Jan-Frans Beschey

An animated village near the river

Oil on panel Signed lower right At the forefront, a child barely reaching the height of the table, sits upon a modest chair, engaged in her simple meal. Her youthful visage captivat...

Oil on copper Comes with a certificate by dr. Jan De Maere 20/01/2023) Dimensions: 26 x 20 cm, 36 x 30 cm (framed) Johann König was a German painter and follower of Adam Elsheime...

Oil on oval lime wood panel Collection number on the back: 272 We see a herd of goats and their shepherds on the bridge, one of the shepherds is on a horse, the others look at the men near the riverbank. Two standing figures are pointing and discussing with one another, while the other one is sitting and relaxing after a long trip. We'd like to thank dr. Guido Jansen for his attribution. Goffredo Wals was a German painter, who spent most of his career in Italy. Most of his works were in small format, often circular and painted on copper...

Oil on copper In the delicate masterpiece crafted by the workshop of Jan Brueghel the Younger, a lush garland of flowers envelops the serene figure of the Virgin and Child, creatin...

“A portrait of three children, one of them holding a basket of grapes, while another plays the flute” Oil on canvas Housed in a blackened 17th-century frame. We'd like to thank dr...

Oil on panel In the refined strokes of a 17th-century Dutch artist, a captivating still life unfolds, showcasing a meticulous arrangement of culinary delights that transcend the mun...

Provenance: Alfred (1883-1961) and Hermine Stiassni (1889-1962), Brno, Czech Republic, by 1925; thence London, 1938-1940; thence Los Angeles, 1940-1962; thence by descent to: Susanne Stiassni Martin and Leonard Martin, San Francisco, until 2005; thence by descent to: Private Collection, California Exhibited: Künstlerhaus, Brünn (Brno), 1925, as by Ribera. “Art of Collecting,” Flint Institute of Art, Flint, Michigan, 23 November 2018 – 6 January 2019. Literature: Alte Meister...

Provenance: Torres Family Collection, Asunción, Paraguay, ca. 1967-2017 While the genre of portraiture flourished in the New World, very few examples of early Spanish colonial portraits have survived to the present day. This remarkable painting is a rare example of female portraiture, depicting a member of the highest echelons of society in Cuzco during the last quarter of the 17th century. Its most distinctive feature is the false beauty mark (called a chiqueador) that the sitter wears on her left temple. Chiqueadores served both a cosmetic and medicinal function. In addition to beautifying their wearers, these silk or velvet pouches often contained medicinal herbs thought to cure headaches. This painting depicts an unidentified lady from the Creole elite in Cuzco. Her formal posture and black costume are both typical of the established conventions of period portraiture and in line with the severe fashion of the Spanish court under the reign of Charles II, which remained current until the 18th century. She is shown in three-quarter profile, her long braids tied with soft pink bows and decorated with quatrefoil flowers, likely made of silver. Her facial features are idealized and rendered with great subtly, particularly in the rosy cheeks. While this portrait lacks the conventional coat of arms or cartouche that identifies the sitter, her high status is made clear by the wealth of jewels and luxury materials present in the painting. She is placed in an interior, set off against the red velvet curtain tied in the middle with a knot on her right, and the table covered with gold-trimmed red velvet cloth at the left. The sitter wears a four-tier pearl necklace with a knot in the center with matching three-tiered pearl bracelets and a cross-shaped earing with three increasingly large pearls. She also has several gold and silver rings on both hands—one holds a pair of silver gloves with red lining and the other is posed on a golden metal box, possibly a jewelry box. The materials of her costume are also of the highest quality, particularly the white lace trim of her wide neckline and circular cuffs. The historical moment in which this painting was produced was particularly rich in commissions of this kind. Following his arrival in Cuzco from Spain in the early 1670’s, bishop Manuel de Mollinedo y Angulo actively promoted the emergence of a distinctive regional school of painting in the city. Additionally, with the increase of wealth and economic prosperity in the New World, portraits quickly became a way for the growing elite class to celebrate their place in society and to preserve their memory. Portraits like this one would have been prominently displayed in a family’s home, perhaps in a dynastic portrait gallery. We are grateful to Professor Luis Eduardo Wuffarden for his assistance cataloguing this painting on the basis of high-resolution images. He has written that “the sober palette of the canvas, the quality of the pigments, the degree of aging, and the craquelure pattern on the painting layer confirm it to be an authentic and representative work of the Cuzco school of painting...

Exhibited: London, Royal Academy, 1800, no. 93 What was happening in British history painting in around 1800? In recent discussions of the emergence of a British School of history painting following the foundation of the Royal Academy in 1768, this is a question which is rarely posed and one which is not easily answered. Examination of surviving Royal Academy exhibition catalogues reveals a profusion of artists’ names and titles, few of which remain immediately recognizable, whilst endeavours to explain the impact of exhibition culture on painting - such as the 2001 Courtauld show Art on the Line - have tended to focus on the first and second generation of Royal Academician, rather than young or aspiring artists in the early nineteenth century. This makes the discovery and identification of the work under discussion of exceptional importance in making sense of currents in English painting around 1800. Executed by Edward Dayes...

JUAN DE ARELLANO Spanish, 1614 - 1676 Cesta de Flores signed Juan de Arellano (lower lright) oil on canvas original period carved, gilt and polychrome...

"Cassetta" frame in sculpted, carved, gilded wood. Expertise by Gianluca Bocchi.

Beautiful original frame in walnuts wood with decorations in gold. Publications: - Expertise by Prof. Nicola Spinosa; - N. Spinosa, in Barocco spaziale: dialoghi di luce, forma, ...