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Old Masters Landscape Drawings and Watercolors

OLD MASTERS

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.

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Style: Old Masters
18th C Italian Classical Grand Tour Ancient City Old Ruins & Figures
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Title: The Italian City Artist/ School: English/ Italian School, late 18th century; a Grand Tour work. Medium: pencil drawing. Size: 6.75 x 9.75 inches Provenance: from a priva...
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Late 18th Century Old Masters Landscape Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pencil

An Extensive Landscape with Trees From The De La Gardie and Sparre Collection
Located in Stockholm, SE
The Sparre/De la Gardie collection is one of Sweden’s most important collections of drawings. In 1969, upon the death of Pontus de la Gardie, the collection—comprising approximately ...
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17th Century Old Masters Landscape Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Pen

Landscape with Trees and a Fisherman walking, a drawing by Jan Van Goyen
By Jan Josefsz Van Goyen
Located in PARIS, FR
No Dutch draughtsman ever captured the atmosphere of the rural countryside of Holland with the same atmospheric and engaging simplicity that Van Goyen achieved in drawings such as this. Indeed, his landscapes were seminal in the development of the genre. The present sketch conveys a striking sense of movement within the natural landscape, conveyed by the deftly applied strokes of chalk, from which the artist’s hand can be sensed. The composition is characteristic of his work, with the low horizon affording significance to the broad sky and the soaring birds within. This feeling of windswept motion powerfully evokes the expansive Dutch farmland with which he was evidently preoccupied. 1. Jan van Goyen...
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1650s Old Masters Landscape Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Chalk, Ink, Laid Paper

At Tunbridge Well
By Agostino Aglio
Located in Middletown, NY
Black crayon and graphite with white heightening on blue handmade laid paper. Adhered at all four corners to a period support, on which the title and an illegible date (perhaps 1815) appear to be written in the artist's hand. ________ Aglio was born in Cremona is 1777 and his artistic talent was recognized early in his life. He was promised a place at the University in Milan by the Holy Roman Emperor, however, his formal education was upended before it even began by the invasion of Italy and Austria by Napoleon. Aglio joined the war effort and fought in a series of major battles near Venice before becoming seriously ill. At the age of about 23 he was released from duty, and traveled to Rome to focus on his health, and landscape painting. In Rome, Aglio studied with the renowned artist Campovecchio. At the invitation of well known British architect William Wilkins (designer of the National Gallery and University College London), Aglio relocated to London in 1803. He made London his permanent home, and married Letitia Clarke in 1805. He enjoyed a lucrative career painting frescoes in the interiors of high society townhouses, country manors, and major London concert halls and theaters. Most notably, Aglio painted multiple official portraits of Queen Victoria...
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Early 19th Century Old Masters Landscape Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Crayon, Handmade Paper, Laid Paper, Color Pencil, Graphite

France 18th Century, Pastorale (Arcadian Landscape), original drawing
Located in Paris, FR
France 18th Century, Pastorale (Arcadian Landscape) Black chalk and heightenings of white gouache on blue-grey paper 19 x 31 cm Framed : 34.5 x 46.5 cm The atmosphere and the subje...
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1760s Old Masters Landscape Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Chalk

Rome, The Countryside- China Ink Drawing by Jan Pieter Verdussen - 1742
Located in Roma, IT
Rome is a beautiful artwork realized by Jan Peter Verdussen in 1742. In good condition except for some pencil marks and traces of sealing wax on the back and some diffused foxings. ...
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Mid-17th Century Old Masters Landscape Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Ink

Landscape - Watercolor and Pencil by Jan Peter Verdussen - 18th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Landscape is a beautiful dranwing in watercolor and pencil on ivory-colored paper realized by Jan Peter Verdussen. In good condition; only a sma...
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18th Century Old Masters Landscape Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor, Pencil

