Category: Paintings of interiors

Portraits of Russian rooms from back when having portraits done of each room in your villa was all the rage. Queen Victoria commissioned them, too. Count Fyodor Petrovich Tolstoy, painter (1783-1873).  A few people included.

Family portrait (Tolstoy family). 1830. Russian. Oil on canvas. Fyodor Petrovich Tolstoy, painter (1783-1873). Russian Museum, Saint Petersburg. In the public domain due to age. via https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tolstoyfamily.jpg
My darling admiring herself in the mirror. 1821. Russian. Fyodor Petrovich Tolstoy, painter (1783-1873). In the public domain due to age. via @scala.regia on Instagram. via Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/C_dbPoXItdI/
Interior. 1830s. Russian. Watercolor, white lead, and graphite on paper. Russian. Fyodor Petrovich Tolstoy, watercolorist (1783-1873). Collections of the The State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow. Artwork in the public domain due to age. via https://www.pubhist.com/w12267
Interior with Woman Sewing. 1820s. Russian. Oil on canvas. Fyodor Petrovich Tolstoy, painter (1783-1873). Collections of the The State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow. Artwork in the public domain due to age. via https://www.pubhist.com/w12453

Paintings of interiors and one outdoors by English artist William Whitehead Ratcliffe. Living from 1870 to 1955, he studied at the Manchester School of Art. Designed wallpaper, mostly, but he painted these too.

Manor Farm, Norton. 1912. Possibly exhibited as ‘Old Manor Farm’ in June 1916. English. Oil on canvas. William Whitehead Ratcliffe, painter (1870-1955). Signed on the lower right. Image © the artist’s estate. Image credit: North Hertfordshire Museum. Collections of the North Hertfordshire Museum. Fair use license. via https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/manor-farm-norton-15790/search/2024–keyword:william-whitehead-ratcliffe–referrer:global-search-588196/page/1/view_as/grid
The Coffee House. 1914. English. Oil on canvas. William Whitehead Ratcliffe, painter (1870-1955). Signed on the lower right. Image © the artist’s estate. Image credit: Southampton City Art Gallery. Collections of the Southampton City Art Gallery. Fair use license. https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/the-coffee-house-17926/search/2024–keyword:william-whitehead-ratcliffe–referrer:global-search-588196/page/2/view_as/grid
Cottage Interior. 1911-1912. English. Oil on plywood. William Whitehead Ratcliffe, painter (1870-1955). Signed on the lower left. Image © the artist’s estate. Image credit: Yale Center for British Art. Collections of the Yale Center for British Art. Fair use license. via https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/cottage-interior-246875/search/2024–keyword:william-whitehead-ratcliffe–referrer:global-search-588196/page/2/view_as/grid
Attic Room. 1918. William Whitehead Ratcliffe, painter (1870-1955). Signed on the lower left. Image © the artist’s estate. Image credit: Tate. Collections of the Tate Galleries. Fair use license. https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/attic-room-201367/search/2024–keyword:william-whitehead-ratcliffe–referrer:global-search-588196/page/2/view_as/grid

Paintings of Biedermeier interiors filled with people living life on an day in June. Georg Friedrich Kersting, painter. Living from 1785 to 1847, he was a friend of Caspar David Friedrich.

Man reading by lamplight. 1814. German. Oil on canvas. Georg Friedrich Kersting, painter (1785-1847). Signed on the lower left. Collections of the Kunst Museum Winterthur. Artwork itself is in the public domain in the United States because the artist died over 100 years ago. via https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kersting_-_Lesender_Mann_beim_Lampenlicht.jpg
At the Mirror. 1827. German. Oil on canvas. Georg Friedrich Kersting, painter (1785-1847). Collections of the Kunsthalle Kiel. Image source: Web Gallery of Art. In the public domain in the United States because the artist died over 100 years ago. via https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Georg_Friedrich_Kersting_-_At_the_Mirror_-_WGA12123.jpg
Reinhard Study Room. ca. 1811. German. Oil on canvas. Georg Friedrich Kersting, painter (1785-1847). Image © and collections of the Altenational Galerie Staatliche Museem zu Berlin. Jörg P. Anders, photographer. Artwork itself in the public domain due to age. via https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/reinhard-study-room-georg-friedrich-kersting/vAHMlSYRI9Q-vA
A Bedroom with Sunlight. ca. 1812. German. Watercolor and graphite on paper. Georg Friedrich Kersting, watercolorist (1785-1847). Initialed G.K. on the upper right. Collections of the Staatliche Kunsthalle. Artwork itself is in the public domain due to age. via https://www.pubhist.com/w12813

