reputation as a portrait painter. In addition, he received commissions for religious paintings and history paintings. He gained particular recognition with two large paintings, which he made for the criminal courtroom of the Antwerp Courthouse. His renown extended across the borders as Karel Ooms won awards for his oeuvre in Prague (1877), Amsterdam (1883), Adelaide (1887), Melbourne (1888), and Chicago (1893). Karel Ooms made many travels in Europe and the Middle East. His travels to Palestine and Egypt are documented through the landscape paintings he made on location. In the Middle East, he found abundant inspiration for his Orientalist paintings. Late in life, in 1897, he married Baroness Edith van Eersel, widow of Baron Emile della Faille, a member of a prominent Belgian aristocratic family. His wife was well-off and an avid art lover and collector. Soon after their marriage, the couple went to live in Edith's villa in Cannes so that Ooms, who suffered from a heart condition, could spend the winter months in a milder climate. However, he died at the age of 55 in Cannes as a result of stress following a nighttime break-in into his Cannes home. His remains were transferred to Antwerp and interred at the Moretus cemetery in Wilrijk. Karel Ooms worked in various genres including portrait painting, history painting, landscape painting and genre painting. He is now mainly known for his Orientalist and genre paintings and portraits. Portraits make up about one third of Ooms' known output of 220 works. The sitters for his portraits were mainly from the wealthy bourgeoisie in Antwerp and the Campine. His self-portrait of 1896 depicts the artist holding his palette. The colours on the palette show his preference for earthy pigments, which was typical for artists like him who worked in the academic tradition. In 1885, Ooms made a reduced copy of the work, probably for his own use. The composition was also copied by other painters, for display in Protestant religious venues and homes. It was also circulated through prints. The composition shows Ooms' principal interest in portrait painting as the faces of the two figures are in the centre of the composition and are clearly painted in more vivid colours and detail. A painting with a similar theme of religious persecution is The Jews in the Middle Ages (1890, Royal Museum of fine Arts Antwerp), which deals with the persecution of Jews. Ooms painted many more history paintings which showed his interest in the 16th century history of his country. A. Ribas was probably a follower of Ooms, however we have not been able to find any information on this artist. Frame Height: 74 inches (188 cm) Frame Width: 58 inches (147.3 cm) Frame Depth: 3 1/2 inches (8.9 cm) Canvas Height: 63 inches (160 cm) Canvas Width: 47 inches (119.4 cm).
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 74 in (187.96 cm)Width: 58 in (147.32 cm)Depth: 3.5 in (8.89 cm)
  • Style:
    Renaissance Revival (In the Style Of)
  • Materials and Techniques:
  • Place of Origin:
  • Period:
  • Date of Manufacture:
    Circa: 1913
  • Condition:
    Repaired: Relined. Some in-paint touch-ups on canvas and minor gilt touch-ups to frame. Wear consistent with age and use. Minor fading. A truly beautiful and very decorative artwork, The lighting and colors are vibrant and the face expressions are quite detailed. Please view all images.
  • Seller Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
  • Reference Number:
    Seller: Ref.: A26831stDibs: LU1796234529792
More From This SellerView All
  • After Pieter van Bloemen Oil on Canvas Hunting & Ruins Scene
    Located in Los Angeles, CA
    School of Pieter van Bloemen (Flemish, 1657-1720) oil on Canvas "Hunting & Ruins Scene". The capriccio scene depicting two male hunters in robes, on...
    Category

    Antique 19th Century Belgian Renaissance Revival Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Wood, Giltwood

  • Marie Philips-Weber Oil on Canvas "Young Girl Reading a Book"
    By Marie (Maria) Philips-Weber
    Located in Los Angeles, CA
    Marie Philips-Weber (German, 1845-1942) oil on canvas "Reading a Book" depicting a young maiden reading a book, within an ornate gilt and gesso frame. Signed: M. Weber Philips (l/r),...
    Category

    Antique 19th Century German Victorian Paintings

    Materials

    Gesso, Canvas, Giltwood

  • French 19th Century Old Master School Oil on Canvas Titled "Leda and The Swan"
    Located in Los Angeles, CA
    A fine and large French 19th century old master school oil on canvas titled "Leda and The Swan" within a giltwood frame. Leda and the swan is a motif from Greek mythology, in which Z...
    Category

    Antique 19th Century French Renaissance Revival Paintings

    Materials

    Giltwood, Canvas

  • 18th-19th Century Oil on Canvas "The Triumph of Venice" After Paolo Veronese
    By Paolo Veronese
    Located in Los Angeles, CA
    A very fine and Large Italian 18th-19th century oval-shaped oil on canvas titled "The Triumph of Venice" After the original work by Paolo Veronese (Venice, 1528-1588). The original of this painting hangs in the Palazzo Ducale, Venice. The 'Ricci' coloration suggests a late 17th-early 18th century date. In 1715 Charles de la Fosse advised Ricci to paint only "Veroneses and no more Riccis", Venice, circa 1800. Measures: Height: 45 1/4 inches (115 cm). Width: 29 inches (73.7 cm). Frame height: 58 1/4 inches (147.9 cm). Frame width: 43 1/4 inches (109.9 cm). Frame depth: 5 1/4 (13.3 cm). Provenance: Royal Academy of Scotland. Paolo Veronese (Born 1528, Verona, Republic of Venice - died April 9, 1588, Venice) was an Italian painter of the Renaissance in Venice, famous for paintings such as The Wedding at...
    Category

