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Old Masters Paintings

OLD MASTERS

Encompassing centuries of change in Europe between 1300 and 1800, from booms of prosperity to bloody revolutions, Old Masters describes a wide range of artists. The informal term was derived from the title of an artist who trained in a guild long enough to become a master, such as Leonardo da Vinci, who studied in a Florence painters’ guild. However, Old Masters paintings, prints and other art is now used to refer to work made by any artist with a high level of skill in painting, drawing, sculpture or printmaking who worked during this era.

The 15th century’s expansive trade and commerce spread culture across borders. A vibrant period of art emerged, bolstered by studies of anatomy and nature that influenced a new visual realism. From Raphael and Michelangelo in the Renaissance to Rembrandt van Rijn and Johannes Vermeer in the Dutch Golden Age, artists expressed emotion, naturalism, color and light in new ways. El Greco and Paolo Veronese were leaders in the dramatic style of Mannerism, while Caravaggio and Peter Paul Rubens demonstrated the movement and meticulous detail of Baroque art.

Historically, most attention was concentrated on male artists, but recent research and exhibitions have elevated the impactful work of women such as Rachel Ruysch and Artemisia Gentileschi. In late-18th-century France, female artists like Adélaïde Labille-Guiard and Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun were prominent names. Nevertheless, access to the academies and guilds was highly restricted for women, and even those able to establish practices were expected to adhere to portraits and still lifes rather than the grand history paintings being created by men.

Find a collection of Old Masters prints, paintings, drawings and watercolors and other art on 1stDibs.

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Style: Old Masters
Huge 17th century old master - The feast of Bacchus - celebration Poussin
Located in Antwerp, BE
Huge 17th century Old Master painting "Bacchus celebration" attributed to Niccolo de Simone The Bacchus celebration, also known as Bacchanalia, was...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

18th century Old Master oil painting - Travellers at rest in a sunset landscape
Located in Antwerp, BE
18th century old master painting depicting a peaceful countryside scenery at sunset with a fortified town visible in the distance attributed to Franz Paula de Ferg In the present je...
Category

18th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Copper

Portrait of a Gentleman in Armour and Holding a Baton, Manor House Provenence
Located in London, GB
Titan Fine Art present this accomplished work, from Kilcooley Abbey, Co Tipperary, Ireland. It portrays a gentleman traditionally known as the English military commander and politic...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Still Life of Hunting, Monsù Aurora (1610-1675 or 1691), attributed.
Located in Firenze, IT
Still Life of Hunting, Monsù Aurora (1610-1675 or 1691), attributed. Oil on canvas. Dimensions: cm 78 x cm 60 FREE SHIPPING IN EUROPE If you are passionate about Baroque art this...
Category

Mid-17th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

Preparation of the meal and punished child
Located in Genève, GE
Work on canvas Plaster frame and gilded molded wood 44.3 x 51 x 5 cm
Category

1880s Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

Leda And The Swan By Workshop Of Bartholomaeus Spranger
Located in New Orleans, LA
Workshop of Bartholomaeus Spranger 16th Century Flemish Leda and the Swan Oil on panel Retelling one of the most legendary Greco-Roman mythological tales, this exceptional oil on...
Category

16th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Panel, Oil

Antique Italian painter - 18th-19th century figure painting - Oil on canvas
Located in Varmo, IT
Bolognese painter (18th-19th century) - Maddalena. 70 x 50 cm without frame, 89 x 69 cm with frame. Antique oil painting on canvas, in a carved and gilded wooden frame. Condition ...
Category

Late 18th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Michiel Jansz. Van Mierevelt (Follower), Portrait of Maurice of Orange
Located in Cheltenham, GB
This early to mid-17th-century oil on panel depicts Maurice of Nassau (1567-1625), Prince of Orange. It’s a bust-length portrait, presented in a feigned oval, after a full length by ...
Category

Mid-17th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil, Wood Panel

Portrait of Silvestra Monypenny - British 18th century art female oil painting
By Thomas Beach
Located in London, GB
This lovely British 18th century Old Master portrait oil painting is attributed to the manner of Thomas Beach. The sitter is Silvestra Monypenny when she was about 12. She is the on...
Category

