Attributed to William Marlow

18th Century English Oil Landscape Painting: Elegant Figures alongside River Wye

1790

James Thornhill (1674-1735) Oil on canvas 12 x 14 inches; 16 ½ x 18 ½ in. Inc. frame The subject matter and inclusion of herms on both sides shows the influence of Louis...

John Wilson Ewbank (1799 - 1847) Shipping in the Harbour, South Shields Oil on canvas 39.5 x 58 inches unframed 47.75 x 66.5 inches framed Provenance: Christie's October 2002; Lot 11. Fine Art Society; Private Collection This marvellous up to scale Ewbank is full of light and warmth and almost certainly his greatest work of the sort rarely - if ever - seen on the market. John W. Ewbank (4 May 1799–28 November 1847), was an English-born landscape and marine painter largely operational from Scotland. The Humber river is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. Life Ewbank was born at Darlington on 4 May 1799, the son of Michael Ewbank, an innkeeper. He was adopted as a child by a wealthy uncle who lived at Wycliffe, on the banks of the River Tees, in the North Riding of Yorkshire. Intended for the Roman Catholic priesthood, he was sent to Ushaw College, from which he absconded. In 1813 Ewbank was apprenticed to Thomas Coulson, an ornamental painter in Newcastle. In around 1816 he moved with Coulson to Edinburgh, where he had some lessons with Alexander Nasmyth. He found work both as a painter and a teacher. He was nominated in 1830 one of the foundation members of the Royal Scottish Academy. In 1833 he is listed as living at 7 Union Street on the eastern fringe of the New Town in Edinburgh. Works His sketches from nature were especially admired, and a series of 51 drawings of Edinburgh by him were engraved by W. H. Lizars for James Browne's Picturesque Views of Edinburgh (1825). He also made a reputation with cabinet pictures of banks of rivers, coast scenes, and marine subjects. As an illustrator he illustrated some early editions of Scott's Waverley Novels and one edition of Gilbert White...

Enormous 17th Century Italian landscape with figures in Arcadia. Unframed at present. Excellent condition.

Abraham van CUYLENBROCH (1620-1658) Diana With Her Attendants in a Grotto 1651 signed oil on panel 12.2 in x 15.7 inches, inc. frame; 31 x 40 cm Provenance: Sale of Sotheby's Lo...

Circle of Emile Jean Horace Vernet (1789-1863) The Capture of the Smalah of Abd el Kader oil on canvas 48 x 55 1/2 in; 121 x 141 cms (including magnificent contemporary carved frame) Provenance Private collection, United States This important and impressive work records the historic skirmish in 1843 between a cavalry unit lead by the duc de Aumale and the Arab chief Abd el Kader during the French military campaign in Algeria. The painting is attributed to Horace Vernet, and relates closely to a major work of the same subject by Vernet now in the Musée de l'Histoire de France in Versailles. The work is a classic example of French Orientalist painting...

William John Huggins (1781-1845) A Ship in Two Positions Off Dover oil on canvas Unsigned 33 x 45 inches, inc. frame William John Huggins, of wh...

Simone Cantarini (Pesaro 1612 - Verona 1648) Adoration of the Magi Oil on paper applied to canvas, cm. 16,5 x 24 – with frame cm. 22 x 29 Antique sh...

The Battlefield of Waterloo English School, 19th century original oil painting on canvas, framed canvas: 12 x 15.5 inches framed: 17.5 x 20.5 inches condition: overall very good and presentable, some former restoration and signs of retouching visible. provenance: from a private collection A very rare and historically important early painting, depicting the Waterloo battle...

17th century Old Master painting depicting the Infant Christ with Mary and St. Anne attributed to Nicolas de Liemaker The artist of the present work wonderfully captured the loving gaze of Maria, looking in awe at her child. One can sense the tenderness and love in her eyes. The eyes of Christ appears to be filled with wisdom and love and a finely painted aura crowns his and his mother's heads. St. Anne, Mary's mother, gently holds the infant whilst gazing adoringly at him. The painting is not only a beautiful depiction of Christ and his mother and grandmother, but also a sweet image of the tender bond between a mother's and their children. The vibrant and soft colours of the fabric create a soft cocoon around the figures and seem to further emphasis the beauty and importance of the depicted scenery and its protagonists. Nicolaas de Liemaecker (also spelled as Liemaker or Liemackere) was a Flemish painter born in Ghent in 1601. He was also known under the name Nicolaas Roose. His father was Jacobus de Liemaecker, a painter upon glass. Nicolaas is reported to have been trained by his father and Gaspard de Crayer II (1), an apprenticeship with Otto Van Veen has also been suggested. In 1624 he worked at the Court of the Bishop of Paderborn and for Ferdinand of Bavaria. He later returned to his native city, where he focused on religious and historical paintings. He was a very accomplished and celebrated artist who attained a high rank in his profession. He witnessed the baptisms of Pieter and Janne-Marie Van Hulle...

In this painting, Gabriel de Saint-Aubin, the great chronicler of the reign of Louis XV, takes us to the annual parade of the Swiss Guards at the Plaine de...

17th century Flemish old master painting depicting a peaceful countryside scenery by Lucas Van Uden Lucas Van Uden's life unfolded against the backdrop of the rich artistic tapestry...

