Giovanni Battista Viola

Important 17 Century Mythological Painting Diana and Actaeon Oil on Canvas

circa 1610

Artist/ School: Miguel Anibal (Chile, b. 1935), signed and dated 2013 'Paris'. Miguel Anibal is a painter, fresco artist and engraver born in 1935 in Chi...

Artist/ School: Robert Bouille (French 1926-2021), studio stamp verso This artist of Var origin studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris in the scu...

“The Holy Hour” German School, circa 1930's signed lower corner oil painting on canvas, framed The painting is a copy after the earlier work: THE HOLY HOUR; DIE HEILIGE STUNDE. by LUDWIG FAHRENKROG (1867-1952). painting: 51cm x 81cm provenance: private collection, Germany Fine quality Symbolist oil painting from the 1930...

Nude Bathers French School, circa 1975 oil on canvas, unframed Canvas : 25.5 x 21.5 inches inscribed verso Provenance: private collection, Paris Condition: very good condition Descr...

Jan van Haensbergen was a painter of the Dutch Golden Age and a pupil of Cornelius van Poelenburgh (Utrecht 1594 - 1667). The painting we are presenting is inspired by Poelenburgh’s landscapes from his Italian sojourn. The dreamlike atmosphere of this Gathering in antique ruins appealed to us. Against a backdrop of antique ruins, three draped characters (perhaps bathers) are sitting in a circle, greeting a fourth character walking towards them. Their tranquility contrasts with the bustle of the other characters in the background. They constitute a vivid illustration of otium, this leisure time that allows us to realize our full potential. With this Arcadian landscape, Jan van Haensbergen invites us in turn to leave the hustle and bustle of everyday life behind, to take a break, to enjoy the present moment chatting with close friends… 1. Jan van Haensbergen, a landscape and portrait painter of the Dutch Golden Age Jan van Haensbergen was born in 1642 in Gorinchem, a town in southern Holland to the east of Rotterdam. He was a pupil of Cornelius van Poelenburgh, and began by painting landscapes inspired by those of his master, in an Italianate style. Between 1668 and 1669, he was registered at the Guild of Saint Luke in Utrecht. In 1669, he moved to The Hague, where he joined the Confrérie Pictura, an artist society founded in 1656. His portraits, which became his main activity as a painter after settling in The Hague, were strongly influenced by Caspar Netscher (Prague or Heidelberg 1639 - The Hague 1684), whom he met in The Hague and whose son Constantijn became his son-in-law by marrying his daughter Magdalena. In addition to his work as an artist, Van Haensbergen was also an art dealer, probably helped by his appointment as Dean of the Confrérie Pictura, where he also teached. 2. Description of the artwork and related paintings This painting seems to us to be a kind of allegory of otium, that quiet bliss promised by Epicurus. It might even evoke an Epicurean proverb: "It is better to lie on the naked ground and be at ease, than to have a golden carriage and a rich table and be worried" . Three draped young people - two men and a woman in the background - are seated in a circle, greeting a fourth figure walking towards them, hair disheveled and body draped in a towel as if drying off after a bath, indicating the need for prior purification to fully enjoy this rest. Their nonchalance contrasts with the bustle of the various characters in the background. The composition is punctuated by successive diagonals, and opens onto a landscape on the right, with a succession of mountainous planes. This painting is typical of the Italianate works produced by Van Haensbergen in the 1660s under the influence of Cornelis van Poelenburgh...

Quang Ho's "Eve 11" (2024) is a beautiful impressionist nude portrait of a woman walking through a vibrant green forest. About the artist: Quang Ho was born on April 30, 1963, in H...

A walk through any major museum will reveal paintings that depict or legitimate only certain kinds of experience. Despite the good intentions of critical theorists questioning the va...

A walk through any major museum will reveal paintings that depict or legitimate only certain kinds of experience. Despite the good intentions of critical theorists questioning the va...

Represented by George Billis Gallery, NYC & LA --A walk through any major museum will reveal paintings that depict or legitimate only certain kinds of experience. Despite the good in...

A walk through any major museum will reveal paintings that depict or legitimate only certain kinds of experience. Despite the good intentions of critical theorists questioning the validity of the canon, paintings of the old masters on the walls of museums like the Met, the Louvre, Rijks museum still have a certain cache. They're revered not just for their technique but because they enshrine our collective past experience. Of course, it's a selected past that gets validated. Conspicuously absent to me as a gay man...