 Watercolors of fashionable interiors in houses and hotels that look to be from the 1840s. From an album probably kept by a female member of the  Coote family whose family seat was at Ballyfin, Leinster, Ireland. The album being up for sale on the website of rare book dealer Justin Croft.

Untitled interior with woman reading by a fireside with the room looking to be the same as that in the watercolor titled “Caza Leoli, Pise,” Italy. ca. 1840s. Anglo-Irish. Watercolor that is part of an album that was probably kept by a female member of the  Coote family whose family seat was at Ballyfin, Leinster, Ireland. Image © 2023 Justin Croft. Fair use license. via https://www.justincroft.com/book/7779/coote-family/album/.
Caza Leoli – à Pise. Two men seated on chairs with a third standing in front of the fireplace in the same hotel parlor or suite as the first image, as the furnishings and wallpaper are identical, located in Pisa, Italy. ca. 1840s. Anglo-Irish. Watercolor that is part of an album that was probably kept by a female member of the  Coote family whose family seat was at Ballyfin, Leinster, Ireland. Image © 2023 Justin Croft. Fair use license. via https://www.justincroft.com/book/7779/coote-family/album/.

Salon au Quai du Midi (Nice?). ca. 1840s. Anglo-Irish. Watercolor that is part of an album that was probably kept by a female member of the  Coote family whose family seat was at Ballyfin, Leinster, Ireland. Image © 2023 Justin Croft. Fair use license. via https://www.justincroft.com/book/7779/coote-family/album/.
Un salon d’Hôtel – 1842. à Tours. Anglo-Irish. Watercolor that is part of an album that was probably kept by a female member of the  Coote family whose family seat was at Ballyfin, Leinster, Ireland. Image © 2023 Justin Croft. Fair use license. via https://www.justincroft.com/book/7779/coote-family/album/.
Eté 1842 Maison Viallon (La Mulatière, Lyon).  Anglo-Irish. Watercolor that is part of an album that was probably kept by a female member of the  Coote family whose family seat was at Ballyfin, Leinster, Ireland. Image © 2023 Justin Croft. Fair use license. via https://www.justincroft.com/book/7779/coote-family/album/.
Eté 1844. Bagni di Lucca (Italy). Anglo-Irish. Watercolor that is part of an album that was probably kept by a female member of the  Coote family whose family seat was at Ballyfin, Leinster, Ireland. Image © 2023 Justin Croft. Fair use license. via https://www.justincroft.com/book/7779/coote-family/album/.
Eté 1845. Viareggio (Italy). 1840s. Anglo-Irish. Watercolor that is part of an album that was probably kept by a female member of the  Coote family whose family seat was at Ballyfin, Leinster, Ireland. Image © 2023 Justin Croft. Fair use license. via https://www.justincroft.com/book/7779/coote-family/album/.
Salon. Chez le Prince Méncherski. 1840s. Anglo-Irish. Watercolor that is part of an album that was probably kept by a female member of the  Coote family whose family seat was at Ballyfin, Leinster, Ireland. Image © 2023 Justin Croft. Fair use license. via https://www.justincroft.com/book/7779/coote-family/album/.
Untiled watercolor of an interior. 1840s. Anglo-Irish. Watercolor that is part of an album that was probably kept by a female member of the  Coote family whose family seat was at Ballyfin, Leinster, Ireland. Image © 2023 Justin Croft. Fair use license. via https://www.justincroft.com/book/7779/coote-family/album/.
Untitled interior with a woman in a black dress reading by the fire. 1840s. Anglo-Irish. Watercolor that is part of an album that was probably kept by a female member of the  Coote family whose family seat was at Ballyfin, Leinster, Ireland. Image © 2023 Justin Croft. Fair use license. via https://www.justincroft.com/book/7779/coote-family/album/.
Maison de Roubion. 1840s. Anglo-Irish. Watercolor that is part of an album that was probably kept by a female member of the  Coote family whose family seat was at Ballyfin, Leinster, Ireland. Image © 2023 Justin Croft. Fair use license. via https://www.justincroft.com/book/7779/coote-family/album/.
Maison Gilly. 1840s. Anglo-Irish. Watercolor that is part of an album that was probably kept by a female member of the  Coote family whose family seat was at Ballyfin, Leinster, Ireland. Image © 2023 Justin Croft. Fair use license. via https://www.justincroft.com/book/7779/coote-family/album/.
Petersbourg – Caserne des Chevaliers Gardes. 1840s. Anglo-Irish. Watercolor that is part of an album that was probably kept by a female member of the  Coote family whose family seat was at Ballyfin, Leinster, Ireland. Image © 2023 Justin Croft. Fair use license. via https://www.justincroft.com/book/7779/coote-family/album/.