18th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

Diana Albani Mythological Paint Oil on canvas 17th Century Old master Italy Art
Located in Riva del Garda, IT
Diana and her nymphs surprised by Actaeon Francesco Albani (Bologna 1578 - 1660), workshop of oil on canvas 62 x 75 cm. framed 72 x 84 cm. (period frame) The proposed painting, de...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

Fine 1600's Dutch/ Flemish Old Master Oil Painting Head Portrait of Man
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Head Portrait of a Man with Beard Flemish/ Dutch School, circa 1580-1620 period circle of Adriaen Thomasz. Key (Dutch, 1544, Antwerp – after 1589) oil on canvas, framed framed: 20 x ...
Category

16th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

Portrait of a María del Rosario Fernandéz, called 'La Tirana'
Located in Tallinn, EE
Circle of Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (Fuendetodos 1746-1828 Bordeaux) Portrait of a María del Rosario Fernandéz, called 'La Tirana' (1755-1803). OIl on canvas. 76.5 x 57.2 c...
Category

Late 18th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Early 19th Century Norwich School oil painting of cottage by a pond
Located in Harkstead, GB
A very atmospheric view of a cottage or outhouse by a pond. The artist has given wonderful texture to the paint to simulate the appearance of the foliage of the trees and vegetation to the foreground of the painting. The scene imbued with a dusky northern light. John Berney Crome...
Category

Early 19th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Large 17th century Flemish old master painting - Diana and Callisto - Rubens
Located in Antwerp, BE
17th century Flemish Old master painting "Diana and Callisto" attributed to Victor Wolfvoet the Younger Our painting is based on Rubens' great work of...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Copper

Vedustist painter (Veneto school) - 19th century landscape painting - Padova
Located in Varmo, IT
Venetian painter (19th century) - Padua, Caffè Pedrocchi. 37.5 x 48.5 cm without frame, 50.5 x 60 cm with frame. Oil on canvas, in a carved wooden frame. Condition report: Good st...
Category

Early 19th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Tzar Peter the Great of Russia Arriving in Amsterdam August 1697 Old Master Oil
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Tzar Peter the Great of Russia Arriving in Amsterdam in August 1697 Dutch School, 17th century Circle of Abraham Jansz Storck (c.1635-1708) Dutch Oil on canvas, in a carved giltwood ...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Antique Italian Grand Tour Oil Painting Figures in Arcadian Landscape
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Figures under Archway Italian School, 18th century oil on canvas, unframed canvas: 13.5 x 16.5 inches provenance: private collection, United Kingdom condition: very good and sound co...
Category

18th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Portrait Painting of a Lady with a Miniature of a Boy c.1673-1680, Antique oil
By John Michael Wright
Located in London, GB
In this touching composition a young woman has been depicted wearing a dark coloured dress, draped at the bodice with a gauzy silk scarf and with pearls and large diamonds, over a wh...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Portrait of a Gentleman in Armour and Mauve Cloak c.1740; Louis Tocque, Painting
Located in London, GB
The sitter in this superb portrait, presented by Titan Fine Art, is shown with the grandiloquence characteristic of the eighteenth-century French school of painting. The young nobleman has been portrayed wearing an ingeniously embellished French ceremonial armour, a mauve cloak, and an abundance of cascading curls falling below his shoulders. Our portrait proclaims to every onlooker that this is a superior being. The manner in which portraits were painted was set out by the terms of the commission and usually marked significant life events such as a betrothal, a death, elevation of rank… but they almost always emphasised the wealth and importance of the sitter. This type of portrait had become a standard format for aristocratic portraiture in Europe during the last quarter of the seventeenth century up to the middle of eighteenth century. Incorporated into the background was often a raging battlefield or a military encampment; our portrait is free from these trappings and contains a dramatic moody sky ensures the viewer focuses mainly on the subject. The features of the sitter’s face have been captured with great sensitivity, his confident gaze perhaps reflecting the near invincibility afforded by this steel suit. The flamboyance and penetrating sense of character, lending an air of noble expectancy to the composition, seems almost eclipsed by the artist's virtuosic handling of paint. It is not hard to understand why many wealthy sitters commissioned the artist to paint their portraits. Such fine and ornate armour was not actually used on a battlefield and thus its portrayal in portraiture was largely symbolic of a sitter’s wealth and status as well as a claim of succession to a chivalrous tradition. The style of hair and neckcloth were fashionable circa 1740. Held in an exquisite eighteenth century carved and gilded frame - a fine work of art in itself. Louis Tocqué was a very successful French portrait painter active during the Rococo period of art. His work was known for its attention to detail, its portrayal of the character of the sitter, the refined postures, and the delicacy of the rendered draperies. He created both realistic and expressive portraits. Tocqué was born in Paris in 1696 and trained with the famous portrait painters Hyacinthe Rigaud, Nicolas Bertin, and Jean Marc Nattier whose daughter he later married. He entered the Academy in 1731 and became a full member in 1734 with his portraits of Galloche and the sculptor Jean Louis Lemoine, and he pursued a brilliant career as a portrait painter, receiving numerous commissions from members of the French aristocracy and royalty. His works were highly sought after by collectors of the time, and his reputation earned him the appointment of official portrait painter to the court of France in 1746 – in fact he stayed at most of the courts in northern Europe. From 1737 to 1759 he exhibited a large number of works at the Salon. Tocqué's paintings can be found in museums and private collections around the world. Recent sales...
Category

