Encompassing centuries of change in Europe between 1300 and 1800, from booms of prosperity to bloody revolutions, Old Masters describes a wide range of artists. The informal term was derived from the title of an artist who trained in a guild long enough to become a master, such as Leonardo da Vinci, who studied in a Florence painters’ guild. However, Old Masters paintings, prints and other art is now used to refer to work made by any artist with a high level of skill in painting, drawing, sculpture or printmaking who worked during this era.
The 15th century’s expansive trade and commerce spread culture across borders. A vibrant period of art emerged, bolstered by studies of anatomy and nature that influenced a new visual realism. From Raphael and Michelangelo in the Renaissance to Rembrandt van Rijn and Johannes Vermeer in the Dutch Golden Age, artists expressed emotion, naturalism, color and light in new ways. El Greco and Paolo Veronese were leaders in the dramatic style of Mannerism, while Caravaggio and Peter Paul Rubens demonstrated the movement and meticulous detail of Baroque art.
Historically, most attention was concentrated on male artists, but recent research and exhibitions have elevated the impactful work of women such as Rachel Ruysch and Artemisia Gentileschi. In late-18th-century France, female artists like Adélaïde Labille-Guiard and Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun were prominent names. Nevertheless, access to the academies and guilds was highly restricted for women, and even those able to establish practices were expected to adhere to portraits and still lifes rather than the grand history paintings being created by men.
Find a collection of Old Masters prints, paintings, drawings and watercolors and other art on 1stDibs.
Russian Orthodox Church, Middle 19th Century
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Unknown Russian Artist Russian Orthodox Church, Middle 19th century Unsigned Illuminated in red, yellow blue and green pigments and gold leaf on paper ...
Pigment
Russian Orthodox Church, Middle 19th Century
Located in Fairlawn, OH
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...
Pigment
Raquel. Figurative woman's portraits on abstract background.
Located in Segovia, ES
Raquel. Images of woman on abstract background. Mixed media on panel. Measurements: 81 x 65 x 0.5 cm / Framed 103 x 87 x 5 cm In inches: 31.89 x 25.59 x 0.2 " / Framed 40.55 x 34.25 x 1.97 " "Raquel" was painted by Goyo in 1999 ( signature and date in right down corner) using a mixed technique. On abstract background that plays with colors, shapes, and volumes, Goyo portrays a beautiful woman's face with a penetrating gaze. There, almost like a collage, an academic female...
Wood Panel, Mixed Media
$12,800Sale Price|20% Off
Classical Ruins Oil Painting, Old Masters Style, Circa 1870, Unframed
By William Louis Sonntag Sr. 1
Located in Miami, FL
William Louis Sonntag Sr. was an American Landscape painter and a member of the Hudson River School movement. He was an Academician of the National Academy of Design. His work is in ...
Oil
$16,816
H 39.77 in W 119.69 in D 0.6 in
Original Set Of 4 Oils-Autumn in London Series-British Awarded Artist-plein air
By Shizico Yi
Located in London, GB
-These set of 4 paintings would be fully insured during shipping to worldwide. -We offer the original artwork with Artist’s lifetime Warranty. -Free Shipping Worldwide -Frames servic...
Gesso, Canvas, Oil, Acrylic, Stretcher Bars, Wood
$3,950
H 55 in W 55 in D 1.5 in
“American Rural, Signed #3” Contemporary Colorful Country Landscape Painting
By Jacob Spacek
Located in Houston, TX
Contemporary colorful pastoral landscape by Texas based artist Jacob Spacek. The work features a truck parked in the middle of a field advertising "Wood Stove Center" in Seguin, TX. ...
Canvas, Oil
$2,807
H 39.38 in W 39.38 in D 1.19 in
Paper Landscape – Mixed Media Abstract Landscape on Canvas, 100x100 cm
Located in Agrigento, AG
“Paper Landscape” is an original artwork by Italian artist Marilina Marchica, created using mixed media and collage on canvas. Layered materials, paper fragments, and earthy tones e...
Canvas, Paper, Oil
$500
H 12 in W 12 in D 2 in
"Subdue" Abstract Landscape Painting, Oil on Linen, Framed
Located in Loveland, CO
"Subdue" by Alyson Kinkade Abstract Landscape Oil on Linen 10x10" image 12x12" framed in black wood as pictured *Shipping price includes the custom packing necessary for safe transp...
Linen, Oil
Tiffany Style Landscape
Located in New York, NY
This piece is a bold depiction of an abstract landscape with a colorful and expressive nature. Nemethy uses techniques borrowed from early Tiffany stained glass windows...
