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18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

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Period: 18th Century and Earlier
Portrait of a young woman in Louis XV period dress
Located in BELEYMAS, FR
French School Portrait of a young woman in Louis XV period dress Pastel on paper mounted on oval canvas H. 68 cm; W. 54 cm (Frame: H. 102 cm; W. 71 cm) 18th century frame, anti-refle...
Category

French School 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Paper, Pastel

French School of the 17th Century Female portrait with flowers Oil on canvas
Located in Milano, Lombardia
French School of the 17th Century – Circle of Pierre Mignard (1612-1695) Title: Female portrait with flowers Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: without frame 81 × 68 cm – with frame ...
Category

Old Masters 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

PORTRAIT OF WILLIAM WARHAM, Old Masters Oil on Wood
Located in London, GB
after HANS HOLBEIN THE YOUNGER 1497 – 1543 PORTRAIT OF WILLIAM WARHAM Oil on canvas Image size: 38 x 35 inches (89 x 71 cm) Hand made period style frame The handling of the paint in...
Category

Old Masters 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Portrait of a Girl, 17th Century English School Old Masters Oil
By Gilbert Jackson
Located in London, GB
Gilbert Jackson English Active: 1620 - 1650 Portrait of a Girl Oil on panel, signed upper left and Inscribed upper right Image size: 24 ½ x 20 inches Contemporary style hand made...
Category

Old Masters 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Grey stallion held by groom in Duke of Grosvenor’s colours British 18C
Located in London, GB
Richard Roper (British, c. 1730-c. 1775) Grey stallion held by groom in the Duke of Grosvenor’s colours Oil on canvas Old chalk inscription '22 Mar 74' verso Property of a gentleman...
Category

English School 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

The Triumph Of Galatea, 19th Century follower of Scarsellino (1550-1620)
Located in Blackwater, GB
The Triumph Of Galatea, 19th Century follower of Scarsellino (1550-1620) Large 16th 17th Century Italian Old Master of the Triumph of Galatea, oil on canvas. Excellent quality and ...
Category

18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

18th Century Oil Painting Portrait of Phillip, 6th Viscount Wenman.
By Nathaniel Dance-Holland
Located in London, GB
Sir Nathaniel Dance-Holland (1750-1811) was an English portrait painter and one of the founding members of the Royal Academy in 1768. Justly celebrated in his lifetime he won several...
Category

Old Masters 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Henry Bowles Howard, 12th Earl Of Suffolk And 5th Earl Of Berkshire
Located in New Orleans, LA
Sir Joshua Reynolds 1723-1792 British Sir Henry Bowles Howard, 12th Earl of Suffolk and 5th Earl of Berkshire Oil on canvas Sir Joshua Reynolds is unequivocally considered the most important English portraitist of the 18th century who was instrumental in adapting the Grand Manner style in the portrait genre. In fact, when the Royal Academy was founded in 1768, Reynolds was elected its first President, setting the precedent of quality for which all other portraitists would strive. Reynolds's portrait of Henry Bowles Howard, 12th Earl of Suffolk, showcases his genius in the genre and mastery over the medium. Reynolds’s portrait of the Earl expertly invokes classical values with strong lighting, rich colors and expert attention to detail to help underscore the prominence and revered echelon of the sitter. Howard was an esteemed British politician and Knight of the Garter. He served as Secretary of State for the Northern Department from 1771 to 1779, and he played a key role in utilizing mercenaries during the American Revolution and safeguarding Sweden's independence. The portrait employs Reynolds's signature style to render Howard rightfully as a gentleman of distinction. Captured seated in a stately library, the Earl appears learned and austere as he places one hand upon a stack of important documents and looks wistfully into the distance. Reynolds makes these compositional choices decisively, as the seated position gives Howard a weighty appearance of importance and the semi-profile turn captures his countenance at an attractive angle that highlights his strong, masculine features. The work draws on the classical conventions of Greek and Roman art and the Italian Renaissance masters, anchoring the nobleman in a history of refinement. Everything from his strong yet welcoming expression to his pale face enlivened by a rush of blood to the cheeks presents the picture of a strong, vital and powerful leader. As the first president of the Royal Academy in London, Reynolds’s commissions raised the status of an artist in Britain during the Romantic period and also established the portrait as an esteemed high art genre that garnered equal import to the history paintings that reigned supreme in decades prior. Today, Reynolds’s works grace the walls of the most important museums in the world, including the Louvre, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the National Gallery in London, among others. Circa 1770 Canvas: 50 1/2" high x 40 1/4" wide Framed: 61" high x 52 1/2" wide x 3 1/2" deep Provenance: Sir Henry Howard, 12th Earl of Suffolk and 5th Earl of Berkshire, 1739-1779 His mother, Lady Mary Howard, née Finch, Lady Andover, d. 1803 Acquired by descent to her daughter, Frances, and her husband Richard Bagot (later Howard) Acquired by descent to their daughter, Mary (1784-1877), and her husband Col. Fulke Greville Upton (later Howard), d. 1846 Acquired by descent to Lieutenant Colonel H.R.G. Howard Sale, Christie's, London, March 24, 1961, no. 29 Julius Weitzner, London and New York Sale, Paris, Musée Galliéra, December 7, 1965, no. 165 Newhouse Galleries, New York, NY Mr. and Mrs. F. Howard Walsh, Fort Worth, Texas, 1966 Walsh Family Art Trust Private collection, Oregon M.S. Rau, New Orleans Exhibited: British Institution, London, 1844, no. 130, loaned by the Hon. Fulke Greville Howard. South Kensington, "Second special exhibition of National Portraits," 1867, no. 478, lent by the Hon. Mrs. Greville. Agnew's, London, 1903, no. 17. Literature: Algernon Graves and W. V. Cronin, A History of the Works of Sir Joshua Reynolds, P.R.A., vol. 3 (London, 1899), p. 945. David Mannings...
Category