18th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Classicist Italian painter - 19th century figure painting - Roman Allegory
Located in Varmo, IT
Italian painter (18th-19th century) - Roman allegory. 74 x 60 cm without frame, 81 x 67 cm with frame. Antique oil painting on canvas, in wooden frame. Condition report: Lined can...
Category

Early 19th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Portrait Of A Gentleman By Frans Hals
Located in New Orleans, LA
Frans Hals 1582-1666 Dutch Portrait of a Gentleman (possibly Theodore Blevet) Oil on panel “Frans Hals is a colourist among the colourists...Frans Hals must have had twenty-seven blacks...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

Late 18th century Italian landscape painting - Coastal view - Oil on canvas
Located in Varmo, IT
European painter (18th-19th century) - The arrival of the merchants by ship. 48 x 66 cm without frame, 53 x 71 cm with frame. Oil on canvas, in carved and gilded wooden frame. Con...
Category

Late 18th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

19th Century English Antique, Two Country farmers drinking beer in a landscape
Located in Woodbury, CT
Attributed to George Morland. 19th Century English Antique, Two Country farmers drinking beer in a landscape. Wonderful early 19th-century original oil on canvas. A classic 'Morland' composition as the painter was a big fan of English Pub scenes...
Category

Early 1800s Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Set of Five late 19th century Italian or French portraits of Putti or Angels
Located in Woodbury, CT
Set of Five late 19th century Italian or French portraits of Putti or Angels A unique set of five oils on board depicting either Cherubs or Putti, ...
Category

1890s Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Board, Oil

17th/18th century Portrait studio Godfrey Kneller of George Granville
Located in York, GB
A fine oval portrait of George Granville, PC, 1st Baron Lansdowne and "Duke of Albemarle" in the Jacobite peerage (1666-1735) Studio of Sir Godfrey ...
Category

18th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

Portrait of a Young Gentleman, Pieter Van Der Dvssen; by Jan van Haensbergen
By Jan Van Haensbergen
Located in London, GB
Portrait of a Young Gentleman, Pieter Van Der Dvssen c.1664 Jan van Haensbergen (1642–1705) This charming portrait is an excellent example of late 17th century child portraiture and is from one of the most prolific periods in art history – the Dutch Golden Age. A vast number of artists produced work to fulfil the demands and tastes of a broad Dutch society, and many cities in the Netherlands developed into distinct artistic centres, characterised by style and specialities of subject. The quality of our portrait is similar to the works of the highly specialised ‘fijnschilders’, who were working in Leiden at the time; these artists executed meticulous small-scale paintings. As with the artist’s other works of children, Haensbergen painstakingly recorded many details including a fine depiction of the face, and the surface effects of the materials and the pearl clasps. The young sitter is Walther Bernt Pieter Van der Dussen. He was born into a wealthy noble Catholic family in Delft in 1654. In this portrait he would be around ten years of age, dating the work to circa 1664, which is also the year before the artist’s marriage to Johanna van Heusden. The Van der Dussen family were great patrons of the arts and commissioned a number of major works from eminent artists in Delft & Amsterdam. Van der Dussen died in 1716. The wooded setting, the lamb, and the “picturesque” or “Roman” dress...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Early 19th century Antique English landscape with cows in a cowshed
Located in Woodbury, CT
Wonderfully painted early 19th-century English rural landscape with cattle in a cowshed. Very similar to the work of Edward Williams who was a very well-known English landscape pai...
Category

