Bidspirit auction | 18th c. Flemish Old Master

18th c. Flemish Old Master Landscape Painting by Henri-Joseph Antonissen - NFT Included - Rare Original 18th c. Flemish Old Master Landscape Painting by Henri-Joseph Antonissen (Flemish, 1737-1794) | Remarkably painted watercolor, with pencil and wash, on paper | Depicts a pastoral landscape scene with two male figures in the lower left foreground leading cattle and goats along a river road, while a woman walks beside them carrying a basket on her head; a cottage with smoke billowing from the chimney is seen in the middle ground along with two figures fishing in a boat. Overlooking the landscape is a ruined castle tower perched atop a cliff | Painting is hand signed and dated in the lower left by the artist ”H.J. Antonissen 1791” | Matted and framed under glass, in a gold gilt gesso wood frame with beaded rabbet edge | Approx. Size: Sight: 14” H x 20.5” W; Framed: 24” H x 31” W. Hendrik-Jozef Antonissen (9 June 1737 – 4 April 1794) was a Flemish Old Master landscape painter. Born at Antwerp (Belgium) in 1737, Antonissen was a student of painter Balthazar Beschey, training at the studio of Antwerp Balthazar Besohey. Admitted to the Guild of St. Luke of Antwerp (the Society of Painters of the City), Antonissen held the responsibilities of Dean in 1763 and 1773. He was a master landscape painter, animal painter and engraver and an important representative of the Flemish school. Antonissen trained several important artists in his workshop, including Hendrik de Cort, Balthasar Ommeganck and Simon Denis. Henri-Joseph Antonissen paintings can be found at numerous important museums, including Rijksmuseum Amsterdam (Landscape with Five See (1767), Cabinet of Prints); Geneva Museum of Art and History (Landscape and Animals (1771)), Royal Museum of Fine Arts (Antwerp)(Landscape with flock (1776)); Fitzwilliam Museum (Cambridge University)(Landscape with flocks (1787)); Städel in Frankfurt am Main (Landscape with Cattle (1792)); Grenoble Museum (Bergère leading her animals to the watering hole (1794)); Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery (University of Glasgow) (Cows at a river's edge (1767)); British Museum (Peasants in winter).