Old Masters Art

Provenance: with “Mr. Scheer,” Vienna, by July 1918; where acquired by: Jindřich Waldes, Prague, 1918–1941; thence by descent to: Private Collection, New York Literature: Rudolf Kuchynka, “České obrazy tabulové ve Waldesově obrazárně,” Památky archeologické, vol. 31 (1919), pp. 62-64, fig. 5. Jaroslav Pešina, “K datování deskových obrazů ve Waldesově obrazárně,” Ročenka Kruhu pro Pěstování Dějin Umění: za rok (1934), pp. 131-137. Jaroslav Pešina, Pozdně gotické deskové malířství v Čechách, Prague, 1940, pp. 150-151, 220. Patrik Šimon, Jindřich Waldes: sběratel umění, Prague, 2001, pp. 166, 168, footnote 190. Ivo Hlobil, “Tři gotické obrazy ze sbírky Jindřicha Waldese,” Umění, vol. 52, no. 4 (2004), p. 369. Executed sometime in the 1380s or 1390s by a close associate of the Master of the Třeboň Altarpiece, this impressive panel is a rare work created at the royal court in Prague and a significant re-discovery for the corpus of early Bohemian painting. It has emerged from an American collection, descendants of the celebrated Czech industrialist and collector Jindřich Waldes, who died in Havana fleeing Nazi-occupied Europe. The distinctive visual tradition of the Bohemian school first began to take shape in the middle of the fourteenth century after Charles IV—King of Bohemia and later Holy Roman Emperor—established Prague as a major artistic center. The influx of foreign artists and the importation of significant works of art from across Europe had a profound influence on the development of a local pictorial style. Early Italian paintings, especially those by Sienese painters and Tommaso da Modena (who worked at Charles IV’s court), had a considerable impact on the first generation of Bohemian painters. Although this influence is still felt in the brilliant gold ground and the delicate tooling of the present work, the author of this painting appears to be responding more to the paintings of his predecessors in Prague than to foreign influences. This Resurrection of Christ employs a compositional format that was popular throughout the late medieval period but was particularly pervasive in Bohemian painting. Christ is shown sitting atop a pink marble sarcophagus, stepping down onto the ground with one bare foot. He blesses the viewer with his right hand, while in his left he holds a triumphal cross with a fluttering banner, symbolizing his victory over death. Several Roman soldiers doze at the base of the tomb, except for one grotesque figure, who, beginning to wake, shields his eyes from the light and looks on with a face of bewilderment as Christ emerges from his tomb. Christ is wrapped in a striking red robe with a blue interior lining, the colors of which vary subtly in the changing light. He stands out prominently against the gold backdrop, which is interrupted only by the abstractly rendered landscape and trees on either side of him. The soldiers’ armor is rendered in exacting detail, the cool gray of the metal contrasting with the earth tones of the outer garments. The sleeping soldier set within a jumble of armor with neither face nor hands exposed, is covered with what appears to be a shield emblazoned with two flies on a white field, somewhat resembling a cartouche (Fig. 1). This may be a heraldic device of the altarpiece’s patron or it may signify evil, referencing either the Roman soldiers or death, over both of which Christ triumphs. This painting formed part of the collection assembled by the Czech industrialist and founder of the Waldes Koh-i-noor Company, Jindřich Waldes, in the early twentieth century. As a collector he is best remembered for establishing the Waldes Museum in Prague to house his collection of buttons (totaling nearly 70,000 items), as well as for being the primary patron of the modernist painter František Kupka. Waldes was also an avid collector of older art, and he approached his collecting activity with the goal of creating an encyclopedic collection of Czech art from the medieval period through to the then-present day. At the conclusion of two decades of collecting, his inventory counted 2331 paintings and drawings, 4764 prints, and 162 sculptures. This collection, which constituted the Waldesova Obrazárna (Waldes Picture Gallery), was first displayed in Waldes’ home in Prague at 44 Americká Street and later at his newly built Villa Marie at 12 Koperníkova Street. This Resurrection of Christ retains its frame from the Waldes Picture Gallery, including its original plaque “173 / Česky malíř z konce 14 stol.” (“Czech painter from the end of the 14th century”) and Waldes’ collection label on the reverse. The Resurrection of Christ was one of the most significant late medieval panel...