Other Art Style 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Portrait Of Charles I Of England (1600-1649) Wearing The Order Of The Garter
Located in Blackwater, GB
Portrait Of Charles I Of England (1600-1649) Wearing The Order Of The Garter, 17th Century circle of Sir Antony VAN DYCK (1599-1641) Large 17th Century English portrait of King Cha...
Category

18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Colonel Mellish s Spaniels, Mother Puppies, 18th Century
Located in Blackwater, GB
Colonel Mellish's Spaniels, Mother & Puppies, 18th Century attributed to HENRY BERNARD CHALON (1770-1849) Large 18th Century portrait of Colonel Mellish's hunting spaniels, mother ...
Category

18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

Portrait of a French lady by Robert Le Vrac Tournieres, circa 1725
Located in PARIS, FR
Portrait of a young Lady Robert Le Vrac Tournières (1667-1752) 18th century French school, circa 1725 Oil on canvas Dimensions: h. 81 cm, w. 65 cm Important 18th century Régence per...
Category

Old Masters 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

17th century portrait of a lady
Located in Bath, Somerset
Portrait of a lady by Dutch Golden Age painter Nicolaes Maes (1634-1693). Half-length, within a feigned oval, the lady wears a pearl necklace and earrings, an ivory silk gown adorned...
Category

Old Masters 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Portrait of a Gentleman, 17th Century Dutch Old Masters Oil
Located in London, GB
Circle of Gerard van Honthorst 1592 - 1656 Portrait of a Gentleman Oil on wooden panel Image size: 29 x 23 inches Contemporary gilt frame Gerard van Honthorst was a Dutch Golden Age...
Category

Old Masters 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Wood Panel

Portrait of a Girl holding a Posy
Located in Taunton, GB
Portrait of a Girl holding a Posy. Oil on Panel 17 1/2 x 13 inches 44.4 x 33 cm ABOUT THE ARTIST:  Jacques d'Agar  was a French portrait painter born i...
Category

Romantic 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Lucretia, by Giacomo Raibolini Francia. Detto il Francia. Oil on panel, framed
Located in New York, NY
Giacomo used to paint with his brother Giulio, identifying their works with the monogram «I I». The strong influence of his father, Francesco, is undeniable in all his works, althoug...
Category

Old Masters 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Wood Panel

Portrait of a man during French Revolution
Located in BELEYMAS, FR
Antoine VESTIER, attributed to (Avallon, 1740 - Paris, 1824) Portrait of a man under the Revolution Oil on canvas H. 46 cm; L. 37 cm Circa 1793-95 This beautiful unsigned portrait i...
Category

French School 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

17th Century Oil on Canvas Italian Painting Genre Scene Bamboccioni, 1650
Located in Vicoforte, IT
Antique Italian painting from the 17th century. Oil painting on canvas depicting a lively popular genre scene of great charm, typical of the Bamboccianti school. Many Flemish and Ita...
Category

18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Saint Lawrence Looking at the Treasures
Located in Fredericksburg, VA
"Saint Lawrence Looking at the Treasures" is a captivating painting attributed to the Bolognese School, a prominent art movement from Bologna, Italy, flourishing primarily in the 16t...
Category

