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19th Century European Paintings

During the 19th century, painting was the highest form of art. Countries ran an academy in their major cities and sometimes in smaller towns to train artists in the academic style. In the mid-19th century, however, the Barbizon School in France rejected that academic style. The School consisted of landscape artists who aimed to more truly represent the countryside as part of the French Realist movement.

In Paris, artists competed to have their works shown in the mostly-annual Salon, which grew into an unruly mess. Thousands of paintings were exhibited by hundreds of artists, all of them shown “salon style” in a great mish-mash over the walls. It was a challenge to contemplate any single work.


Popular Artists

Artists like Gustave Millet painted social critique. His painting, "The Gleaners," 1857, was displayed in the Salon that year. The aristocracy feared peasant revolts that could cost them their plush life, and were alarmed by Millet’s monumentally scaled depiction of bent-backed peasants looking through a field hoping to find leftover wheat.

Edouard Manet was the chief catalyst of modern painting. He encouraged artists to be innovative and continue showing in the Salon so they could challenge as many viewers as possible. His "Olympia," 1865, shocked people. In this painting, a prostitute gazes directly at the viewer with a blasé attitude, showing no sentiment toward the flowers sent to her by a suitor.


Quick Facts

  • Vincent Van Gogh had his first one-man show posthumously, and Paul Cezanne received his first solo exhibition in 1895, only 11 years before he died
  • The Salon began to wind down in prestige from 1871 onward. The Post-Impressionists, like Vincent Van Gogh and Paul Cezanne, championed by their dealer, Ambroise Vuillard, pushed painting to the brink of abstraction
  • During this time, art dealers like Paul Durand-Rouel and Georges Petit began giving artists stipends, buying large amounts of artists’ work, and controlling prices

Recommended Items at Auction

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Max Klinger (1857 Leipzig - Großjena 1920) – Drei Frauen im Weinberg (Three women in the vineyard)
May 16, 11:00 AM CEST
Max Klinger (1857 Leipzig - Großjena 1920) – Drei Frauen im Weinberg (Three women in the vineyard)
by Karl & Faber
Est: €30,000- €40,000
€24,0000 Bids
Fritz Von Uhde (1848 Wolkenburg - München 1911) – Der Spaziergang (The walk)
May 16, 11:00 AM CEST
Fritz Von Uhde (1848 Wolkenburg - München 1911) – Der Spaziergang (The walk)
by Karl & Faber
Est: €5,000- €6,000
€4,0000 Bids
Hugo Mühlig (1854 Dresden - Düsseldorf 1929) – Schäfers Mittagsrast (Shepherd's lunch break)
May 16, 11:00 AM CEST
Hugo Mühlig (1854 Dresden - Düsseldorf 1929) – Schäfers Mittagsrast (Shepherd's lunch break)
by Karl & Faber
Est: €5,000- €7,000
€4,0000 Bids
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Unknown (19th), School of Cusco, St Joseph with the Christ Child, around 1800, Oil
May 17, 8:00 PM CEST
Unknown (19th), School of Cusco, St Joseph with the Christ Child, around 1800, Oil
by Fichter Kunsthandel
Est: €1,200- €1,600
€8000 Bids
Antique 19C European oil painting
Jun 15, 11:45 AM EDT
Antique 19C European oil painting
by Broward Auction Gallery LLC
Est: $675- $850
$4250 Bids
Anonymous - Village pond
May 24, 10:00 AM CEST
Anonymous - Village pond
by Auktionshaus Schramm
Est: €320- €400
€3200 Bids
Carl Morgenstern (1811 - Frankfurt/Main - 1893) – Bauernhäuser in Schlehdorf (Farmhouses in Schlehdorf)
May 16, 11:00 AM CEST
Carl Morgenstern (1811 - Frankfurt/Main - 1893) – Bauernhäuser in Schlehdorf (Farmhouses in Schlehdorf)
by Karl & Faber
Est: €3,000- €4,000
€2,4000 Bids
Fritz Von Uhde (1848 Wolkenburg - München 1911) – Mädchen mit Korb (Girl with basket)
May 16, 11:00 AM CEST
Fritz Von Uhde (1848 Wolkenburg - München 1911) – Mädchen mit Korb (Girl with basket)
by Karl & Faber
Est: €4,000- €6,000
€3,0000 Bids
Deutsch – Knabenkopf (recto-verso) (Boy's head (recto-verso))
May 16, 11:00 AM CEST
Deutsch – Knabenkopf (recto-verso) (Boy's head (recto-verso))
by Karl & Faber
Est: €1,800- €2,200
€1,4000 Bids
Wilhelm Busch (1832 Wiedensahl - Mechtshausen 1908) – Findlinge auf der Wiese (Erratic blocks in the meadow)
May 16, 11:00 AM CEST
Wilhelm Busch (1832 Wiedensahl - Mechtshausen 1908) – Findlinge auf der Wiese (Erratic blocks in the meadow)
by Karl & Faber
Est: €15,000- €18,000
€12,0000 Bids
Wilhelm Busch (1832 Wiedensahl - Mechtshausen 1908) – Sitzender Bauer in Blau (Sitting farmer in blue)
May 16, 11:00 AM CEST
Wilhelm Busch (1832 Wiedensahl - Mechtshausen 1908) – Sitzender Bauer in Blau (Sitting farmer in blue)
by Karl & Faber
Est: €5,000- €7,000
€4,0000 Bids
Wilhelm Busch (1832 Wiedensahl - Mechtshausen 1908) – Die Näherin (The seamstress)
May 16, 11:00 AM CEST
Wilhelm Busch (1832 Wiedensahl - Mechtshausen 1908) – Die Näherin (The seamstress)
by Karl & Faber
Est: €5,000- €7,000
€4,0000 Bids

Sellers Who Sell 19th Century European Paintings


Karl & Faber

Karl & Faber

Auktionshaus Schramm

Auktionshaus Schramm

Broward Auction Gallery LLC

Broward Auction Gallery LLC

Fichter Kunsthandel

Fichter Kunsthandel