Father Stefan Fridolin, "Schatzbehalter" (Treasury of the True Riches of Salvation): The 30th Figure - Astrological Diagram with Scene of the Nativity Woodcut, 1491 Unsigned, as iss...

Painted in the 19th century, this exquisite miniature portrait wonderfully exemplifies realism in traditional oil painting. The small artwork is painted in the conventional portraiture style of the Old Masters, and achieves soft realism with fine brushwork and a subdued, neutral palette. The half length portrait depicts a fine Victorian woman dressed in all black with a delicate lace collar and bonnet. She wears a ruby broach...

Artist: Unknown (Likely French, 18th Century) Title: "La Femme Muse" *No signature found Circa: 1780 Medium: Original Pastel Drawing on heavy laid paper Frami...

DESCRIPTION: Perhaps the best Romney in private hands. If Vogue Magazine existed in the late 18th century, this image of Lady Caroline Price would be ...

Early 20th Century Study of Rembrandt’s Portrait of Old Woman Russian for Niello Engraving A wonderful study of Rembrandt’s portrait of an Old Woman used for Niello engraving by Ru...

Painted in collaboration with Hendrick van Balen (Antwerp, 1575 – 1632). Provenance: Private Collection, Uruguay, since the 1930s. The eldest son of Jan Br...

Provenance: Achillito Chiesa, Milan Luigi Albrighi, Florence, by 1 July 1955 with Marcello and Carlo Sestieri, Rome, 1969 Private Collection, Connecticut Exhibited: Mount Holyoke College Art Museum, South Hadley, Massachusetts (on loan, 2012) Literature: Carlo Volpe, “Alcune restituzioni al Maestro dei Santi Quirico e Giulitta,” in Quaderni di Emblema 2: Miscellanea di Bonsanti, Fahy, Francisci, Gardner, Mortari, Sestieri, Volpe, Zeri, Bergamo, 1973, pp. 19-20, fig. 18, as by the Master of Saints Quiricus and Julitta (now identified as Borghese di Piero). This fine predella panel depicting the Baptism...

The So-Called Tempio della Tosse, Near Tivoli. Interior Upright (Veduta interna del Tempio della Tosse) "Temple of the Cough" Etching, 1764 Signed in the plate From: Vedute di Roma...

Franz Weirotter (1730-1771), Suite of 12 Views of Italy, etchings, 1759 [most signed in the plate by Weirotter]. Reference: Nagel 5. 10 printed in pairs on one sheet; one on a small...

Provenance: S. Spinelli Collection, Florence; their sale, Galleria Pesaro, Milan, July 11-14, 1928, lot 112 (unsold); reoffered Galleria Luigi Bellini, Florence, April 23-26, 1934, lot 132, as manner of Baldassare Peruzzi Dr. Giacomo Ancona, Florence, 1930s, and after 1939, San Francisco; thence by descent to his son: Mario Ancona, San Francisco; thence by descent to his children: Mario Ancona III and Victoria Ancona, San Francisco, until 1995; thence to: Phyllis Ancona Green, widow of Mario Ancona, Los Angeles (1995-2012) Literature: Donato Sanminiatelli, Domenico Beccafumi. Milan 1967, p. 170 (under paintings attributed to Beccafumi) Among the precious survivors of Renaissance secular paintings for domestic interiors are several unusual and particularly attractive panels painted in Siena at the end of the fifteenth and beginning of the sixteenth centuries. These paintings depict exemplary figures from antiquity—heroes or heroines, as well as allegorical, literary, and mythological figures. For the most part, these panels have survived in groups of three, although it is possible that some of these works were painted either as part of larger series or as individual projects. One such trio by Beccafumi consists of two paintings now at the National Gallery, London (Marcia and Tanaquil) and a third in the Galleria Doria-Pamphilj, Rome (Cornelia). These were commissioned around 1517–1519 for the bedroom of Francesco di Camillo Petrucci in Siena and were most likely placed together as elements in the wall decoration (spalliere) or installed above the back of a bench or cassapanca. Another, earlier (ca. 1495–1500), set of three—Guidoccio Cozzarelli’s Hippo, Camilla, and Lucretia (Private Collection, Siena) survives with its original wooden framework—a kind of secular triptych. Judith, Sophonisba, and Cleopatra in the collection of the Monte dei Paschi, Siena, are by an anonymous artist close to Beccafumi called the “Master of the Chigi-Saracini Heroines.” Girolamo di Benvenuto’s Cleopatra, Tuccia, and Portia are dispersed (homeless, Prague, Chambery), and Brescianino’s Faith, Hope, and Charity are in the Pinacoteca Nazionale in Siena. The present painting first appeared in the Spinelli sale in Florence in 1934, at which time it was sold with two panels of identical size and format. Each was catalogued as being by the “manner of Baldassare Peruzzi” and of unidentified subject. Of these, the painting depicting a male figure turned to the right has recently reappeared in a private Italian collection, while the location of the third work, portraying a cloaked figure turned three-quarters left, remains unknown. Our panel depicts the allegorical figure of Fortune. Here she is represented in typical fashion as a nude female figure balanced on a wheel (sometimes called the Rota Fortunae), her billowing drapery indicating that she is as changeable as the wind. The appearance of the Virgin and Child in the cloud at the upper right is an unusual addition to the iconography. The subjects of the two pendant male...