Old Masters 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Portrait of a Boy, John Closterman, Large English Portrait Art, Old Master
By John Closterman
Located in Greven, DE
John Clostermann (Osnabrück 1660 - 1711 London) Portrait of a boy, maybe Charles Hinde Oil on canvas, 61 x 74,6 cm John Closterman (also Klosterman) was a portrait painter of the late 17th and early 18th centuries. He primarily portrayed English noblemen and European aristocratic families. His father was already an artist and he trained his son. In 1679 he went to Paris and studied with Francois de Troy. In 1681 he was in London and worked for the artist John Riley, whose studio he took over after his death. In 1696 he was invited to the Spanish court...
Category

Baroque 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

16th Century by Bernardino Detti Face of Christ Oil on Canvas
Located in Milano, Lombardia
Bernardino Detti (Pistoia, Italy, 1498 - 1572) Title: Face of Christ Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: without frame 41 x 32 cm - with frame 47 x 55.5 cm Antique box frame made of solid wood and walnut burl Not signed Publications: unpublished The painting by Bernardino Detti (1498 - 1572) depicts the face of Jesus...
Category

Old Masters 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Portrait of Philip Melanchthon
Located in London, GB
German School 17th Century Portrait of Philip Melanchthon Oil on panel, unsigned Image size: 9 x 12 inches (22.6 x 30.3 cm) This charming portrait depicts Philip Melanchthon, the ac...
Category

18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Wood Panel

17th Century by Ercole de Maria Penitent Saint Peter Oil on canvas
Located in Milano, Lombardia
Ercole De Maria (…. – 1640 ca.) Title: Penitent Saint Peter Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: without frame 66 × 50 cm – with frame 80.2 x 60.2 x 5.7 cm Not signed Expertise by And...
Category

Old Masters 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Painting Female Portrait 18th century
Located in Milan, IT
Oil on Canvas. Central European school of the 18th century. The distinguished lady, flaunting a dress embellished with bows and lace, is seated at her desk and holding a letter; in t...
Category

Other Art Style 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Portrait Of Elisabeth Marguerite, The Artist s Daughter
Located in Miami, FL
Nicolas de Largillierre painted Elisabeth Marguerite in oil on canvas. A larger version of this work was offered by Sotheby's for $500,000 and is now in a French Museum - Palais ...
Category

Rococo 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Portrait of King Edward VI, Oil on panel with Gold Leaf, 18th Century English
Located in London, GB
Oil on oak panel Image size: 25 1/2 x 19 inches (37.5 x 27 inches) 18th Century Auricular gilt frame Provenance New York private collection This portrait of the King Edward VI depicts the boy-king standing in a black and gold embroidered doublet, wearing a jewelled cap. King Edward holds a staff with a globus cruciger set on the table beside him. No expense has been spared in the making of this piece, with gold leaf being applied in many areas to give the effect of the costume's gold embroidery, chain of office and other metal accessories. As the precious male heir to the Tudor dynasty...
Category

English School 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Gold Leaf

Portrait Lady Pulzone Paint Oil on canvas Old master 16th Century Italian Roma
Located in Riva del Garda, IT
Scipione Pulzone, called Il Gaetano (Gaeta 1544 - Rome 1598) - workshop of Portrait of Bianca Cappello (Venice, 1548 - 1587) Grand Duchess of Tuscany, second wife of Francesco I de 'Medici Second half of the 16th century oil on canvas, cm. 70 x 56 cm., Framed 103 x 87 cm. The proposed painting illustrates the portrait of Bianca Cappello (Venice, 1548 - 1587), a noblewoman of Venetian origins, second wife of the Grand Duke of Tuscany Francesco I de 'Medici, whose expressive power is wisely highlighted by the composite cut of light three quarters, with the head and gaze directed at the observer. The beam of light coming from her right brings out the volumes of her face plastically and lingers on her features, highlighted by the large white lace ruff that surrounds his neck and by the details of her precious clothing. Bianca wears a dark red dress, perhaps a zimarra, embroidered in gold with a plunging neckline and a raised collar of the shirt curled in a ruff and also edged with precious lace, embroidered with the motif of the Florentine lily.   The favorite jewels of the noblewoman were pearls: we see them on a choker that adorns the neckline, in the earrings and again in the hairstyle, which sees the hair gathered at the nape of the neck and adorned with a string of small black pearls and embellished with a clasp. It is a high-quality painting that can be confined to the workshop of the painter Scipione Pulzone called Gaetano, representing at best a pictorial genre, that of portraiture, in which the master excelled. This attribution would be confirmed by comparisons with the numerous portraits that Pulzone dedicated to the Medici family. Our painting, in particular, could represent one of the versions that the workshop has replicated, at the request of the numerous art collectors who wish to have a portrait of one of the most influential personalities of the Florentine scene. The characters drawn by Pulzone were icons of incomparable elegance: noblewomen, knights and religious lent their faces to the eye of the artist who was able to grasp every meticulous detail with his superb technique. A photographic wealth and surprising material attention that trace the pictorial prototypes of Flemish inspiration, in particular of Antonis Mor...
Category

