1750s Paintings

This is a truly splendid antique and highly decorative French hand painted fan set in a gilded and glazed box frame, dating from the mid 18th century. The sticks are finely applied with gilded and silvered openwork floral decoration, the paper leaf fan is superbly hand-painted with a Classical scene of a musician playing a harp to a king and his attendants, with scrolling foliate gilt detailing, in a decorative glazed case. Add this highly ornate antique framed...

Young French Portrait 18th century Pastel on paper. 18th century french portrait of a young girl. It is framed with a vintage frame and with gl...

This painting depicts Harlequin who, because of his coloured lozenge dress, has become synonymous with 'multicoloured' in the Italian language. His name is perhaps taken from that of Hellequin, a jester devil of the French Middle Ages, and initially connoted a poor man, stupid and ready to fight. Harlequin represents Venetian culture just as Pulcinella represents Campania culture. He is the fortunate emblem of comedy and is a cunning servant-servant who tries to extract money from stingy and stupid masters. He has a remarkable wealth of expression, is plagued by chronic hunger and is amoral. His famous and traditional costume consists of a black, flamboyant mask and a suit made of shiny multicoloured lozenges. Here, too, a legend sets out to explain the origin of Harlequin's all-coloured dress. The story goes that Harlequin was a child from a very poor family. On the occasion of Carnival at school, the teacher decided to organise a party, in which, however, the child was the only one unable to participate because he could not afford a suitable costume. His schoolmates came to his aid, who, driven by a sense of solidarity, each brought Harlequin's mother a small piece of fabric from their own dress. With all these scraps of cloth, the poor child's mother made an original dress, which was characterised by its varied colours. Harlequin was the most admired child on the day of the Carnival feast. It is a mask that is still alive and well thanks to the modern representations of Goldoni's 'Harlequin, servant of two masters'. The technique is a very hasty but precise oil painting on canvas, in fact there are not many details, but remaining in Longhi's style it is very essential. It is the vices of the Venetian aristocracy that Longhi wants to highlight. He is depicted dancing with a mandolin in The frame has been restored, varnished and repositioned, making the painting suitable for even the most sparse, but art-loving environments. An unmissable piece of art from 18th century Venice. Pietro Longhi portrays events in the daily life of the Venetian aristocracy contemporary to him in a very realistic manner. His canvases depict typical moments of the Venetian world. In his paintings we find the same atmosphere as in Goldoni's comedies, the settings are discreet, in private and intimate contexts. Goldoni himself, a contemporary of Pietro Longhi, admired his work and dedicated a sonnet to him in which he indicated Longhi's work as a pictorial version of his theatre. With Goldoni, we are in the midst of the 16th century, in the middle of the Venice Carnival, amid masks, music, laughter and haggling merchants. In the darkness of the calli we meet a figure dressed in red wrapped in a black cloak...

This painting depicts the mask of Pantalone, who was born in Venice around 1500, and impersonates the classic Venetian merchant, miserly, lustful and despotic. The mask of Pantalone is among the best known and best loved in theatre. Hardly anyone manages to be recognized by the public like this character. This depends on the verisimilitude to reality. In fact, the character of this mask is inspired by a satirical mispronunciation of the typical Venetian merchant, seen as a malignant figure, attached to money and glitz, always ready to sniff out any bargain that comes his way. Apart from this, Pantalone also has other characteristics that distinguish him, such as lust and love for young women. These peculiarities are not randomly inserted into an already negative character, but underline his evil and profiteering nature. Strange as it may seem to us, the mask of pantalone and the mask of brighella have much more in common than we think. In fact, even though they have very distant geographical origins, their birth is closely linked to the figure of the Zanni from Bergamo. But what is the Zanni? He is the classic servant of masters, used to make trouble, get into trouble and cheat the people around him. In addition, both figures started out in shows where the Zanni was the protagonist, Brighella as sidekick and Pantalone as antagonist. It was then Carlo Goldoni who unified the two characters, making them much more similar to each other and more suited to a type of comedy that was no longer the commedia dell'arte, mainly followed by the poorer class, but bourgeois comedy. Visually they are also very similar, both masks cover a large part of the face, and both have thick eyebrows. In this painting he is depicted in a red suit and a long black cloak...