Floral with Urn is in a classical Dutch style that dates to the 17th century. The bright flowers drape the urn in whites, crimsons and pinks, standing out against the darker foliage...

Artist: Francesco Bartolozzi (Italian, 1727-1815) Title: "Four Muses" & "Father and Two Daughters" Portfolio: Rudiments of Drawing *Issued unsigned, though both are signed by Bartolo...

S. Paolo Fuori Le Mura (Vedute della Basilica di S. Paolo fuor della mura) Etching, 1748 From...

Wenzel Hollar (1607-1677), Adam Elsheimer, etching after a painting of Elsheimer by Jan Meyssens, 1649, with text and signatures as described below. Ref...

Portrait of a young British Girl, in her white dress with Pink Sash. Choosing to acquire an 18th-century portrait of a young girl by English artist John Russell is an opportunity to...

A fine oil painting with cherubs and a cart of fruit by French artist Leger Cherelle (1816-1867). Cherelle was born in Versailles, France, a...

17th century European oil, Christ and is disciples seated around a table. An interesting and very unique painting. Possibly a fragment originally from a piece of furniture. The s...

The execution of Charles I (1600-1649) at Whitehall, January 30th 1649, in front of the Banqueting House. The executioner holding the head of Charles up to the crowd below. Engravin...

Deuchar, David, (after van Ostade). Little Girl Playing with a Baby in its Mother's Arms; Mother with Two Children. Edinburgh: c 1800. Etching on cream laid paper, 3 3/4 x 2 3/4 inch...

Medium: Oil On Board Painting Size: 6 x 8 inches Frame Size: 9 x 10.5 inches Condition: This artwork is in good overall condition for its age. Signature: Signed Artist: Jacob Jan v...

Pen and brownish black ink on grayish-cream laid paper, 6 1/2 x 8 inches (165 x 175 mm), irregular hexagonal sheet with margins. Some archival repairs along the top sheet edge, scatt...

Portrait depicting a Jesuit Priest, Possibly St Ignatius, from a collector of medieval and gothic art. This portrait's estimated date is between 1580 and 1...

Title: Summer Medium: Oil On Board Painting Size: 9 x 12inches Frame Size: 12 x 15inches Condition: This artwork is in good overall condition for its age. Signature: Signed Artist: ...

Two images of Queen Catharina of Braganza; one before her marriage to King Charles II, the other after, as Queen of Great Britian. Engraved by Matthiäus Merian, father of Maria Sybli...