Remembering the magic of everyday life moments in the art of David Teniers: The art of David Teniers the Younger (1610–1690) coincided with the heyday of the Flemish Baroque and captured a great variety of motifs of his time. In this painting of a seemingly simple peasant scene lies keys to understanding both the imaginative mind of Teniers as well as why this time period produced some of the most iconic works in all of art history.  As indicated by the name, Teniers was more or less born into his profession. As the son of David Teniers the elder, himself a painter who studied under Rubens, the younger David received training in art from a very young age and had no less than three brothers who also became painters. Because of his father’s frequent financial failures that even at times saw him imprisoned, David the younger helped to rescue the family from ruin through painting copies of old masters. Essentially, the young Teniers was confronted with painting as both a passion and creative expression as well as a necessity during difficult times, an experience that would shape much of his capacity and sensitivity in his coming life. Despite the hardships, the talent and determination of Teniers was recognized and quickly expanded his possibilities. He had already spent time in France and possibly also England when he was hired by his father’s former teacher Rubens to help with a prestigious commission with mythological paintings, now considered lost, for Philip IV the king Spain. In 1644–54 Teniers was appointed dean of the Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke, manifesting his esteemed position within the artistic community. A few years afterwards he took an important step when relocating to Brussels, where Teniers yet again found new career opportunities that would prove to be very successful. As the keeper of the collections of Archduke Leopold Wilhelm, a role similar to what we now refer to as an art advisor, Teniers purchased hundreds of important artworks that manifested the prominent status of the Archduke’s collection while at the same time providing an unusual access to inspiration and knowledge for Teniers himself. Since he kept on painting during the same time, his creative scope must have seemed almost bewildering in the great variety of images and stories that he surrounded himself with.  Regardless of how glamorous and culturally stimulating the career of Teniers was, he was as open to the charm and existential importance of everyday life as he was to works of great masters and luxurious collectibles. In his impressive repertoire of genres with everything from exquisite royal portraits, interiors, landscapes and history paintings he always added something new and inventive, highlighting the possibilities of art and importance of an experimental and intuitive mind. It is difficult to single out one aspect or genre to summarize his legacy, since it lies much more in the broad virtuosity across many motifs, although he is particularly remembered for farm scenes and meticulously depicted interiors where other paintings and artworks are captured with an astonishing precision. However, the fact that he is still today one of the most known and celebrated names of the Dutch Golden Age is a proof to the magic of his work, which continues to spark dialogue and wonder in the contemporary viewer of his works. The farm boy in the field in this painting, which likely dates to the mature part of his career, is a wonderful entry into the mind of Teniers. In the tightly cropped motif, we see him standing right in the middle of the busy harvest when men, women and everyone capable were sent out in the field to collect the crop that formed the very core of their diet and survival. In the background we see a fresh blue sky interspersed with skillfully painted clouds, some trees reaching their autumnal colours and in the far distance the glimpse of a small church and village. The presence of a church in a landscape, so typical of Dutch art, served both a symbolic and visual function as a representation of faith while at the same time defining scale and distance. In the field, the work is in full action with the farmers spread out in various positions, all in the midst of hard and sweaty labour. While they are portrayed as having nothing else than the work on their mind, our farm boy seems to have his attention directed elsewhere. Standing there with his white, half open shirt, flowy curls and strong, sturdy body; his gaze is directed away, out of the picture and the scythes in his hands. He looks almost smirking, expressed with tremendous subtlety in the slight smile of his lips and big eyes, being just in the middle of losing focus on the work. What is it that steals his attention? What has he seen, or realized, or felt – to break him free of the arduous task of harvesting, if but for a moment? Here starts the wondering and the questions that are the hallmark of a great piece of art. Instead of explicitly locking in the motif in overly clear symbolism Teniers has chosen an open ended, subtle yet striking moment for us to consider. While it of course can be related to numerous other farm scene depictions of this time, and clever usages of gazes and real-life scenes to underscore various moral or symbolic meanings, the painting can be much more of a contemplation than an explanation or illustration. The ordinary nature and understated yet emotionally textured composition of the motif gives greater space for our own reactions and thoughts. Has he seen a pretty farm girl just passing by? Is he fed up with the farm life, joyously dreaming away for a minute, imagining another future? Or is he simply in need of distraction, looking away and ready for anything that can steal his attention? One quality that never seem to have escaped Teniers was that of curiosity. During all of his career he constantly investigated, expanded and experimented with not only the style and technique of painting, but with the vision of art itself. Being credited with more or less introducing farm motifs for a broader audience not only tells us of his ability to understand the demand for different motifs, but the sensitivity to transform seemingly ordinary parts of life into deep aesthetic experiences, far beyond their expected reach. The farm boy in this painting is, of course, exactly that. But with the help of one smirk the entire picture is charged with a different energy, awakening many contrasts and relationships between the calm landscape, the hard work and his own breach of effectivity, holding sharp scythes while thinking or seeing something else. It is no wonder Teniers chose to work with farm scenes as a way of investigating these intricate and delicate plays on expectations and surprises, clarity and ambivalence. It invites us to an appreciation of human everyday life that connects us with the people of 17th century...