A landscape drawing by Claude Lorrain, with a preliminary sketch on the verso
Located in PARIS, FR
This study presents a typical Roman countryside landscape: an ancient mausoleum in front of which a cart is passing by followed by two peasants. If the technique (a pen drawing on graphite lines, completed with a wash of brown and grey inks) and the signature inevitably evoke the art of Lorrain, we find on the verso of this drawing additional evidences that lead us to consider this unpublished drawing as a work by the master. The motif of the mausoleum has been taken up in pen on the verso in a technique that can be found in several other drawings by Lorrain. There is also a study of three characters, which can be considered as preparatory to Lorrain’s painting entitled The Port of Ostia with the Embarkation of Saint Paula, leading us to claim this attribution with a dating of around 1639. 1. Claude Lorrain or the perfection of classical landscape in Rome in the 17th century Claude Gellée was born in 1600 in Chamagne in Lorraine. Orphaned at the age of twelve, he spent a year with his brother in Freiburg, where the latter was a woodcarver. Claude Gellée then probably arrived in Rome in 1613, where he joined the workshop of Agostino Tassi (1580 - 1644) in 1617. Between 1619 and 1620 he studied for two years in Naples in the workshop of Goffredi Wals (who was himself a former pupil of Tassi). In 1625 he returned to Lorraine for two years where he worked alongside Claude Deruet. He then returned to Rome, a city he never left for the rest of his life (except for short trips to the surrounding countryside). From 1627 to 1650 he lived in Via Margutta. From 1635 onwards he became a renowned painter and commissions started to pour in. Considered during his lifetime as the most accomplished of the classical landscape painters, his reputation never faded. Between 1629 and 1635 Le Lorrain often went to the Roman countryside to draw with his friend Joachim von Sandrart (1606 - 1686). He became a member of the Academy of Saint Luke in 1633, while being closely acquainted with the Bentvueghels, this guild which brought together the young Nordic painters active in Rome. In 1643 he joined the Congregation of the Virtuosi. In 1650 he moved to Via Paolina where he lived until his death. Little is known of his intimate life. He seems to have had a daughter, Agnes, from an ancillary love affair. In 1657/ 1658 she moved in with him. Stricken with gout in 1663, he died in 1682. 2. Description of the drawing; the technique of nature studies Two peasants are walking behind a horse-drawn cart on a road that winds through ancient tombs. While a rectangular tomb with a columned facade can be seen in the distance, the cart passes an important ancient building. It has a circular shape and its partially ruined façade is decorated with columns. The start of a second floor can...
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1630s Old Masters Landscape Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ink, Pen, Graphite

Imaginary View of an Italian Port, a signed and dated drawing by Jacobus Storck
Located in PARIS, FR
In this finely executed pen and wash drawing, Jacobus Storck presents us with an imaginary view in an Italian port. The splendor of the buildings (the large sculpted fountain surmoun...
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1680s Old Masters Landscape Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Ink, Pen, Pencil

Portrait of a Slave Ship: 'Le Negrito à l’ancre. Dans le port de la havanne'
Located in Amsterdam, NL
FRANÇOIS MATHURIN ADALBERT, BARON DE COURCY (1805-1839) 'Le Negrito à l’ancre. Dans le port de la havanne' Indistinctly signed lower left Titled on the mount Pencil and watercolour, heightened with white, on paper, 24.8 x 34.6 cm Literature: The present watercolour will be illustrated in: - Prof. Manuel Garcia’s projected book on the disease and the slave trade provisionally titled “Fighting the Yellow Demon of Fever: The Struggle against Disease in the Illegal Slave Trade”. - Prof. Micael Zeuske’s forthcoming Global history of slave trade. Exhibited: Mexico City, 1998, Palacio Virreinal, El Barón de Courcy, illustrationes de un viaje, 1831-1833, no. 108 Note: Baron de Courcy was in the Caribbean in late 1832 and early 1833, following his tour of Mexico in 1832, on the last leg of his “Grand Voyage...
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Mid-19th Century Old Masters Landscape Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor, Paper, Gouache, Pencil

View of an Antique City, a wash landscape by Jan de Bisschop (1628 - 1671)
Located in PARIS, FR
The attribution to Jan de Bisschop has been confirmed by the RKD with the following comment: "We base this attribution on the dark washes, the subject represented and the monogram". ...
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17th Century Old Masters Landscape Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ink, Pen

View of Piazza San Marco, a tempera signed by Giacomo Guardi (1764 - 1835)
Located in PARIS, FR
Signed and localized on the verso : "Vedute di parte dalla Piazza dif.a alla Loggetta e cam panil parte della Zecca ed in lontan Proc.e vechie e parte della chiesa punto preso vic...
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Early 19th Century Old Masters Landscape Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Tempera