Readings from the "Communion of Saints": folio from an Italian Missal Pigment on vellum Mid 17th century Provenance: Otto F. Ege (1888-1951) Phillip Duechnes Bookseller, New York, c. 1948 References And Exhibitions: Otto F. Ege Box Folio 27 Ege describes these folios as: Epistolary (Epistolarium), Italy, Middle 15th century Latin Text: Rotunda or Round Gothic Script, square rhetorical neumes Sister folio are in the following rare book libraries: Case Western Reserve University Cincinnati Public Library Cleveland Institute of Art Cleveland Public Library Denison University Kent State University Kenyon College...

Provenance: Private Collection, South America Antonio Tempesta began his career in Florence, working on the decoration of the Palazzo Vecchio under the direction of Giorgio Vasari. He was a pupil first of Santi di Tito...

"Caterina d'Alexandria (Saint Catherine of Alexandria)" is an original oil painting on wood panel, likely painted by Italian artist Giampietrino (Giovanni Pietro Rizzoli). The painti...

Outstanding early 18th-century portrait of a seated Spaniel dog in a landscape with an array of fruits. Attributed to the work of Tobias Stranover. ...

London: 1799. Copperplate stipple engraving with hand coloring in watercolor, 17 1/2 x 10 1/4 inches (445 x 260 mm) (sheet), full margins. In very good condition with some minor, lig...

Unknown Russian Artist Russian Orthodox Church, Middle 19th century Unsigned Illuminated in red, yellow blue and green pigments and gold leaf on paper An Illuminated manuscript folio...

XXXIII Fig. I Avanzo del Tempio di Castore e Polluce .View of the Remains of the Peristyle of the House of Nero, Etching, 1756 Signed in the plate (see photo) From: Le Antichità Roma...

Dutch/English artist Abraham Hulk the Younger (1851-1922) is most known for landscapes of the British countryside. This work is one of a pair (the second work is also available by s...

"Harbour Scene" is an engraving by Claude Gellee (Le Lorrain). The artist signed the piece in plate lower left. 7 3/4" x 9 5/8" art 18 1/8" x 20 1/4" frame Biography Claude Lorra...

Madonna and Child Enthroned, c. 1900 Oil/tempera on canvas 42 1/2 x 20 3/4 in. Framed: 45 3/8 x 23 1/2 x 4 1/4 in.

"Etude d'Une Scene du Brigands (Study with Brigands)" is an etching by Claude Gellee (Le Lorrain). This etching is in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum, the Art Institute of...

A portrait of Maximilien de Bethune, Duc de Sully, the Ambassador from Henry IV of France to James I of England; by Gerard Edelinck, after Franz Pourbus the Younger Etching on fine ...

"Les Chevres (The Goats)" is an original etching by Claude Lorrain. It depicts two pairs of goats and a shepherd watching over them. This etching is also in the collections of the Me...

"Le Bouvier (The Cowherd)" is an original etching by Claude Lorrain. It depicts a shepherd with a herd of cows. This etching is also in the collections of the Met and the Louvre. It ...

"L'Apparition (The Vision)" is an original etching by Claude Lorrain (Claude Gellee). This print depicts a religious vision near the edge of a river. The publisher is Mannocci #5 and...

An Old Master print from the series of 43 engravings depicting horses of different breeds from the stables of John of Austria (1547-1578), son of Emperor Charles V. Each print shows a horse in the foreground on a hilltop overlooking a distant landscape. Each bears it's title breed, centered upper edge, with two columns of brief explanatory Latin texts in the lower margins. Published by Philips Galle...

"La Fuite en Egypte (The Flight into Egypt)" is an original etching by Claude Lorrain (Claude Gelee). This piece depicts the biblical story of Mary, Joseph, and the infant Jesus goin...

"La Tempete" is an original etching by Claude Lorrain (Claude Gellee). This is Claude's earliest dated etching (1630). The work depicts a storm-tossed sea with ships on the verge of ...

"Le Patre et la Bergere (The Herdsman & Shepherdess)" is an etching by Claude Gellee (Le Lorrain). This etching is in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum and the British Museu...

St. Peter's Interior with the Nave Veduta interna della Basilica di S. Pietro in Vaticano Etching, 1748 Signed in the plate From: Vedute di Roma, Plate 5 An early Roman...

"La Danse Sous Les Arbes (The Country Dance)" is an etching by Claude Gellee (Le Lorrain). This etching is in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum and the Louvre. Publisher: Ma...