Canvas, Oil
$1,250
H 20 in W 24 in
Red Earth: Contemporary Abstract Expressionist Landscape by Peter Rossiter
Located in Brecon, Powys
Red Earth an oil on canvas abstract landscape that shows the mountains and fields of Peter Rossiters much loved homeland. A checkered patchwork of the colours and shapes of this environment, an almost primeval place just slightly encroached upon and altered by the people who inhabit the borders. Peter Rossiter was born in Cambridge, UK in 1950 and studied at York University & The Courtauld Institute, London. Peter's background is rooted in the global art world; his Grandfather was the German artist Martin Bloch...
Oil
$1,845
H 15.75 in W 35.44 in D 0.12 in
Originals-Magic Bell Triptych-British Awarded Artist-After Monet-Impressionism
By Shizico Yi
Located in London, GB
To Shizico Yi a triptych is a visual prayers; it embodies a meditative journeylike the form of meditation. The repetition of motifs within the triptych serves as a method to revisit...
Gesso, Canvas, Oil, Acrylic, Wood Panel
Large Abstract Boats at the Harbor
Located in New York, NY
Robert Freiman, deaf from birth, was born in March 1917 in New York City. He attended an oral program near his home and later transferred to the Lexington School for the Deaf when he...
Canvas, Oil
$2,807
H 19.69 in W 27.56 in D 0.79 in
Lino Piccoli, oil on canvas, Scorcio di città, Italy, 1960s/'70s
Located in Vicenza, VI
The style of Lino Piccoli, an Italian painter, is characterized by a personal interpretation of Cubism through the decomposition and recomposition of forms into geometric planes. Thi...
Canvas, Oil
$1,633
H 16.54 in W 11.82 in D 0.79 in
Landscape, oil Paint on Canvas , Made in Italy By Marilina Marchica
Located in Agrigento, AG
Description: Original and unique painting created in 2024. Part of the artist’s ongoing exploration of landscape and the memory of places, this oil on canvas work features delicate t...
Canvas, Oil
$1,052
H 23.63 in W 19.69 in D 0.6 in
Original Autumn Embrace -plein air-British Awarded Artist-Expressionist-Abstract
By Shizico Yi
Located in London, GB
Nothing beats a British Autumn - "Autumn Series" is one of the most personal projects of Shizico Yi, with the sensual colours and her signature expressive and confident brushstrokes,...
Gesso, Oil, Acrylic
$3,500
H 20 in W 20 in
"Hope" - Abstracted Impressionist Landscape, Oil Painting on Gesso Board
Located in Denver, CO
"This was based on the idea of seeing the light or hope ahead but having no path to get there. So we make our own path..." - Dominic Harmans About the Artist: Dominic Harman (b. 197...
Oil, Gesso
Sold
H 33 in W 43 in
19th century German romantic landscape painting - Temple Valley Sicily Italy
By Andreas Achenbach
Located in Aartselaar, BE
Huge 19th century romantic painting depicting a sunset over the Temple Valley in Agrigento, Italy This magnificent painting depicts the famous Temple Valley in Sicily. We have visited the site to find out from which viewpoint the painter painted this beautiful work. Fortunately, the site remains largely unchanged from how it was in 1856 and we found out that the painter depicted the temples of Hera (on the left) and Concordia (in the distance). He (or she) likely sat on top of the hill next to the temple of Hera while he sketched the magnificent scenery of the sun setting in the sea behind the temple of Concordia. The present painting is topologically correct, however the artist might have taken some artistic liberty in rearranging the remains of the columns of the Hera temple to create a better perspective and direct the gaze of the viewer to the focal point of the composition; the temple of Concordia. Although the painting was long believed to have been created by an American painter, as the dramatic light and magnificent landscape are quite reminiscent of Hudson River School paintings, it is more likely that the painting has been created by a German romantic...
Canvas, Oil
Russian Orthodox Church, Middle 19th Century
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Unsigned An Illuminated manuscript folio from a Russian Old Believers manuscript with Neumes, from the Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom. Illuminated in red, yellow blue and ...
Pigment
LANDSCAPE
Located in Napoli, IT
LANDSCAPE - Oil on canvas cm.120x80 by Massimo D'Orta, Italy 2008
BLUE GEOMETRIES
Located in Napoli, IT
Blue geometries - Alfonso Pragliola Italia 2014 - Oil on canvas cm.80x130
Canvas, Oil