18th Century Miniature Oil Painting

[Sticks1]

I found this miniature oil painting at a second hand store for $1.50 in with their small frames. It is dated 1749. I was wondering if this is Colonial American (Ohio valley, upper PA, NY, or Hudson River area) or European? It is in an oval frame under glass, signed and approx 4 1/2" W and 3 1/2 " H. The substance around the wood frame is called gesso which I understand was popular in the 18th century.

 

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[woodstock]

Something doesn't look right here . I'm not a painting expert but the word miniature is misspelled and it makes me wonder who was the expert who dated it . If the misspelled word with the 1749 in a circle was done in the past the ink would be nice and brown today . Also if the date in on the back the canvas doesn't appear over 250 years old as well . And the R signature ( third pic ) right side and there is also another R that with were the signature wasn't completed in the same paint on the left side and you'd think a true artist would have tried to that one out . My guess is that's it's a counterfeit miniature and very old but never the less a counterfeit . IMHO , Woodstock

 

[NOLA_Ken]

Hey, this is NOLA_ken's girlfriend. I know a little bit about painting and art history, and you should bear in mind that the number on the back is not necessarily a date. It could be an opus number, or some kind of stock number from a store/gallery that sold it before. Also, is the fourth picture the back of the canvas(under the frame backing?) What kind of back does it have? (cardboard, wood, etc) It doesn't look like normal canvas to me, or something that would have been available in the 18th century. It looks weirdly shiny, like some kind of more modern thick synthetic fabric. Like woodstock said, the little R on the left is odd too, most artists would just finish the signature over there instead of trying again on the other side. You should also keep in mind that gesso was not strictly an 18th century thing. It is still used by painters now and you can buy it at Michaels.

 

[Bryanhashemi]

theres no cracking in the paint that would suggest 18th century painting. Older paintings would have very fine cracking lines in it. All i see is brush strokes

 

[woodstock]

Exactly Nola ... I thought the exact thing about the number being a catalog/stock number myself . And you pointed out the back not looking like vintage canvas and it doesn't . It looks like a particle board where one side it smooth and one side or the side that was painted and the back has a pattern resembling the picture back . And there should be some significant age wear like cracking on the picture itself . It's not a air tight seal so it would have to have cracking and so separation due to it's age . And the framing looks old but it just might have been "antiqued" and made to appear older than it is . So at the current time I'm leading to a "reproduction piece" made in the early part of the 20th century in about 1910-20 . It was very popular at that period to make reproductions of pieces from art to furniture. Original piece's like this are hard to find and rarely end up at a second hand shop when so many people have prior knowledge of there true antique value . Adding all this up makes me feel that although this piece is old it's by no means a original but a counterfeit/reproduction and nothing else . IMHO , Woodstock

Hey, this is NOLA_ken's girlfriend. I know a little bit about painting and art history, and you should bear in mind that the number on the back is not necessarily a date. It could be an opus number, or some kind of stock number from a store/gallery that sold it before. Also, is the fourth picture the back of the canvas(under the frame backing?) What kind of back does it have? (cardboard, wood, etc) It doesn't look like normal canvas to me, or something that would have been available in the 18th century. It looks weirdly shiny, like some kind of more modern thick synthetic fabric. Like woodstock said, the little R on the left is odd too, most artists would just finish the signature over there instead of trying again on the other side. You should also keep in mind that gesso was not strictly an 18th century thing. It is still used by painters now and you can buy it at Michaels.

 

[woodstock]

My opinion too ! It's a oil painting and due to oil dying through many years would contract and crack . Also the glass is at question . Domed glass picture frames were popular in the mid to later part of the 19 century and early 20th century and I've never seen framing with a glass dome cover going back to 1749 or the 18th century . Like I said before I'm not a painting expert but I have been collecting and researching for many years . Woodstock

theres no cracking in the paint that would suggest 18th century painting. Older paintings would have very fine cracking lines in it. All i see is brush strokes

 

[BosnMate]

I think silo's were invented in Germany in the mid 1800's, so would have come to America after that. So a farm with a silo wouldn't be in the 1700's.