1820s Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Wood Panel, Oil

Portrait of a Lady, Susannah Papillon c.1695, fine carved frame, oil on canvas
Located in London, GB
This elegant large-scale portrait, presented by Titan Fine Art, is a fine example of Sir Godfrey Kneller’s court-style depiction of aristocratic and wealthy women. Beautifully composed, the sitter is three quarter length and seated within a wooded landscape. Pastoral backgrounds imply a virtuous character of unpretentious sincerity undefiled by the possession of great wealth and estates. The sitter wears an azure dress with a russet cloak elegantly draped over her arm and around her body. In this picture, we can see Kneller’s technique at its best, the excellent drawing of the face. It is painted with a delicacy that contrasts with Kneller’s more usual bold manner. The sitter is also unencumbered by high fashion or a background of stately topography. The emphasis is instead placed directly on the alluring femininity, and enhanced by the loose drapery and falling hair around her shoulder. We can see how Kneller often allowed the bluer ground layer to show through when suggesting the darker flesh tones. In both techniques, we should bear in mind Kneller’s own advice, when rebuking those who peered at his works too closely, ‘My paintings were not made for smelling of…’, and yet here the sitter’s face bears even the closest scrutiny. In accordance with the sitter's age, and the style of clothing and hair, this portrait can be dated to the 1690s. Traditionally this portrait is thought to represent Susannah Papillon (nee Gregory) who was born on 13th Feb 1699 and married John Gregory Esq. However, the portrait was painted before her birth; the sitter is almost definitely her mother, Susannah Henshaw Papillon (1661-1707). Indeed, a portrait of “Susannah Henshaw, 2nd Wife of Philipp Papillon” (oil on canvas, 49.6 in. x 40.2 inches), sold at Dorotheum on October 4, 2000 [Lot 389], bears a striking resemblance to the sitter in our portrait. Susannah Henshaw was a daughter of George Henshaw, a merchant and diplomat who served as British Consul in Genoa (d.1724). In 1695 she married Philip Papillon MP (1660-1736) as his second wife. The Papillon’s were a line of politicians and land-owning gentry whose family home was Papillon Hall and Acrise Place, in Kent (a house dating from the 16th century and held by the family from 1664 to 1850 and 1946 to 1986). The couple had issue: Thomas Papillon (c.1696-c.1714), Elizabeth Papillon (c.1697-1729), Phillip Papillon (1698–1746), Susannah Gregory Papillon (13 Feb 1699–), and Sarah Papillon (born 1701). As the portrait was painted in the 1690s, and with the inclusion of the sweetbriar roses in her hand, a representation of love, this portrait was almost certainly painted to celebrate the occasion of her marriage in 1695. The Papillons were Huguenots. Thomas Papillon was Captain of the Guard to Henri IV of France but he sent his family to England in 1588 to avoid persecution as Protestants. His second son David (d.1659), an architect and military engineer built Papillon Hall in Lubenham (Leicestershire) in about 1620. He married as his second wife Anne Marie Calandrini, whose family had fled Italy as Protestants. Thomas (d.1702) the eldest son of this marriage purchased Acrise Place, Kent in 1664. He was a prominent merchant and campaigner for civil and religious freedoms as M.P. for Dover and then for London. His son Philip (d.1736) was also M.P. for Dover and married the sitter in our portrait. In the early 18th century Papillon Hall ceased to be used by the family and was sold to yeomen graziers. In 1850 the Papillons sold Acrise to William Mackinnon MP after whose death it was sold in 1908 to the Walney family, who occupied it until 1936. After standing empty for a time the house was used by the Army during the war and repurchased by Mr. A.H. Papillon, a descendant of the estate's original owner around 1946. The Folkestone Building Company purchased the property in 1986 and undertook a major programme of restoration. The main house is now divided into two separate properties, Acrise Place and Acrise Court. Although history records what became of the sitter’s husband (and his heir) it is not known which branch of the family held this portrait in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It is possible that a collection of art and furniture, which may have included this picture, was reassembled at the time of Acrise Place's re-acquisition around 1946. The painting was recently located at Dewlish House, near Dewlish. The house is one of Dorset’s most beautiful country houses and is Grade I Listed. It was built in the Queen Anne/Georgian style in 1702 by Thomas Skinner, on the site of a large Roman villa. The property is set in 296 acres of picturesque parkland with farmland, forests, and a private lake. It was owned for two centuries by the Michel family and their descendants, including Sir John Michel, a notable soldier who served in the Crimean War. Anthony Boyden purchased the property in 1962, representing only the second time the property was sold in its 300-year history. This exquisite painting is held in its outstanding original hand carved and gilded frame – a work of art in itself and is in excellent condition. Sir Godfrey Kneller (1646-1723) dominates our understanding of British portraiture...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Study of a dog
Located in Amsterdam, NL
Study of a dog Oil on paper laid down on panel, 17.5 x 25.5 cm Provenance Private collection, the Netherlands Note: We are grateful to Mr Fred Meijer for his attribution to Ludolf de Jongh Ludolf de Jongh was the son of a shoemaker. When his father moved to Rotterdam, the young Ludolf decided to learn art rather than shoemaking and became a pupil of Cornelis Saftleven. Later he studied under Anthony Palamedes in Delft and still later with Jan van Bijlert in Utrecht. In 1635 he travelled to France with Francis Bacon. Seven years later, in 1642, he returned to the Netherlands when he heard that his mother had fallen ill. He set up a shop in Rotterdam, and his earliest signed paintings date from that year. According to Houbraken, his travels had caused him to speak French so fluently, that his parents had to learn French in order to speak with him. De Jongh’s work shows a strong influence from the Utrecht school of Caravaggio admirers, especially Jacob Duck...
Category