    Antique Early 1800s Italian Renaissance Paintings

    Materials

    Wood, Gesso, Canvas

  • Attributed to Giorgio Lucchesi, Oil on Canvas "Madonna & Child" After Murillo
    By Bartolomé Esteban Murillo
    Located in Los Angeles, CA
    Attributed to Giorgio Lucchesi (1855-1941) A large and impressive early 20th century oil on canvas "Madonna and Child" after Bartolomé Esteban Murillo...
    Category

    Vintage 1910s Italian Baroque Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Giltwood

  • Large Oil on Canvas "Beggar Boys Playing Dice" After Bartolomé Esteban Murrillo
    By Bartolomé Esteban Murillo
    Located in Los Angeles, CA
    A fine and large 19th century oil on canvas after Bartolomé Esteban Murrillo's (Spanish, 1617-1682) "Beggar Boys Playing Dice" (The original work by Murillo was painted in 1675). The impressive artwork depicts two young boys playing dice while another eats a piece of fruit as his dog watches on., within an ornate gildwood and gesso frame bearing a label from the faming company Bigelow & Jordan. The original work by Murillo is currently at the Alte Pinakothek Museum in Munich, Germany. The present work is signed: L. Rüber. Circa: Munich, Late 19th Century. Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (born late December 1617, baptized January 1, 1618 – April 3, 1682) was a Spanish Baroque painter. Although he is best known for his religious works, Murillo also produced a considerable number of paintings of contemporary women and children. These lively, realist portraits of flower girls, street urchins, and beggars constitute an extensive and appealing record of the everyday life of his times. Murillo was born to Gaspar Esteban and María Pérez Murillo. He may have been born in Seville or in Pilas, a smaller Andalusian town. It is clear that he was baptized in Seville in 1618, the youngest son in a family of fourteen. His father was a barber and surgeon. His parents died when Murillo was still very young, and the artist was largely brought up by his aunt and uncle. Murillo began his art studies under Juan del Castillo in Seville. There he became familiar with Flemish painting and the "Treatise on Sacred Images" of Molanus (Ian van der Meulen or Molano). The great commercial importance of Seville at the time ensured that he was subject to influences from other regions. His first works were influenced by Zurbarán, Jusepe de Ribera and Alonzo Cano, and he shared their strongly realist approach. As his painting developed, his more important works evolved towards the polished style that suited the bourgeois and aristocratic tastes of the time, demonstrated especially in his Roman Catholic religious works. In 1642, at the age of 26, he moved to Madrid, where he most likely became familiar with the work of Velázquez, and would have seen the work of Venetian and Flemish masters in the royal collections; the rich colors and softly modeled forms of his subsequent work suggest these influences. In 1645 he returned to Seville and married Beatriz Cabrera y Villalobos, with whom he eventually had eleven children. In that year, he painted eleven canvases for the convent of St. Francisco el Grande in Seville. These works depicting the miracles of Franciscan saints vary between the Zurbaránesque tenebrism of the Ecstasy of St Francis and a softly luminous style (as in Death of St Clare...
    Category

    Antique Late 19th Century German Baroque Paintings

    Materials

    Gesso, Canvas, Wood

You May Also Like
  • Zurbo, ” The Reading”, Oil on canvas, late 19th century
    By Zurbo
    Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
    Framed oil on canvas representing two women in a couch. The right one is dressed in sweet pink and comfortably sat on wide pillows, a open book on her knees. Her friend is holding a ...
    Category

    Antique 19th Century Spanish Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas

  • "The Little Fruit Seller" Oil on Canvas After Bartolomé Esteban Murillo
    By Bartolomé Esteban Murillo
    Located in New York, NY
    A 19th century Italian oil on canvas replica of "The little fruit seller" after Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (1617-1682) in an original 19th cen...
    Category

    Antique Late 19th Century Italian Baroque Revival Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Wood

  • Large Antique Oil on Canvas Painting of Christ on the Cross in Ebonized Frame
    Located in Lisse, NL
    Marvellous work of religious art. This striking and sizeable painting of Christ on the cross is an impressive sight to see and for more reasons than one. The incredibly well painted...
    Category

    Early 20th Century European Renaissance Revival Paintings

    Materials

    Wood, Paint, Canvas

  • Set of Four Triptychs Oil Paintings on Canvas of the Twelve Apostles
    Located in Guaynabo, PR
    These are a set of Four “triptychs” oil paintings on canvas of the twelve apostles. Each one of the “triptychs” are rectangular shaped, divided i...
    Category

    Antique 19th Century Spanish Renaissance Revival Paintings

    Materials

    Wood

  • 1985 Squeak Carnwath "After the Fall" Oil & Alkyd Painting on Canvas
    By Squeak Carnwath
    Located in Oakland, CA
    Squeak Carwarth oil and alkyd on canvas painting purchased by the original owner in 1985 at the Fuller Golden Gallery, San Francisco, CA. A large scale art piece 70" x 70" square wit...
    Category

    Vintage 1980s American Modern Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Acrylic

  • Oil on Canvas of the Roscommon Dragoon after Sir William Orpen
    By Sir William Orpen
    Located in Dallas, TX
    Oil on canvas of the Roscommon Dragoon after Sir William Orpen “The Roscommon Dragoon” after Sir William Orpen, oil on canvas, circa 1918. Sir William Orpen was one of the premiere British and Irish...
    Category

    Early 20th Century Irish Romantic Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas

Recently Viewed

View All