The Tiber, near Rome / Italian School 18th Century
Located in Middletown, NY
Pen and sepia ink wash on cream laid paper, 4 1/8 x 6 3/16 inches (103 x 152 mm). In good condition with scattered areas of light brown discoloration, and un...
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Mid-18th Century Old Masters Landscape Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ink, Laid Paper, Pencil

Saint Jerome Praying, with a Landscape in the Background
Located in Paris, Île-de-France
STEFANO DALL’ARZERE (Padua, circa 1520 – 1570) Saint Jerome Praying, with a Landscape in the Background Pen and brown ink, heightened with white over black chalk lines 15.5 x 12 cm...
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16th Century Old Masters Landscape Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ink

Tower, Original Watercolor Painting, Ready to Hang, Framed
Located in Granada Hills, CA
Artist: August Töpfer Work: Original Watercolor painting, handmade artwork, one of a kind Medium: Watercolor on Satin Paper Year: 1834-1911 Style: Classic Art Title: Tower, Size: 12...
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1890s Old Masters Landscape Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor, Satin Paper

Figures by a River at the Edge of a Wood
Located in Paris, Île-de-France
Ferdinand von Kobell (1740–1799) Figures by a River at the Edge of a Wood Black chalk, stump and white chalk highlights, on paper 19 x 28.8 cm Signed and dated lower right: 1777 P...
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Late 18th Century Old Masters Landscape Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Chalk

A Musical Party
Located in New York, NY
Provenance: Dr. George Hamilton, Massachusetts; and by descent. Private Collection, Ohio, until 2021. Exhibited: (Possibly) Clark Art Institute, Massachusetts (according to a handwritten inscription on the reverse). This drawing by an anonymous, 16th-century German hand presents a delightful scene of nymphs—mostly nude but some draped with cloth—making music in an outdoor setting. The composition is executed within a roundel and centers on the harpsichord played by the figure seen from behind. She is accompanied by a host of other instruments, including horns, a harp, and a lira da gamba played by figures gathered nearby, several of which are positioned along the curved edges of the visual field. Two satyrs observe the merrymaking—one leans on the harpsichord while the other holds aloft a cup, presumably of wine, adding a bacchic element to the revelry. The drawing was previously owned by Dr. George Hamilton, scholar of modern art and Director of the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute in Williamstown (1966–1977). Hamilton played...
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16th Century Old Masters Landscape Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ink, Paper, Pen

La Campagne de Rome - Roman Countryside - Drawing by J. P. Verdussen - 1740ca
Located in Roma, IT
China ink and watercolour on paper. Realized in 1740 ca. Very good conditions. Includes passepartout.
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1740s Old Masters Landscape Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ink, Watercolor

Landscape - Drawing by Jan Peter Verdussen - 1745 ca
Located in Roma, IT
Landscape is a beautiful drawing in pencil and watercolor on paper realized by Jan Peter Verdussen in 1745 ca. In good condition, excpet for some foxing on the right. The artwork r...
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1740s Old Masters Landscape Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pencil, Watercolor

Turin Countryside - Original Ink and Watercolor by Jan Pieter Verdussen - 1744
Located in Roma, IT
China ink and Watercolour. With handwritten notes, indicating the place and date of the artwork in lower margin: "Fait proche de Turin, ce 13 Juin 1744". Numbered on the lower right ...
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1740s Old Masters Landscape Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Ink, Watercolor

Chateau Fort - 19th Century - Horace Vernet - Drawing - Old Master
Located in Roma, IT
Chateau fort is an original pencil drawing on paper by Horace Vernet realized in XIX century. Certified by Paul Proutè. Very good conditions, except for a very little rip on the lef...
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19th Century Old Masters Landscape Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pencil

Rome, The Countryside - China Ink Drawing by Jan Pieter Verdussen - 1742
Located in Roma, IT
Rome is a beautiful artwork realized by Jan Peter Verdussen in 1742. In good condition except for some pencil marks and traces of sealing wax on the back and diffused foxings. Hand...
Category

Mid-17th Century Old Masters Landscape Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Ink

Louis Lesueur (1746-1803) Landscape with ruins, 1789, drawing signed and dated
Located in Paris, FR
Louis Lesueur (1746-1803) A Fantasy Landscape with ancient ruins, 1789, signed and dated "L Lesueur 1789" in the bottom centre Pen and ink and ink wash on paper 14.8 x 22 cm In goo...
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1780s Old Masters Landscape Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ink