Old Masters 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

17th Century by Giuseppe Assereto Portrait of an Elderly Woman Oil on Canvas
By Giuseppe Assereto
Located in Milano, Lombardia
Giuseppe Assereto (Genova - 1626 ca – Genova 1656/57) Title: Portrait of an elderly woman, possible portrait of Maddalena Massone, wife of Gioacchino Assereto Medium: Oil on canvas D...
Category

Old Masters 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Antique Flemish Baroque painting, 17th Century Portrait "Medici" Oil on canvas.
By Justus Sustermans
Located in Berlin, DE
Antique Flemish Baroque painting, 17th century, portrait, Medici. Oil on canvas. The painting is probably attributed to the Flemish painter Justus Sustermns. Pictured is most likel...
Category

Baroque 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

18th Century By Dalla Rosa Portrait of Angela Guggerotti Fracastoro Oil/Canvas
Located in Milano, Lombardia
Saverio Dalla Rosa (Verona, Italy, 1745 - 1821) Title: Portrait of Angela Guggerotti Fracastoro Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: without frame 94 x 73 cm - with frame 105 x 94 cm Fr...
Category

Old Masters 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

17th Century by Juan Alfonso Abril Head of St Paul Painting Oil on Canvas
Located in Milano, Lombardia
Juan Alfonso Abril (active in the 17th century in Valladolid, Spain) Title: Head of Saint Paul Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: without frame 48.5 x 62 ...
Category

Old Masters 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

18th c. French Portrait of a Lady by Jean Ranc (1674 - 1735), Paris circa 1700
Located in PARIS, FR
Portrait of a Lady with carnations By Jean Ranc (Montpellier 1674 - Madrid 1735), circa 1700 Oil on canvas in oval shape, Dimensions: h. 35.82, w. 28.34 in. Period Louis XIV giltwood and carved frame with laurel leaves. Framed dimensions: h. 42.52 in, w. 33.85 in. Provenance: Collection of the Marquis de Bailleul at the Château d'Angerville-Bailleul (before 1942). To be included in the catalog raisonné of the artist by Stephane Perreau Important portrait of a young woman depicted half-length turned three-quarters, her face looking at the viewer. Dressed in a brick red velvet dress, an elegant blue scarf envelops her figure. Hair styled “a la Fontange”, her powdered hair is raised and tied at the back with a red ribbon, several curly locks escape from her bun and fall on her back and shoulders. The perfectly oval face with regular features dominated by her straight nose is softened by her gray eyes with slightly lowered lids. The red tinged skin tones on the cheeks and cheekbones color the face and make the portrait come alive. The young woman is portrayed standing near a pot of carnations. Her strongly lighted figure stands out against an architectural background of columns. The artist's palette is made of contrasts opposing warm to cold hues. The icy electric blue contrasts with the fiery brick red, the hair powdered with white accentuates even more the flush of the cheeks. The left arm bent at the elbow, extending the open hand with slightly bent fingers in the foreground brings depth to the composition. Our portrait, an interesting testimony in the corpus of works of the painter, is part of his youthful period, around 1700-1705. The former belonging of this portrait to the Marquis de Bailleul reinforces the remarkable character of our painting. The portrait has been examined by Stéphane Perreau, specialist of Jean Ranc and will be included in the catalog raisonné currently being written, under number P. 43. The notice edited by Mr Perreau is below: "Painted around 1700-1705, this portrait of a woman is directly inherited from Hyacinthe Rigaud, the master of Jean Ranc (the hand turned over the front, in a watch...
Category

Old Masters 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Portrait of a Gentleman, 17th Century English Oil on Canvas
By (Circle of) Mary Beale
Located in London, GB
Circle of Mary Beale 1633 - 1699 Portrait of a Gentleman Oil on canvas Image size: 30 x 25 inches Contemporary gilt frame Mary Beale was the daughter of a Suffolk clergyman.She married Charles Beale...
Category

