Painting is distinguished by its portrayal of human figures, landscapes, and religious scenes, executed with pigments on wooden panels or canvas. Its origins reach back to the Middle Ages, when portraits of saints painted in tempera on wood predominated.
Over the centuries, the art of painting evolved from the classical techniques of the Renaissance and Baroque, through the Romanticism and Impressionism of the 19th century, to the revolutionary avant-garde movements of the 20th century, which radically transformed the way reality was represented.
The works of the masters are a finite resource that can only diminish over time. As they are acquired by museums, the number available on the market steadily decreases. Original works of art therefore represent not only a valuable investment but also a daily source of aesthetic joy.
Alexander Sochaczewski (1843-1923), Portrait of an elderly woman, oil on canvas, Munich, 1884-1897
The painting depicts an elderly woman, shown in a bust view, against a dark, neutral background. The figure is wearing a magnificent headdress - a large decorative cap with lace and a wide satin bow, from under which dark curls protrude. The woman's face has been portrayed in a realistic manner, with attention paid to fine details such as delicate wrinkles, subtle shadows around the eyes and soft chiaroscuro transitions on the skin. A large, softly placed shawl is visible under the neck, completing the elegant character of the portrait. The painting is signed on the back and framed in a Biedermeier style frame.
Battle of Mohacz, oil on canvas, Krakow, 1886
The painting depicts the Battle of Mohács of 1526, showing the moment of violent clash between Christian forces and the Ottoman army. The composition is a multi-figure battle scene, focused on the dynamic combat of cavalry and infantry, with clear emphasis on the chaos and drama of the battlefield. The artist employs a compact, densely populated composition in which the silhouettes of fighting men and horses fill nearly the entire canvas surface. The work was executed in oil on canvas (lined) and is signed in the lower left corner: "Kraków 1886".
Circle of Jan Wijnants, Landscape with Hunters and Travelers by a Lake, oil on panel, Netherlands, 17th century.
This painting depicts a landscape featuring hunters and travelers on a path alongside a lake. Several tall trees dominate the center. A lake is visible to the left, bordered by a road receding towards the horizon. The foreground shows two hunters with a child and a dog, with additional travelers appearing further back. The strategic placement of human figures (staffage) across various planes imbues the landscape with depth. A hill and forest are silhouetted on the horizon. The artwork is presented in a 17th-18th century Baroque frame.
The composition, characterized by the interplay of a body of water, a road, human and animal figures (staffage), and centrally placed trees, distinctly echoes the style of Jan Wijnants.
Death of Cleopatra, oil on canvas, Italy, 17th-18th centuries.
The painting depicts Cleopatra at the moment of her suicide, shown in half pose, wearing a red, unbuttoned dress with her breasts exposed and a serpent held to her chest - the only attribute that allows clear identification of the scene. The woman, with her alabaster complexion, raised head and upward gaze, is framed against a neutral, dark brown background, in keeping with the tradition of the Bolognese school. The soft chiaroscuro, idealized type of beauty and calm expression point to the influence of painting derived from the circle of Guido Reni and his continuators. The final fragment of the signature "...epolo" or "...epelo" is visible in the lower left corner, indicating the artist's Italian origin. An analysis of the style and the way the figure is depicted allows dating the work to the 17th-18th century, with a probable place of creation in Emilia-Romagna (Italy). The painting is framed in a Baroque frame carved in wood and painted gold.
Egbert van Heemskerck the Younger (1676–1744), Tavern Scene, oil on canvas, England, after ca. 1695
The painting depicts a genre scene set inside a tavern. A group of men in simple attire indulge in revelry, singing, and drinking. The central figure is a standing man, raising a goblet with one hand and holding a jug in the other. The other figures sit at a table, singing. The rest of the composition fades into the shadows of the dark room.
The painting is by Egbert van Heemskerck the Younger, an English painter specializing in festive and genre scenes. The work is signed with the monogram 'HK' (in ligature) in the lower left corner. The painting, registered in the database of the Netherlands Institute for Art History (RKD), has been exhibited at Phillips Auctioneers (Fine old master paintings, December 2, 1997, lot number: 229) and Sotheby’s (Old master paintings, May 10, 2011, lot number: 74).
Giacomo Francesco Cipper – “il Todeschini”, Young man eating from a wooden bowl, oil on canvas, Italy, 1st third of the 18th century
The portrait shows a young man hailing from the plebeian strata, framed in half pose, sitting against a neutral dark background. The boy is facing frontally, his cheerful expression emphasized by a wide smile revealing his teeth. In his right hand he holds a large wooden bowl, while in his left hand he holds a spoon with which he scoops up the food. The young man is dressed in a white shirt and a simple chestnut cubicle, as well as a tricorn, which is a distinctive triangular hat, decorated with a feather. In the lower left corner of the painting, a section of the table is visible, on which lies an unleavened loaf of bread.
The color palette is maintained in tones of warm browns, reds and ochres, with clear chiaroscuro contrasts that artfully model the face and hands and bring out the figure from the dark background.
John Baptist Lambrechts (1680 – after 1731), Genre scene in an inn, oil on board, ca. mid-18th century.
An intimate genre scene, attributed to Flemish painter John Baptist Lambrechts. The center of the depiction is formed by three figures: a woman in a red skirt and green kaftan with a distinctive white scarf around her neck, a man in a red cap and a woman standing behind, who participates in the conversation. Next to her stands a set table, covered with a colorful cloth, on which the white shawl - a hallmark of inn scenes by Lambrechts - could not be missing. A gesticulating man addresses a woman who, with a glass in her hand, looks calmly at the viewer. On her shoulders is a white shawl tied over her breasts: an element characteristic of Lambrechts' painting, present in almost all his depictions of women.
The painting betrays the characteristics of a good painter's workshop such as skillfully developed chiaroscuro, the way of depicting the details of fabrics and tableware attest to the artist's technical maturity. The composition is static, but full of subtle emotional tensions.
John Baptist Lambrechts (1680 – after 1731), Genre scene in an inn, oil on board, ca. mid-18th century.
An intimate oil painting on board attributed to Jan Baptist Lambrechts, a leading painter of genre scenes of 18th-century Flanders. The composition shows a couple in an inn: the woman turns to the man reproachfully, the man looks away, holding a jug and a glass. The scene alludes to everyday domestic tensions and the problem of alcohol abuse. The painting is distinguished by realistic social observation, the play of light and the artist's characteristic details like a plate with clamshells and a white scarf. The subject matter and style are perfectly in line with the trend of moralistic bourgeois painting popular in Flanders.
Natan Korzen (1895 – 1941), Landscape from Kazimierz Dolny overlooking the synagogue, 1930s.
Watercolor on paper depicting a view of the buildings on the northern corner of Little Market Square with a schematic female figure in the foreground. On the left is visible the southwestern facade of the synagogue with its characteristic broken roof. On the right is an extension of the synagogue, a wooden fence with a gate. Protruding from behind the fence are small trees (probably fruit trees) and a tiled roof (of the church?). Signed in the lower right corner "N. Root."