"Scene de Brigands" is an etching by Claude Gellee (Le Lorrain). This etching is in the collections of the Louvre and the Art Institute of Chicago. Publisher: Mannocci #11. 5" x 7...

Veduta dell'esterno della gran Basilica di S. Pietro in Vaticano (View of the Exterior of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican) Etching, 1748 From the first printing of the "Vedute di...

"Shepherd and Shepherdess Conversing in a Landscape (Berger et Bergere Conversant)" is an etching by Claude Gellee (Le Lorrain). This etching is in the collections of the Metropolita...

"Le Point de Bois (Rebecca & Eliezer)" is an etching by Claude Gellee (Le Lorrain). This etching is in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum and the Louvre. Publisher: Mannocci ...

The Ponte and Castel S. Angelo Veduta del Ponte e Castello Sant' Angelo Etching, 1754 Signed in the plate lower right above the caption From: Vedute di Roma A proper Roman printing with the price in the lower right corner. Printed on a Double Circle Fleur de Lys watermark paper, c. 1760, with full margins. A brilliant impression . Note: A view of the Tiber River, Castello Sant' Angelo and St. Peter's Basilica in the distance. Watermark: Double Circle Fleur de Lys References: Robison c/g Hind 29 ii/VII Foclllon 793 Condition: A Roman printing before the numbers added in Paris. Printed on a Double Circle Fleur-de-Lys watermark paper. Right margin folded over 5/8 inches for framing. Usual centerfold as issued in the album. Slight aging to the sheet. Binding holes at the left margin edge Framed with plexi. Plate size: 14 7/8 x 22 7/8 inches Sheet size: 21 5/8 x 30 5/16 inches Frame size: 22 3/4 x 33 1/2 inches Sant’Angelo Bridge, Italian Ponte Sant’Angelo, ancient (Latin) Pons Aelius, ancient Roman bridge, probably the finest surviving in Rome itself, built over the Tiber by the emperor Hadrian (reigned 117–138 AD) to connect the Campus Martius with his mausoleum (later renamed Castel Sant’Angelo). The bridge was completed about AD 135. It consists of seven stone arches and five main spans of about 60 feet (18 m) each, supported on piers 24 feet (7 m) high. In the 13th century Pope Clement IV installed an iron balustrade and in the 16th century Pope Clement VII placed statues of Saints Peter and Paul...

"Le Temps, Apollon, et les Saisons (Time, Apollo, and the Seasons)" is an etching by Claude Gellée (Le Lorrain). This etching is the Fifth state (A). This state is also in collections in Paris (BN, L, PP) and Washington; Mannocci cat. no. 43. The inscription reads: "Apollo in atto di obedire al tempo. La Primavera a cominciare il ballo. Lestate no manca del suo calore. L'aurunno colsuo licore / Seguita. Linvernno tiene la sua staggione, Claudio Gillee inven.Fec.Roma 1662 con licenza de super." A powerful example of Claude's staging of landscape in the classical manner is the etching "Time, Apollo, and the Seasons," done in 1662 after Poussin's painting of 1624-1636, "Dance to the Music of Time...

Colonial School, Mexico, XVIII Century "Virgen del Carmen" Oil on canvas 70 x 40 in

'Dutch Canal' is an original oil painting by an artist in the school or circle of Dutch Golden Age painter Aert van der Neer. Based on the labels on the artwork, the painting has bor...

A charming scene with romping dogs and spectators watching the cascading water play a trick on an unsuspecting man who is sprayed as he descends the steps, as the fountain was design...

Rome: Giovanni Giacomo De Rossi, 1625. Etching and engraving on cream laid paper, 8 3/8 x 11 1/4 inches (222 x 286 mm), full margins. In good condition with some light yellow discol...

Dujardin, Karel. Frontispiece with stepped fountain; a stone wall with water spout pouring water into a rectilinear basin, from which a second spout pour...

Etching on light, fibrous, laid Japon paper, 5 3/16 x 6 1/4 inches (132 x 158 mm), full margins. Scattered moderate foxing throughout, very minor printing creases (innate), and one s...