18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

The cabbage cutter
Located in BELEYMAS, FR
Jean-Baptiste SANTERRE (Magny-en-Vexin, 1658- Paris, 1717) The cabbage cutter Oil on canvas H. 86 cm; L. 70 cm Jean-Baptiste Santerre began his apprent...
Category

French School 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Saint Cosmas And Saint Damian Attributed To Bonifacio Bembo
By Bonifacio Bembo
Located in New Orleans, LA
Attributed to Bonifacio Bembo c.1444-1477 Italy Saint Cosmas and Saint Damian Tempera on panel These exceptionally rare early Renaissance panels of Saint Cosmas and Saint Damian are an extraordinary new discovery. Based on the research of art historians Marco Tanzi and Andrea de Marchi, it is believed that these represent the missing panels from the famed polyptych formerly displayed on the altar of the Chapel of San Nicola da Tolentino in the Church of Sant’Agostino in Cremona, Italy. To find two matching early Renaissance panels outside of a museum or church, particularly in such remarkable condition, is an extraordinary rarity. The central and left-sided panels of the original five-part polyptych are currently in the collection of the Museo Civico Ala Ponzone in Cremona. These panels have luckily remained intact, and respectively portray the Madonna and Child Enthroned with Angels and Donor, Saint Nicholas of Tolentino (the chapel’s namesake) and Saint George. While the present panels have since been reduced, that they belong to the Cremonese altarpiece is confirmed by a number of stylistic elements. All five panels contain the same rich decorative arabesque pattern on their stamped gold background, while the figures’ knurled haloes are identical in both their fineness of line and use of perspective. The proportions of the figures coincide perfectly; Saints Cosmas and Damian would have originally also been depicted as full-length figures, fitting into the vertical, Gothic style of the altarpiece. According to the Christian religion, Saint Cosmas and Saint Damian were 3rd century physicians born in Arabia. Little is known about their lives except that they were reputedly twin brothers and that they were martyred in Syria during the persecution of Emperor Diocletian. It was believed that the saints were skilled in healing, and when their medicines failed, their faith and prayers could always perform miracles. Thus, the saints are often depicted with their medical equipment while wearing the traditional medieval doctor’s garb of crimson robes and distinctive round red hats. The saints are similarly depicted in the present panels, though considering the manner in which they have been cut, their medical tools are not immediately evident. The saints were highly popular as patrons of wealthy families during the Gothic and Renaissance eras, particularly the Medici, and thus they occur frequently in art from the era. The twins, for instance, are found in the famed San Marco Altarpiece by Fra Angelico in the San Marco Museum (Florence), as well as in a set of Medici panels crafted by Filippo Lippi...
Category