Mid-17th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil, Paper, Wood Panel

Study of a dog
Study of a dog
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The Inappetent Owl - Grotesque Scene with Owl and Swan - Late 17th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Two masterpieces by the Master of the Fertility of the Egg, nearly impossible to find in homogeneous pairs on the private market, both in terms of style and dimensions. They represen...
Category

Late 17th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Knights Battle Paint Oil on canvas 17/18th Century Italy Landscape Old master
Located in Riva del Garda, IT
The canvas can be inserted in the production of Christian Reder, known in Italy as Monsù Leandro. After a period of apprenticeship in Hamburg, he was f...
Category

Late 17th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

After "Pylades and Orestes Brought as Victims Before Iphigenia" History Painting
By (After) Benjamin West
Located in Houston, TX
History Painting of the Greek story. The work was first painted in 1766 by Benjamin West. The original masterpiece is located in the Tate. According...
Category

19th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

Dutch School 18th Century - Lively Marine
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Dutch School End Of 18th Century Lively Marine on the bank of Estuary Oil on wood Panel recently consolidated on the back (see picture) No crack or filure on the wood panel Framed by...
Category

Late 18th Century Old Masters Paintings

Materials

Oil

Old Masters paintings for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Old Masters paintings available for sale on 1stDibs. Works in this style were very popular during the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artists have continued to produce works inspired by this movement. If you’re looking to add paintings created in this style to introduce contrast in an otherwise neutral space in your home, the works available on 1stDibs include elements of orange, blue, yellow and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Antonio Savisio, Pietro Colonna, Goyo Dominguez, and Nicolaes Maes. Frequently made by artists working with Paint, and Oil Paint and other materials, all of these pieces for sale are unique and have attracted attention over the years. Not every interior allows for large Old Masters paintings, so small editions measuring 4.5 inches across are also available. Prices for paintings made by famous or emerging artists can differ depending on medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $338 and tops out at $1,495,000, while the average work sells for $7,505.

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