Antique Dutch or Flemish Oil Painting of Livestock on Copper Panel, Circa 1700s - 1800s

This evocative antique oil painting on copper panel captures a tranquil pastoral scene, featuring a small group of livestock—including a recumbent bull, a standing cow, and a ram—set against a brooding landscape. The work is executed on a smooth metal support, a technique favored by masters for its ability to preserve luminous colors and fine details over centuries. The composition is characterized by its dramatic lighting, with a sliver of sunset orange peeking through a dark, heavy sky, casting a soft glow on the animals’ forms. Notable technical features include:

- Medium & Surface: An authentic oil on copper work, showing the characteristic durability and brilliance associated with the non-absorbent metal surface.

- Condition Details: The painting exhibits a visible network of craquelure across its surface, a natural result of the paint layers aging over time.

- Restoration: There is evident inpainting in the sky, where professional restoration has been performed to stabilize or fill areas of past paint loss, ensuring the visual continuity of the dark, atmospheric horizon.

- Framing: Housed in a substantial giltwood frame with a deep profile, showing age-appropriate wear and substantial losses to the gilding that complement its antique character.

Possible Origins and Age

While unsigned, the style and material suggest this piece likely dates to the late 18th or early 19th century.

- Maker Origins: The subject matter—livestock in a dark, atmospheric landscape—is highly characteristic of the Dutch or Flemish Schools, which specialized in "cabinet paintings" on copper for private collectors. The refined handling of the animals also shares similarities with the British School of pastoral painting popularized by artists like the circle of Thomas Sidney Cooper.

- Historical Context: Copper panels were most prevalent from the mid-16th to the mid-18th centuries, but their use continued into the 19th century for artists seeking a rigid, high-detail support. The specific "naive" yet professional rendering of the bull and ram suggests a skilled hand active in the European tradition of animalier art.

Measurements (approximate - rounded to the nearest quarter inch):
20 inches in length
15.75 inches in height
3 inches in depth

All sales are final so please don't hesitate to reach out to us with any questions prior to purchase. Other objects found in the listing photos are for decorative use only and not included in this purchase.

VINTAGE & ANTIQUE
Vintage and antique items are pre-owned and aged goods. In most cases, we do not clean or polish any items that come into our shop. Once you remove an item's traces of age and patina it's not something you can reverse, so we leave those activities up to the buyer. We do not disassemble found art from their frames unless it is necessary to differentiate a print from an original piece of art. Vintage prints purchased from this shop could originate from any print media (e.g., magazines, books, photographs, art prints, etc.). We try our best to describe items accurately and disclose any and all flaws and imperfections. Please refer to pictures as a visual description. We want to make sure you are happy with your purchase so, please do not hesitate to ask any questions you may have prior to checkout.

SHIPPING
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PHOTOGRAPHY
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