Renaissance 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Tempera, Panel

Portrait of William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke, Early 17th Century Portrait
Located in London, GB
English School, (circa 1600) Portrait of William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke Oil on panel, oval Image size: 29¼ x 23⅞ inches Painted wooden frame Provenance: 176, Collection of Francis Greville, 1st Earl of Warwick. The Trustees of the Lord Brooks’ Settlement, (removed from Warwick Castle). Sotheby’s, London, 22nd March 1968, lot 81. Painted onto wooden panel, this portrait shows a dark haired gentleman in profile sporting an open white shirt. On top of this garments is a richly detailed black cloak, decorated with gold thread and lined with a sumptuous crimson lining. With the red silk inside it’s all very expensive and would fall under sumptuary laws – so this is a nobleman of high degree. It’s melancholic air conforms to the contemporary popularity of this very human condition, evident in fashionable poetry and music of the period. In comparison to our own modern prejudices, melancholy was associated with creativity in this period. This portrait appeared in the earliest described list of pictures of Warwick castle dating to 1762. Compiled by collector and antiquary Sir William Musgrave ‘taken from the information of Lord & Lady Warwick’ (Add. MSS, 5726 fol. 3) is described; ‘8. Earl of Essex – an original by Zuccharo – seen in profile with black hair. Holding a black robe across his breast with his right hand.’ As tempting as it is to imagine that this is a portrait of Robert Devereux, the 2nd Earl Essex, we might take this with a pinch of salt. Its identification with this romantic and fatal Elizabethan might well have been an attempt to add romance to Warwick Castle’s walls. It doesn’t correspond all that well with Essex’s portraits around 1600 after his return from Cadiz. Notably, this picture was presumably hung not too far away from the castle’s two portraits of Queen Elizabeth I. The first, and undoubtedly the best, being the exquisite coronation portrait that was sold by Lord Brooke in the late 1970s and now hangs in the National Portrait Gallery. The second, described as being ‘a copy from the original at Ld Hydes’, has yet to resurface. The portrait eventually ended up being hung in the State Bedroom of Warwick Castle. Archival documents present one other interesting candidate. The Greville family’s earliest inventory of paintings, made in 1630 at their home Brooke House in Holborn, London, describes five portraits of identified figures. All five belonged to the courtier, politician and poet Sir Fulke Greville (1554-1628), 1st Baron Brooke, and were hung in the ‘Gallerie’ of Brooke House behind yellow curtains. One of them was described as being of ‘Lord of Pembrooke’, which is likely to have been William Herbert (1580-1630), 3rd Earl of Pembroke. William was the eldest son of Greville’s best friend’s sister Mary Sidney, and was brought up in the particularly literary and poetically orientated household which his mother had supported. Notably, the 3rd Earl was one of the figures that Shakespeare’s first folio was dedicated to in 1623. The melancholic air to the portrait corresponds to William’s own pretensions as a learned and poetic figure. The richness of the robe in the painting, sporting golden thread and a spotted black fabric, is indicative of wealth beyond that of a simple poet or actor. The portrait’s dating to around the year 1600 might have coincided with William’s father death and his own rise to the Pembroke Earldom. This period of his life too was imbued with personal sadness, as an illicit affair with a Mary Fitton had resulted in a pregnancy and eventual banishment by Elizabeth I to Wilton after a short spell in Fleet Prison. His illegitimate son died shortly after being born. Despite being a close follower of the Earl of Essex, William had side-stepped supporting Devereux in the fatal uprising against the Queen and eventually regained favour at the court of the next monarch James I. His linen shirt is edged with a delicate border of lace and his black cloak is lined on the inside with sumptuous scarlet and richly decorated on the outside with gold braid and a pattern of embroidered black spots. Despite the richness of his clothes, William Herbert has been presented in a dishevelled state of semi-undress, his shirt unlaced far down his chest with the ties lying limply over his hand, indicating that he is in a state of distracted detachment. It has been suggested that the fashion for melancholy was rooted in an increase in self-consciousness and introspective reflection during the late 16th and early 17th centuries. In contemporary literature melancholy was said to be caused by a plenitude of the melancholy humor, one of the four vital humors, which were thought to regulate the functions of the body. An abundance of the melancholia humor was associated with a heightened creativity and intellectual ability and hence melancholy was linked to the notion of genius, as reflected in the work of the Oxford scholar Robert Burton, who in his work ‘The Anatomy of Melancholy’, described the Malcontent as ‘of all others [the]… most witty, [who] causeth many times divine ravishment, and a kind of enthusiamus… which stirreth them up to be excellent Philosophers, Poets and Prophets.’ (R. Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy, London, 1621 in R. Strong, ‘Elizabethan Malady: Melancholy in Elizabethan and Jacobean Portraits’, Apollo, LXXIX, 1964). Melancholy was viewed as a highly fashionable affliction under Elizabeth I, and her successor James I, and a dejected demeanour was adopted by wealthy young men, often presenting themselves as scholars or despondent lovers, as reflected in the portraiture and literature from this period. Although the sitter in this portrait is, as yet, unidentified, it seems probable that he was a nobleman with literary or artistic ambitions, following in the same vain as such famous figures as the aristocratic poet and dramatist, Edward de Vere...
Category

Old Masters 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Wood Panel

!8th Century Portrait of a Dame French School Woman Oil on Canvas Gold Blue
Located in Sanremo, IT
Painting oil on canvas measuring 92 x 75 cm without frame and 102 x 87 cm with frame depicting a rich lady of the French school of the first half of the 18th century. In its formal ...
Category

French School 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

French School, Portrait of a Young Lady, Actress, Louis XIV sculpted frame, 1700
Located in Greven, DE
French School, Portrait of a Young Lady, perhaps an actress Oval Louis XIV sculpted and gilded frame French Art, Roccoco Art The oval portrait of a young woman measures 61 by 50,5 cm canvas sight size and its 18th century oak carved and gilded frame...
Category

Rococo 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Portrait Of A Piedmont Nobleman Military Officer, House Of Savoy, early 18th c
Located in Blackwater, GB
Portrait Of A Piedmont Nobleman & Military Officer, House Of Savoy, early 18th century Italian School Fine large 18th Century portrait of a Piedmont ...
Category