Dog with Plants - Original China Ink Drawing by Jan Pieter Verdussen - 1751
Located in Roma, IT
Dog with plants in the garden is a beautiful artwork realized by Jan Peter Verdussen in 1751. pen and watercolour on brown paper. In good codition except for some pencil marks and t...
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Mid-17th Century Old Masters Landscape Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Ink

Ruines Romanes - Roman Ruins - Ink and Watercolor by J. P. Verdussen - 1742
Located in Roma, IT
China ink and watercolor on paper. Hand dated. Conditions: Foxing on the top right of the paper
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1740s Old Masters Landscape Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ink, Watercolor

Tribuna della Basilica - Drawing by Giovanni Fontana - 16th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Tribuna della Basilica Labicana is an original old master artwork realized in 16th century by Giovanna Fontana. IIvory colored paper attached on an ivory colored sheet (cm 27 x 36.7...
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16th Century Old Masters Landscape Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Pencil

Rome/Tevere - Pencil and Watercolor Drawing - 1741
Located in Roma, IT
Rome is a beautiful artwork realized by Jan Peter Verdussen in 1741. In good condition except for some pencil marks and traces of sealing wax on the back and some diffused foxings. ...
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1740s Old Masters Landscape Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor, Pencil

Plants - Original China Ink Drawing by Jan Pieter Verdussen - 1740
Located in Roma, IT
Plants is a beautiful artwork realized by Jan Peter Verdussen in 1740. pen and watercolour on brown paper. In good codition except for some pencil marks and traces of sealing wax on...
Category

Mid-17th Century Old Masters Landscape Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ink, Paper

Rocky Landscape with Trees and Temple Ruins a drawing by Giulio Parigi (ca 1615)
Located in PARIS, FR
This Rocky Landscape with Trees and the Ruins of a Temple is a drawing by Giulio Parigi, an eclectic and prolific artist of the Medici court. An engraver, architect, furniture and je...
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1610s Old Masters Landscape Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ink, Laid Paper, Pen

Speech - Original China Ink Drawing by Jan Pieter Verdussen - Mid 1747
Located in Roma, IT
Speech is an original and unique drawing in ink on paper realized by Jan Peter Verdussen, with sketches on the rear. The State of preservation is very good with the traces of time. ...
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1740s Old Masters Landscape Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ink, Paper

19th century watercolor landscape Italian building architectural scene signed
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Italian Piazza" is an original watercolor painting attributed to Gabrielli Carelli, an Italian artist. This piece is from the Rothschild Collection...
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1870s Old Masters Landscape Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor

European Pastoral Scene on Vellum. Probably Eighteenth Century
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Unknown (European, probably Eighteenth Century) Shepherds and Peasants in a Landscape Ink, watercolor, and gouache on vellum; 12 5/8 x 19 3/8 inches Framed: 20 x 28 inches (approx.)
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18th Century Old Masters Landscape Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ink, Watercolor, Gouache, Vellum

View of the Posillipo coastline near Naples by William Marlow (1740 - 1813)
Located in PARIS, FR
In this drawing, inspired by his stay in Naples in 1765, William Marlow presents us with a view of Cape Posillipo, to the west of Naples, an essential stage during the Grand Tour. Th...
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1760s Old Masters Landscape Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ink

Study for « The Chinese Masquerade » by Jean-Baptiste Pierre (1714 - 1789)
By Jean-Baptiste Pierre
Located in PARIS, FR
Arriving in Rome in June 1735 as a resident at the Royal Academy, Pierre was unable to attend the Winter Carnival festivities of 1735, which he nevertheless immortalised in an engrav...
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1730s Old Masters Landscape Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Graphite

Old Masters landscape drawings and watercolors for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Old Masters landscape drawings and watercolors available for sale on 1stDibs. Works in this style were very popular during the 19th Century, but contemporary artists have continued to produce works inspired by this movement. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Jan Pieter Verdussen, Jan Peeter Verdussen, Jan Josefsz Van Goyen, and Gabrielli Carelli. Frequently made by artists working with Ink, and Paper and other materials, all of these pieces for sale are unique and have attracted attention over the years. Not every interior allows for large Old Masters landscape drawings and watercolors, so small editions measuring 5 inches across are also available. Prices for landscape drawings and watercolors made by famous or emerging artists can differ depending on medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $357 and tops out at $46,949, while the average work sells for $1,601.

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