Rare Pair of Battling Cavalry Paintings in Circle of Karel Breydel, ca. 1740

PIETER GERARDUS VAN OS Dutch, 1776-1839 Shepherd with Flock in a Pastoral Landscape (1821) Oil on canvas Signed lower left "PG Van Os f 1821" Item # 204GPP23A An extensive and brilliantly detailed scene, this fine woodland pastoral landscape highlights the ability of Pieter Gerardus van Os to manipulate light for dramatic and somewhat ecclesiastical effect. There is a certain other-worldly insinuation in the golden light as it pierces the dense cover of the leaves to highlight the shepherd and his flock as the focal point for the painting. Here we find the young boy entirely at peace on the bank surrounded by long golden grasses with his hat and staff tossed aside while watching the action of the small waterfall on the otherwise tranquil stream. His small dog stands beside him while the sheep graze carelessly, each showing total disregard for the two men and their dog hunting in shadows of the woods behind them. Across the bank a pair of unattended billy goats graze on the trees of the deeply shaded forest floor. There is a harmony and perfect sense of balance in this intricately detailed scene, an effective infusion of the transcendental into a quiet landscape scene. The work is signed lower left in his typical scrawling script "PG [intertwined] Van Os f 1821" and the back of the frame retains an early Christie's label. It is presented in a very fine carved giltwood frame. PIETER GERARDUS VAN OS Born in The Hague on October 8th of 1776 into the renowned Van Os family of painters, Pieter would spend his early years studying under his father Jan together with his brother Georgius Johannes Jacobus (Dutch, 1782-1861) in their father's studio. The three men had remarkable careers and would become some of the most influential painters in the Netherlands throughout the first half of the 19th century. Unlike his brother and father, Pieter moved away from still-life paintings and focused his work on rural landscapes of the Dutch countryside. He was self-taught in this pursuit, first as a copyist of the renowned Dutch "Golden Age" painters Karel Dujardin (Dutch, 1626-1678) and Paulus Potter (Dutch, 1625-1654) while also being heavily influenced by the landscape work of Jacob van Ruisdael and the allegorical landscapes of Nicolaes Pieterszoon Berchem. From his studio in Amsterdam, Pieter taught such notable pupils as Wouterus Verschuur...

SAMUEL HENRY GORDON ALKEN British, 1810-1894 "At Covert" & "The End of the Run" Oil on canvas "The End of the Run" signed lower left "H. Alken" 16 7/8" H x 23" W x 1 7/8" D [fram...

ATTRIBUTED TO JOHN SMITH OF CHICHESTER England, 1717-1764 "The Second Premium Landscape, a copy" oil on canvas unsigned, attributed posthumously verso in pitch "jno Smith of Chichester 1716-1764" Item # 208DEJ23W In 1760 the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce initiated a prize to be awarded to artists based on the judgement of their work by the society. George Smith of Chichester one the First Premium award for his landscape submission and John Smith of Chichester was awarded the Second Premium for his own landscape. That painting would be acquired by the Goodwood House of Chichester where it remains in their collection today. It is a magnificent painting measuring 6' 4" x 4' 6" and it was included in the collection of engravings executed by William Woollett in 1763 for "Picturesque Scenery of England and Wales", a work that showcased many of the Smith Brothers' paintings reversed as engravings. Executed in oil on canvas, the present example remains in fine original condition over its original stretchers, the canvas being unlined and still presenting beautifully. It depicts a sweeping landscape that is clever in its melding of a classical pastoral ideal together with the intricacies of the Dutch landscape paintings of the seventeenth-century (Pallant, p. 49). The scene is anchored by a river with a trio of figures congregated in the center while a flock of sheep and some cows are herded over the arched bridge in the distance; sheep rest in the shade of the woods on the right while in the distance under pink sky is a hint of the coastal waters that border a small town. The spires of a church rise into the blue-ish hues of distant mountains. This example of the Second Premium is notable in that it includes elements of the scene along the left side of the painting that were left out of the original example at Goodwood: the boulders along the water, the castle on the hill and all the detail in between. And also that it was executed in the same orientation as the engraving, rather than the reversed scene originally painted. For a similar orientation, see the relatively low-quality painting after the engraving in oil on copper that was offered at Sotheby's in 2017, a small painting attributed to John Smith of Chichester that was offered with an estimate of $ 5,000 - $ 7,000. The painting is inscribed in black pitch on the reverse in a period script "jno Smith of Chichester 1716-1764", "FG6981" and in chalk "LOT 333"; it retains a label from Richard Feigen & Co of New York and the upper right corner is retained an early loan label that was never filled out. The painting is housed in an ebonized and parcel gilded frame from the middle of the 20th century. It is unknown whether the painting was executed by John Smith of Chichester or was completed by a follower of his work. As discussed by Brian Stewart in the Pallant House catalog of The Smith Brothers of Chichester, the exquisite engravings of works by the Chichester Brothers were incredibly popular and widely distributed. As an interesting annecdote, when their contemporary Thomas Hearne produced paintings of "The Improved Landscape" and "The Unimproved Landscape" that were engraved for Richard Payne...

PAUL EMILE LÉON PERBOYRE French, 1851-1929 Cuirassiers Sharing Wine with Rural Countryman Oil on canvas signed lower left "Perboyre" Item # 309ULM18A A rich historical painting that captures the heart and reality of the Franco-Prussian conflict, the scene depicts a troop of Cuirassiers stopping for the afternoon in a non-descript field in the French countryside. Presumably the owner of the field, an older man has come out in the heat of the afternoon to greet the soldiers with a basket of wine bottles, offering a glass to the officers while chatting casually with them. Perhaps he is a local guide offering a sense of what the soldiers might expect in the rural countryside, but more likely it is simply a moment of reprieve in the idyllic countryside and a distinct juxtaposition to the intensity and drama of Perboyre's battle scenes. The Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871) was the last use of "cuirassiers" in the French army with uniforms characterized by the distinct helmets known as a "casque à crinière" featuring a plume of horsehair. The cuirassiers wore a breastplate (cuirass) and the red trousers were a standard part of the French military uniform...

Flemish School, 17th century Live nature couple with animals Measures: Oil on canvas, cm 25 x 35 - With frame cm 37 x 48 The pair of canvases in question depicts two excited...

Pair, Original oil on canvas paintings with calvary soldiers near encampment. Unsigned, brass plaque on each reads August Querfurt 1696-1761. August Querfurt (1696–1761) was an Austr...

17th century, Italian oil on canvas painting with battle between Christian and Turkish cavalry The oil on canvas painting depicts a battle between Christian and Turkish cavalry. C...

A Late 17th Century Painting Depicting A Cavalry Battle Height: 115 cm Width: 75 cm Depth: 6 cm. Provenance: Private Australian Collection.