Unknown

The Flight into Egypt - 17th Century, Old Master, Figurative Oil Painting

1620

Born in Antwerp, Artus Wolffordt received his training in Dordrecht where he became a master in 1603 at the age of twenty-two. He returned to his native city in 1615 and initially worked as an assistant to Otto van Veen...

This beautiful Italian 18th Century old masters oil painting on oval canvas with giltwood frame is attributed to Solimena and features a religious scene. In this splendid oval-shaped painting are depicted Saint Dominic...

Provenance: Dr. James Henry Lancashire, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts, by 1925; probably by descent to: Private Collection, Cumberland Foreside, Maine, until 2018 This unpublished panel is a characteristic work of the Master of the Apollo and Daphne Legend, an anonymous Florentine painter in the circle of Bartolommeo di Giovanni, Domenico Ghirlandaio, and Sandro Botticelli. The artistic personality of the Master of the Apollo and Daphne Legend was independently recognized by Everett Fahy and Federico Zeri at roughly the same moment in time. Fahy originally dubbed this artist the Master of the Ryerson Panels but later adopted Zeri’s name for the artist, which derives from his eponymous works from the Samuel H. Kress collection (Figs. 1-2). Fahy posited that the artist was most likely a pupil of Ghirlandaio active from roughly 1480 to 1510, and that he may be identifiable with one of Ghirlandaio’s documented pupils to whom no works have been securely attributed, such as Niccolò Cieco, Jacopo dell’Indaco, or Baldino Baldinetti. The present painting was first attributed to this master by Everett Fahy in 1989, who became aware of its existence only after publishing his definitive studies on the artist. The surviving body of work by the Master of the Apollo and Daphne Legend is largely composed of series of panels treating the same theme. In addition to the works illustrating the legend of Apollo and Daphne, there are also series on the themes of Susanna and the Elders and the story of Saint Joseph, among others. The subject of the present panel is drawn from Genesis 24, the story of Isaac. It is possible that our painting relates to another work by the artist depicting the Sacrifice of Isaac formerly in the collection of E. A. McGuire in Dublin, Ireland (Fig. 3), and that these two panels were originally part of a decorative scheme based on the story of Isaac. Although the Master’s paintings of this type have traditionally been considered painted fronts of wedding chests, known as cassoni, the scale of these paintings and the fact that they are often part of a series indicates that they are more likely spalliera panels—paintings set into furniture or the wainscoting of a room. The biblical episode depicted in this painting centers on the theme of marriage, which suggests that this work was likely commissioned for the domestic interior of a newly married couple. The Master has transcribed into paint even the minute details of this Old Testament story, in which Abraham sends a servant to travel by camel to the land of his father and seek out a wife for his son Isaac. The servant is here shown at the well...

Oil Painting After Sir Peter Lely (1610-1680) Portrait of a Lady Housed in a Lely gold Leaf Frame. Peter Lely: In 1647 he became a member of the Pain...

Provenance: Private Collection, Argentina; there acquired by Mr. and Mrs. Ernest T. Harper, New York, by 1960; by descent to: Mr. and Mrs. Alan Harper, New York, until 2024. This extraordinary mirrored frame is an exuberant and nearly perfectly preserved example of Andean 18th-century decorative art. Pierced mirrored rosettes surrounding floral motifs are set against mirrored surrounds along a broad frieze bordered within and without by elaborate raised moldings, inlaid by small, shaped mirrors. Repeating ornamental motifs reflecting both Spanish and indigenous designs surround both the inside panel and the exterior perimeter, the four corners of which are punctuated by mirrored rosettes. Glass mirrors were unknown to the indigenous population of the Americas prior to the arrival of Europeans (obsidian mirrors...

Provenance: Private Collection, Argentina; there acquired by Mr. and Mrs. Ernest T. Harper, New York, by 1960; by descent to: Mr. and Mrs. Alan Harper, New York, until 2024. This s...

Provenance: Private Collection, Paraguay. This unpublished Head of the Virgin is a new addition to the rich corpus of paintings by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo. While the artist freque...

Provenance: Fernandez Jimenez, Spain; part a family collection for over 80 years. Prints transported to the New World for use in missionary work and religious instruction often serv...

Provenance: Private Collection, Paraguay, for at least the last 80 years Painted in the Viceroyalty of Peru during the 18th century, the present work depicts the young Christ as the Niño de la Espina—a devotional representation of Christ as he looks down at his bleeding finger, which has been pricked by the crown of thorns resting on his lap. The subject of the Young Christ Pricked by a Thorn was especially popular in Cuzco, and the rich details and decorative elements of our work perfectly capture the essence and style of the Cuzco School of painting. In our painting, Christ wears an intricately patterned floor-length robe trimmed with gilded cuffs and a gilded collar. The delicate gilding, including the halo of golden rays emanating from his head, are executed in brocateado, an ornamental over-gilding technique that is characteristic of the Cuzco School. The red chair on which Christ sits also includes brocateado in the decorative gilt elements. The form of the chair takes inspiration from those commonly used by friars both in Spain and the Andes, known as silla frailera or sillon frailero, and was also frequently employed in related depictions of the Virgin Mary Spinning. Here the young Christ is rendered with soft, elongated features that reflect the influence of the Italian Mannerist painters who were pivotal to the formation of the Cuzco School, including the Jesuit friar Bernardo Bitti and Matteo Pérez del Alesio. Additionally, while its origins can be traced to Northern European pictorial traditions, the lush flower garland that frames the work is a signature feature of Cuzqueño painting...

Provenance: Private Collection, Cranston, Rhode Island (by the 1950s?); by family descent until sold at: Bill Spicer Auction, North Kingstown, Rhode Island, 26 January 2011; where a...