Interior spaces in North Frisia with painter Karl Ludwig Jessen. (1833-1917). Born in Schleswig-Holstein in what is now Germany, he studied art in Copenhagen. A member of the Naturalism school.

Die blaue Stube. 1912. Schleswig-Holstein/Frisian. Signed and dated on the lower right. Karl Ludwig Jessen, painter (1833-1917). Image source: NordseeMuseum Husum, Husum. Artwork itself in the public domain in the United States because the artist died over 100 years ago. via https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1912_Jessen_Die_blaue_Stube_anagoria.JPG
Interior of a Friesian house with two cats. 1907. Schleswig-Holstein/Frisian. Karl Ludwig Jessen, painter (1833-1917). Artwork itself in the public domain due to age. via https://oldpaintings.tumblr.com/post/668481936187129856/interior-of-a-friesian-house-with-two-cats-1907
The brown parlor. 1874. Schleswig-Holstein/Frisian. Karl Ludwig Jessen, painter (1833-1917). Signed and dated on the lower left. Collections of the Museumsberg Flensburg. Artwork itself in the public domain due to age. via https://www.hellenicaworld.com/Art/Paintings/CarlLudwigJessen/en/PartCLJessen0020.html
Rotes Zimmer bei Paul Moritzen. 1869. Schleswig-Holstein/Frisian. Karl Ludwig Jessen, painter (1833-1917). Signed and dated on the lower left. Collections of the Museumsberg Flensburg. Artwork itself in the public domain due to age. via https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jessen_Carl_Ludwig_Rotes_Zimmer_Museumsberg_Flensburg_Heinrich-Sauermann-Haus.JPG

The insides of rooms, mostly in Vienna. If you stare at them long enough you can time travel back long enough to take a nap on the sofa. Austrian artist, Rudolf Ritter van Alt. Living from 1812 to 1905, he studied at the  Akademie der bildenden Künste in Vienna. Part of a 19th century fashion for having watercolor portraits done of the rooms in your mansion.


The Morning Room of the Palais Lanckoronski, Vienna. 1881. Austrian. Watercolor heightened with white on paper. Private collection. Image source: the-athenaeum.org. Artwork in the public domain in the United States because the artist died over 100 years ago. via https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rudolf_Ritter_von_Alt_004.jpg
Salon in the Apartment of Count Lanckoroński in Vienna. 1881. Austrian. Watercolor heightened with white on paper. Collection of Thomas le Claire, art dealer, Hamburg as of 2003. Image source: Image source: the-athenaeum.org. Artwork in the public domain in the United States because the artist died over 100 years ago. via https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rudolf_Ritter_von_Alt_002.jpg
 Innenansicht des Palmenhauses von Schloss Eisgrub. 1842. Austrian. Watercolor. Collections of the Liechtenstein Museum, Vienna. In the public domain in the United States because the artist died over 100 years ago. via https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rudolf_von_Alt_011.jpg

Rooms to gaze at while everyone who lives there is out for the day. Danish. Christian Tilemann-Petersen, artist. Living from 1874 to 1926, he is known for his depictions of interiors and architecture.