18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Portrait of a Gentleman, 18th Century Oil Painting
By Anton von Maron
Located in London, GB
Oil on canvas Image size: 20 x 24 inches (51 x 61 cm) Period gilt frame This is a half-length portrait of a gentleman wearing a emerald coat and intricately designed waistcoat, dat...
Category

18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Male and female portrait, both in silk kimono, possibly textile dealers
By Christoffel Lubieniecki
Located in Amsterdam, NL
CHRISTOFFEL LUBIENIECKI (1659-1729) Pair of portraits of a gentleman and a lady, both in silk kimono, before a country house (circa 1680) Indistinctly signed “C.......” on a box under the man’s left hand Oil on canvas, 79.5 x 67 cm each Both sitters are portrayed wearing a silk “Japanese” coat. During the second half of the seventeenth the Japanese silk coat, an adapted Japanese kimono, became a real vogue in the Dutch elite. The exclusive Dutch trade contacts with Japan can explain the popularity of the kimono-style silk coats in the Netherlands. Everybody who could afford one, dressed in such a fashionable and comfortable coat and, like the present sitters, some proud owners had themselves portrayed in a “Japanese” coat often together with an oriental carpet to underline their standing and international connections. These portraits are the work of the Polish-born portraitist Christoffel Lubieniecki (also known as Lubienitski, Lubinitski or Lubiniecki) Lubieniecki was first trained in Hamburg under Julian Stuhr and after 1675 in Amsterdam under Adriaen Backer and Gerard de Lairesse. He specialized in landscapes, generally of an Italianate character, and in portraits. The loving execution of these contented burghers, enjoying the garden vistas of their country house, places him alongside Amsterdam portraitists such as Constantijn Netscher and Michiel van Musscher...
Category

Old Masters 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

An Allegory Of Marriage, 18th Century
Located in Blackwater, GB
An Allegory Of Marriage, 18th Century English School Large 18th Century English School allegory of marriage, oil on canvas. Rare allegory of life scene with two married couples on...
Category

18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

17th Century portrait oil painting of a gentleman
By Willem Wissing
Located in Nr Broadway, Worcestershire
Circle of Willem Wissing Dutch, (1656-1687) Portrait of a Gentleman Oil on canvas Image size: 29 inches x 24.5 inches Size including frame: 35 inches x...
Category

18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

18th century pastel portrait of a young boy in a wooded landscape
By Arthur Pond
Located in Bath, Somerset
This little jewel of a pastel of a young boy in his smart red jacket and silver trimmed waistcoat is by an artist working in the circle of Arthur Pond and ...
Category

English School 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Pastel

Religious figurative drawing of 18th century male portrait on parchment
Located in Florence, IT
This small portrait, from an important Florentine collection, (unframed 14x10 cm.) is signed and dated on the lower edge "Io(hannes) Baptista Scarlattius Rondinelli Fecit Anno 1754."...
Category

Rococo 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Parchment Paper, Tempera, Watercolor

Portrait of a Trepanning Surgeon, Early 17th Century Oil Painting
Located in London, GB
Oil on oak panel, inscribed top left ‘AETATIS SUAE 32’ Image size: 27 x 35 inches (68.5 x 89 cm) Contemporary style handmade frame This is a portrait of a medical figure from the ea...
Category

18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oak, Oil

17th Century by Cristoforo Serra Portrait of a Shepherd Oil on Canvas
Located in Milano, Lombardia
Cristoforo Serra (Cesena, Italy, 1600 - 1689) Title: Portrait of a Shepherd Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: without frame 92 x 75 cm - with frame 106.5 x 94.5 cm Antique gilt-wood...
Category

Old Masters 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Cotton Canvas, Oil

Portrait of a Nobleman in Armour, 17th Century Oil Painting
Located in London, GB
Oil on canvas Image size: 30 x 35 inches (76.25 x 89 cm) Carved gilt frame A half-length portrait of a man turned slightly to the left, gazing at the spectator, standing, wearing st...
Category

18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Portrait of General Henry Ireton (1611-1651) Son In Law to Oliver Cromwell
Located in Blackwater, GB
Portrait of General Henry Ireton (1611-1651) Son In Law to Oliver Cromwell, 17th Century attributed Robert WALKER (1607-1658) Large 17th Century portrait of General Henry Ireton, oil on canvas. Excellent quality and condition Civil War portrait...
Category

