Original antique 18th century Italian Old Master Antique oil painting Mythology Angel
This is the description as advertised when I bought it: "Original antique 18th century Italian Old Master Antique oil painting Mythology Angel. Original oil on canvas, 39 inches by 28.5 inches. Fine large depiction of the Angel and 2 infants. The superb early depiction of the young children beside some flowers and a landscape with mountains beyond. Excellent detail by an accomplished Baroque School hand". No signature but there is writing on the side edges as pictured. General painting is in good condition, but on bottom, canvas is not fixed with a stretcher. The painting is without a frame.
I bought this on Ebay from a seller asking $1,000 but my offer price was quite a bit less. It arrived in the mail from Estonia. These are the questions I have: 1. Who is the artist? (speculation appreciated!, I have no idea). Also see the writing on the edges of the painting. 2. Age in approximate year or century? 3. Why is there blue paint on the angel's forehead? Is that original to the work or added later? 4. Is this the first depiction of this scene, or is this a later interpretation of an earlier work? Who are the angel and children supposed to represent? 5. What might the value be if I had it professionally restored and framed?
Other
Maybe
This is a late 19th century painting that is a copied rendition of a famous German painting by Bernhard Plockhurst (1825 - 1907) of a Guardian Angel protecting children. The work is stylistically based on the 19th century German Romantic art movement. The original painting by Plockhurst was completed in 1886, afterwhich thousands of color lithograph prints of this image were made and sold around the world. It was not uncommon for hobbyist painters to use color lithograph prints and pictures to use as 'models' to copy a painting. This is not Baroque era, which was during the 17th century, and not 18th century which was Rococo into NeoClassical - it is late Victorian and likely from just about 1895 - 1900. Nor is it Italian nor a mythological subject. It is German and a Christian religious subject and the children visually represent all young kids. The blue paint on the forehead of the angel is an aberration and likely added later. Value after restoration really depends on if restoration work is done competently, there is always potential to negatively impact value if the restoration job is sub-par. The estimate is based on actual past auction sales of comparables.