 Interiør fra Eremitagen. 1917. Danish. Oil on canvas. Signed and dated 1917 Christian Tilemann-Petersen on the bottom left. Image source: bruun-rasmussen.dk. In the public domain in the United States because the artist died over 80 years ago. via https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Christian_Tilemann-Petersen_-Interi%C3%B8r_fra_Eremitagen-_1917.png


 Interiør fra Rosenborg Slot. 1921. Danish. Oil on canvas. Signed and dated Christian Tilemann-Petersen 1921 on the lower left. Image source; bruun-rasmussen.dk. Artwork itself in the public domain in the United States because the artist has been dead over 80 years. via https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Christian_Tilemann-Petersen_-Interi%C3%B8r_fra_Rosenborg_Slot-_1921.png



Castle interior. 1908. Danish. Oil on canvas. Image ©2021 Artnet Worldwide Corporation.  Artwork itself in the public domain due to age. via http://www.artnet.com/artists/christian-tilemann-petersen/castle-interior-h-72m2h6gL071kJlyAmx9Q2


Depiction of an elegant manor house interior. ca. 1922, by 1926.. Danish. Oil on canvas. Christian Tillemann-Petersen. painter (1874-1926). Born in Copenhagen, Tilemann-Petersen worked predominantly in Scandinavia but also ventured to the British Isles where he produced detailed views of Windsor and the ancient tombs of Winchester Cathedral. The location of this particular piece is unknown but it’s interesting to note that during the same year (1922), he also worked at Rosenborg Castle. Image © Brave Fine Art @bravefineart on Instagram. via Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/bravefineart/p/DC1sIymIC3r/?hl=en

Decorate every room in your home in Gothic Revival with no faux pas. Go shopping with “Pugin’s Gothic furniture” put out by Augustus Pugin in 1830 and published by R. Ackermann in London. Pugin did work at the Palace of Westminster, too.

“Group of Gothic Furniture.” Frontispiece. 1830. Page 5. Collections of and digitalized by the Getty Research Institute. In the public domain due to age. via https://archive.org/details/puginsgothicfurn00pugi_0/page/n5/mode/1up
“Decorations and Furniture of a Room.” Title page. 1830. Page 6. Collections of and digitalized by the Getty Research Institute. In the public domain due to age. via https://archive.org/details/puginsgothicfurn00pugi_0/page/n6/mode/1up
“Horizontal Grand Piano Forte.” 1830. Page 10. Page 5. Collections of and digitalized by the Getty Research Institute. In the public domain due to age. via https://archive.org/details/puginsgothicfurn00pugi_0/page/n10/mode/1up

More coming.

Sitting down to tea with Austrian still life painter Lea Reinhart. Living from 1877 to 1970, she probably studied at the Vienna Art School for Women.

“Still Life with Antiques,.” Undated. Austrian. Oil on panel. Signed “L. Reinhart.” © Estate of the artist. Image © 2021 Dorotheum GmbH & Co KG. Fair use license. via https://www.dorotheum.com/en/l/580154/
“Still Life with Antiquities and Strawberries.” Undated. Austrian. Oil on panel. Signed “L. Reinhart.” © Estate of the artist. Fair use license. via https://www.tuttartpitturasculturapoesiamusica.com/2017/03/Lea-Reinhart.html and dorotheum.com.
Still life. Undated. Austrian. Oil on panel. Signed “L. REINHART” on the upper left. © Estate of the artist. © Bonhams 2001-2021. Fair use license. via https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/22689/lot/309/

Dutch men and women going along and living life. Painted by Dutch Golden Age artist Pieter Janssens Elinga. Living from 1623 to 1682, he mostly painted domestic interior scenes.

“Room in a Dutch house”. 1655. Dutch. Oil on canvas. Collections of the State Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg. Image source: Jane023. Cc0 License 1.0. via https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dutch_Masters_from_the_Hermitage_20180411_23.jpg
Interior with Painter, Woman Reading and Maid Sweeping. 1666.Dutch. Oil. Collections of the  Städel Museum, Frankfurt. In the public domain in the United States because the artist died over 100 years ago. via https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1668_Elinga_Interieur_mit_lesender_Dame_und_kehrender_Magd_anagoria.JPG
Interior scene. 17th c. Dutch. Signed “PJE” as a monogram. Collections of the Hallwyl Museum, Stockholm. Artwork itself in the public domain due to age. via https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/interior-scene-pieter-janssens-elinga/ewGcX0hqwXL-6w