18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Florentine Neoclassical Allegory Landscape Painting from a Villa tempera canvas
Located in Florence, IT
The work, tempera on canvas in a great state of conservation, is part of a series of four big paintings of various authors documented in origin in the Villa La Zambra in Sesto Fioren...
Category

Other Art Style 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Tempera

Portrait of Nicholas Poyntz
Located in London, GB
Remigius Van Leemput Portrait of Nicholas Poyntz 1607-1675 Oil on oak panel, unsigned Image size: 13 x 10 1/4 inches (33 x 26 cm) Contemporary style frame Provenance The Dalva Brot...
Category

Flemish School 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

Head of a Classical Poet (Socrates?)
By Pier Francesco Mola
Located in New York, NY
Provenance: Possibly Antonio Amici Moretti, Rome, 1690 Roy Clyde Gardner, Union, Mississippi, 1970s until 2004; by whom given to: Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, 2004-2010 Lit...
Category

Baroque 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Ritratto figurativo maschile neoclassico italiano con cornice firmato
Located in Florence, IT
Questo dipinto riporta sul retro della tela un'iscrizione molto importante il cui testo è “Ritratto di (?) Dom.° Anto. Camerini fatto in Roma l’An: 1784: da Gio. Batta del Era Milane...
Category

Other Art Style 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

The Return Of King Agamemnon, 16th Century Frans I FLORIS (1516-1570) Trojan War
Located in Blackwater, GB
The Return Of King Agamemnon, 16th Century circle of Frans I FLORIS (1516-1570) Large 16th Century Flemish Old Master depicting the return of King Agamemnon from the Trojan War, o...
Category

18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Wood Panel

Self Portrait, Oil on Oak Panel, English School, Handmade Frame
Located in London, GB
Oil on oak panel Image size: 9 x 7 1/4 inches (23 x 18.5 cm) Period style hand made frame This is a self-portrait is most likely by a 17th century English...
Category

18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oak, Oil

17th Century Italian Oil Painting Portrait of Music Prodigy Girolamo Frescobaldi
Located in London, GB
Portrait of Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583-1643) Attributed to Antiveduto Della Grammatica (1571-1626) Oil on Canvas 1605-1609 Framed in a Nineteenth Century gild and composite frame 44....
Category

Baroque 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Fine Antique Pair 18th Century English Portraits of Husband Wife Oval Oils x 2
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
The Georgian Couple *please note, the previous owner had held the view that the gentleman portrayed as a Royal Navy Captain. English School, circa 1780's period pair (2) oils on ca...
Category

English School 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

18th Century Portrait Flamish School Character Oil on Canvas Black Orange White
Located in Sanremo, IT
A late 17th/early 18th century Flemish painting measuring 90 x 70 cm without frame and 100 x 80 cm with a contemporary frame. An important characteristic of this painting is its str...
Category

Flemish School 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Camillo Sagrestani workshop (Tuscan) - 17th century figure painting - S. Jerome
Located in Varmo, IT
Giovanni Camillo Sagrestani (Florence 1660 - Florence 1731) circle of - San Girolamo. 96 x 72 cm unframed, 112 x 88 cm with frame (not signed). Antique oil painting on canvas, in a...
Category

Baroque 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

18th Century Venetian School Portrait of a Bishop Oil on Panel Green Brown Black
Located in Sanremo, IT
Painting oil on panel measuring 40 x 30 cm without frame and 48 x 38 with frame representing a great bishop of the Venetian school from the first half of the 18th century. Very curi...
Category

Italian School 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Wood Panel

Portrait of a Girl, 18th Century Oil Old Master
By George Knapton
Located in London, GB
George Knapton 1698-1778 Portrait of a Girl Oil on canvas Image size: 20 x 18 inches Original giltwood frame This beautiful half length portrait  of a young woman, turned to left, gazing at the spectator, wearing a pink, white lace-embroidered, dress, in her hair a pink bonnet trimmed with lace to match her dress. The depiction of a young girl epitomises child portraiture of the late eighteenth century, in which painters such as William Beechey, Joshua Reynolds, Thomas Gainsborough had begun to discover and express the true character of children, in contrast to the stiff, miniature-adults of previous generations. The Artist Knapton was born in Lymington, one of four sons of James Knapton. He was apprenticed to Jonathan Richardson from 1715 to 1722, and in 1720 was a founding subscriber to the academy of St. Martin's Lane established by Louis Chéron...
Category

Old Masters 18th Century and Earlier Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

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