This painting represents the mask of Brighella, who owes his name to his lively, brawling, insolent and mischievous character. He is Harlequin's best friend: both are servants in the commedia dell'arte and both were born in Bergamo. In contrast to his friend, however, Brighella is not only a servant but a host of other more or less licit professions, so he always finds himself in the middle of various intrigues. The main characteristic elements of the character are his alertness and agility of mind, which he uses to devise deceptions and traps into which to make others fall just for the sake of cheating them. He is also intriguing, very cunning, unscrupulous and a liar capable of telling fibs with such confidence and conviction that it is almost impossible to distinguish them from the truth. He is also very skilled at singing, playing and dancing. He is depicted wearing a jacket and trousers decorated with green chevrons; he also has green shoes with black pompoms. His cloak is white with two green stripes while his mask and hat are black. The technique is a very hasty but precise oil painting on canvas, in fact there are not many details, but remaining in Longhi's style it is very essential. It is the vices of the Venetian aristocracy that Longhi wants to highlight. The frame has been restored, varnished and repositioned, making the painting suitable for even the most sparse, but art-loving environments. An unmissable piece of art from 18th century Venice. Pietro Longhi portrays events in the daily life of the Venetian aristocracy contemporary to him in a very realistic manner. His canvases depict typical moments of the Venetian world. In his paintings we find the same atmosphere as in Goldoni's comedies, the settings are discreet, in private and intimate contexts. Goldoni himself, a contemporary of Pietro Longhi, admired his work and dedicated a sonnet to him in which he indicated Longhi's work as a pictorial version of his theatre. With Goldoni, we are in the midst of the 16th century, in the middle of the Venice Carnival, amid masks, music, laughter and haggling merchants. In the darkness of the calli we meet a figure dressed in red wrapped in a black cloak...

There are a series of four vertical paintings that create a splendid set of late 18th century paintings attributed to Pietro Longhi. The frame has been restored, varnished and repositioned, making the painting suitable for even the most sparse, but art-loving environments. The painting depicts the mask of Colombina, who cleans the floor with a broom made of straw and wood. The woman is depicted in a wide yellow dress with a pompous skirt and chiffon flounced sleeves. The neckline is very deep, allowing a glimpse of part of her breasts, also swollen by the bodice worn, typical of the period. She can be distinguished from a servant girl because she is adorned with gold jewellery, both on her wrist and around her neck. She has two earrings that act as a very elegant spotlight. Her neck is slightly reclined as if she wanted to portray herself. The technique is a very hasty but precise oil painting on canvas, in fact there are not many details, but remaining in Longhi's style, it is very essential. A piece of art from 18th century Venice, a must-have piece. Pietro Longhi portrayed events in the daily life of the Venetian aristocracy contemporary to him in a very realistic manner. His canvases depict typical moments of the Venetian world. In his paintings we find the same atmosphere as in Goldoni's comedies, the settings are discreet, in private and intimate contexts. Goldoni himself, a contemporary of Pietro Longhi, admired his work and dedicated a sonnet to him in which he indicated Longhi's work as a pictorial version of his theatre. With Goldoni, we are in the midst of the 16th century, in the middle of the Venice Carnival, amid masks, music, laughter and haggling merchants. In the darkness of the calli we meet a figure dressed in red wrapped in a black cloak...

Beautiful antique oil painting on canvas, 1750. A splendid landscape with peaple and architectural elements. Excellent pictorial quality. Sold with antique gilded frame.

Beautiful antique Italian oil painting on canvas. Excellent pictorial quality great attention to detail. Italian school of the 18th century. Not signed. A beautiful religious paintin...

Beautiful antique oil painting on canvas 1750s. A splendid portrait of a Noble Lady. Excellent pictorial quality great attention to detail. Gorgeous Lady with a sweet and happy expre...

Gentleman standing with blue coat and hand tucked into his vest. In a period giltwood frame.

Beautiful antique oil painting on canvas 1750s. A splendid portrait of a young Noble Lady. Excellent pictorial quality great attention to detail. Gorgeous ...

Beautiful antique Italian oil painting on canvas. Excellent pictorial quality great attention to detail. Italian school of the 18th century. Original painting and frame, never restor...