French School

French School Courting Pastoral Scenes, 18th Century

Circa 1750

Hubert Ritzenhofen 1879-1961 German Egg Tapping on Easter Sunday Signed and dated "H. Ritzenhofen 05" (lower right) Oil on canvas This grand domestic tableau was painted by estee...

Léon François Comerre 1850-1916 French L'odalisque à l'éventail (The Odalisque with the Fan) Signed "Léon Comerre" (upper left) Oil on canvas Combinin...

Emanuel Leutze 1816-1868 American Return of Columbus in Chains to Cadiz Signed E. Leutze / Philadelphia (lower right) Oil on canvas Painted by the artist in 1842, this masterpiec...

Sassoferrato (Giovanni Battista Salvi) 1609-1685 Italian Madonna Addolorata Oil on canvas Celebrated Italian artist Sassoferrato and his moving religious imagery are the epitome ...

Two young children play an ill-advised game of gum stretching on the family couch in this charming composition by famed American illustrator, Leslie Thrasher. Painted towards the start of the Great Depression, Thrasher provided light-hearted images of the lives of everyday people to distract Americans from their troubles. These images appeared on the covers of Liberty Magazine, for whom he produced one cover illustration a week for six consecutive years. Born in 1889 in Piedmont, West Virginia, Thrasher studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts as a teenager and received a scholarship to study art abroad in Paris. Upon his return, he began studying under Howard Pyle, known as the “father of American illustration.” Thrasher sold his first cover illustration to the Saturday Evening Post in 1912, four years before Norman Rockwell’s first Post cover, and he would go on to produce over 360 magazine covers throughout his career. He painted humorous, relatable scenes of life in America with colorful characters set against white backgrounds. He was also a successful commercial artist, painting advertisements for Cream of Wheat, Chesterfield Cigarettes...

William Clarke Wontner 1857-1930 British Portrait of a Beauty Signed and dated "W. Wontner 1918" (lower left) Oil on canvas Classical beauty a...

In 2001 the German art historian Art historian and Raphael Expert, Prof. Jürg Meyer zur Capellen, published the painting "Die Heilige Familie" in a monographic article, ascribing the present work to the Venetian painter Giovanni Battista Pittoni (1687 -Venice - 1767). (Newspaper "Weltkunst", October 2001, No 12, p. 1850 f. ill.) He describes it as a typical work by this artist. Pittoni was one of the most influential and successful artists of the Venetian Settecento. He was a pupil of the Veronese Master Giovanni Balestra (1666-1740). His style is influenced by Sebastiano Ricci (1659-1734) and Giambattista Tiepolo (1696-1770). Giovanni Battista Pittoni was already successful at a young age and soon lead his own workshop. He created large-scale hitoria paintings, as well as large, religious altarpieces. In addition to Venetian and Upper Italian patrons, Pittoni also had many interested parties from Europe. His work is accordingly scattered in many different museums and private collections today. Pittoni - like other painter colleagues of his time - repeated his own compositions both by hand and with the help of his workshop. He repeatedly incorporated details into other pictures and contexts. Prof. Meyer zur Capellen noted the very good condition of the present work and the high quality of the paint with fine graduations and the vivid brushstrokes. Provenance: The panting has not been on the art market for at least 300 years. In the year 2000 the work was donated by the Münster-based, Noble Family Ketteler zu Harkotten to a private collection in Westphalia. Most probably the canon Nikolaus Hermann von Ketteler zu Harkotten bought the piece in Venice in 1750 together with the altarpiece of the Clemens Church in Münster. On the reverse of the work is a fideicommissum number by Ketteler zu Harkotten. As it belonged to the family commission, the painting was inalienable until 1919, when the corresponding law was repealed, and after that time it remained in the family's possession without interruption. Pittoni's only direct relationship to Münster is the commission for the high altar painting of the Baroque St. Clemens Church. It can be assumed that then canon von Ketteler saw this painting in the artist's workshop during his stay in Venice and acquired it for himself. This would also explain the discrepancy in dating. (ca. 1735/1750). However, it is also possible that the painting originated in the possession of Ferdinand von Plettenberg...

Antique Rococo Oil Painting, around 1800, Royal Dance in the Garden Oil on canvas. Canvas relined. Stretcher renewed. Dimensions are without fra...

"Elegants on the Lake" French School, circa 1900 oil painting on canvas, framed painting: 89cm x 98cm framed: 101cm x 111cm Wonderfully decorative large French oil painting from th...

The Allegorical Winged Nude Lady, adorned with the attributes of Spring French School, 18th century (Rococo period) oil painting on canvas, unframed canvas: 30 x 52 inches provenance...

Venetian painter (18th century) - Madonna with Child. 37.5 x 45.5 cm without frame, 55 x 63 cm with frame. Antique oil painting on canvas, in a carved wooden frame. Condition repo...

Italian painter (18th century) - Arcadian landscape with flock and shepherds. 56 x 70 cm without frame, 63.5 x 79 cm with frame. Antique oil painting on canvas, in a wooden frame. ...