Attributed to Johann Peter Krafft

Portrait of Napoléon II

1818

John William Godward 1861-1922 British A Pompeian Lady Signed and dated "J.W. Godward 1904" (lower right, partially covered by frame) Oil on canvas One of the last and greatest Victorian neoclassical painters, John William Godward is celebrated for his flawlessly executed images of graceful women posed in idealized ancient settings. In this work, entitled A Pompeian Lady, a classical beauty is caught idling in a moment of quiet, solitary reflection. Godward's elegant subjects are depicted with a degree of technical mastery that remains unsurpassed, and the work's dramatic palette, luxurious fabrics and classical vision are all characteristics of his unique take on the neoclassical style. Godward was unmatched in terms of his technical skill and attention to detail. A master of contrasting textures, he paints a diaphanous gown draping against the model’s smooth, milky white skin, which sits against the painstakingly rendered individual hairs of a tiger’s pel. Scintillating color permeates the canvas as well, energizing the otherwise static scene. Each element is given careful attention, and the overall effect is one of both immaculate technique and sensual tactility. Along with his contemporary and mentor, Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, Godward set the tone for the Victorian neoclassicist movement. He built his career upon creating images of idealized feminine beauty infused with a Greco-Roman-inspired style. Though greatly influenced by Alma-Tadema, Godward distinguished himself through his predilection for the solitary female figure. His fame rose dramatically in the first few years of the 20th century, when the present work was completed, due to the burgeoning strength of the British Empire and the Victorian society’s preoccupation with ancient Rome. To many of the newly affluent, Roman society was, as Iain Gale writes, “a flawless mirror of their own immaculate world.” The sensuality and mystery of Godward’s maidens, combined with his impressive antique backdrops...

Attributed to Lemuel Abbott 1760-1803 | English Portrait of Horatio Nelson Oil on canvas This previously unknown portrait is an important discovery in British Naval history. In Admiral Lord Nelson's illustrious and well-studied life, there existed a "silent period" spanning 16 years during which no known portraits of Nelson existed. The discovery of this 1790 portrait, rendered just before his reentry into the Navy, is a significant development for Nelson scholars, adding new insight into the leader's life prior to his legendary command as Admiral of the British Navy. Almost certainly painted by Lemuel Abbott, the official portraitist of Admiral Nelson, the rendering depicts the naval titan in casual dress. This is one of the two final depictions of Nelson before he acquired the war-inflicted injuries that marked his later years. In 1790, Britain was at peace, and Lord Nelson found himself residing in Burnham Thorpe with his newlywed wife, Frances. Having served with great distinction in South America and the West Indies, he garnered much local acclaim. Yet, the uncertainty of returning to the sea weighed heavily on his mind. At the age of thirty, he lived the life of a country gentleman managing his estate. Only one other much smaller portrait of Nelson in civilian attire exists, a much smaller rendering from 1800 currently held at the National Portrait Gallery. Compelling and atmospheric, the oil on canvas offers viewers a rare glimpse into the visage of a youthful and resolute Nelson, a man driven by an unwavering desire to forge his reputation in the art of naval warfare. This portrait had long been believed by the Nelson family to portray Edmund Nelson, Horatio Nelson's father. When connoisseur Jeremy Knight acquired this treasure directly from the Nelson family, he postulated that the work actually depicted the famed Admiral and not his father, as it was painted around 1790, and the elder Edmund Nelson would have been 68 years old at that time. Knight then hired the renowned Nelson scholar Martin Downer, the former Sotheby's expert and author of the bestselling books Nelson's Purse and Nelson's Lost Jewel, to confirm his hunch. It has now been confirmed by Martin Downer that this portrait is the missing...

French Academic painter Guillaume Seignac was renowned for his masterful treatment of the idealized nude. His languishing female subjects based on Greco-Roman prototypes were and rem...

Signed “G-Seignac” (lower right) Oil on canvas French Academic painter Guillaume Seignac was renowned for his masterful treatment of the idealized nude. His languishing female subje...

Young girl from Tetouan, Morocco Signed (center right) Oil on canvas In this important oil on canvas, French Orientalist painter Charles Landelle captures the engaging visage of a young Moroccan woman in a moment of tranquil contemplation. Seated on the floor of what is almost certainly an opulent riad, the young woman wears an intricately embroidered Moroccan kaftan and headdress. The sumptuous patterns on the floor and in the background lend an additional warmth to the strikingly vivid red hues which dominate the composition and are a hallmark of Landelle’s work. The symbols behind the young woman may represent either the Jewish Star of David or the Islamic Seal...

Emperor Napoléon I was and remains one of the most legendary military and political figures in history, having held, for a brief period, the fate of the Western world in his hands. Composed by the French painter Joseph Franque...

John Falter arranges figures and faces in a way that rival the old masters in their compositional perfection. And he makes it look easy. The expressions are captured so the emotion...

Giuseppe Gandolfo (Catania 1792 - 1855), Portrait of a lawman in his study Oil painting on canvas 87 x 68 cm signed and dated 1831 (or 1851) lower left, always in the lower left co...

A large and very elegant portrait of a British lady thought to be Dame Anna Neagle, the British actress and singer. English School, 20th Century Portrait of a society lady thought t...

Oil on canvas Image size: 30 1/4 x 25 inches (77 x 63 cm) Original hand carved gilt frame Provenance Private Estate, England This is a very fine example of Kneller's work in the early 18th century. Here, the emphasis is placed directly on the sitter's alluring femininity, with this being enhanced by the falling hair around her shoulder. This looseness of focus is created with a free fluidity of brushstrokes. He has used a Rembrandt-esque technique of subtle tones in the face, and we can see how Kneller often allowed the bluer ground layer to show through when suggesting the darker flesh tones.The painterly technique seen here is an excellent demonstration of Kneller’s style. The bold handling of the flesh tones is Kneller at his most emphatic, while the sizeable areas of dark grey ground we see are indicative of his method of painting quickly, developed by this stage in his career to cope with the many demands of a large circle of patrons. The same effect is used for the shadows in the face: rather than paint darker colours on top of the pink flesh tones, as most artists would have done, Kneller instead painted in the reverse order, using the ground layer for his dark shadows, and then painting the lighter colours on top. Often he worked with an almost dry brush in strong firm strokes. Here the flesh tones have been rapidly, almost roughly painted, with bold areas of impasto giving way to areas where almost no paint has been applied at all, a trick that allowed Kneller to use the blue-grey ground layer to show darker flesh tones. Godfrey Kneller...

Large Academic style figurative painting of five male athletes Painted by Mark Beard aka "Bruce Sargeant" for New York City's flagship Abercrombie and Fitch store on 5th Avenue oil...

Circa 1890 Signed verso on stretcher bar Original period gold leaf frame Overall size framed 21 x 18 in