Real old painting

[idaho1]

Any painting experts here ? Another yard sale find . All i know from taking it to a long time local antique shop is .. Its Dutch and aprox 1850 . Its a real oil painting on canvas . Its the size of a regular piece of paper .
 

[waywardangler]

Oh that is a beauty! I would get it professionally cleaned, framed in a correct period type frame and hang that on the wall to enjoy. Original oil paintings cannot be beat (compared to prints).

[idaho1]

Yes it is quite a pretty picture . My glary photo does not say much for it . The subject girl there is bright and full of detail . The background is pretty dark , there is an old water pump and a oil lamp back there . It has a sinature of sorts on the side but its not in english .

[sapphire]

idaho, could you possibly get a clear close up shot of the signature?

[idaho1]

[waywardangler]

Looks like J & F Sporton but I could be totally off on that last name. Why did the antique shop persaon think it was Dutch?

[KevinM]

Isn't that an odd place for a signature? I'm just wondering if it's possible that the canvas was re-used and was cut just below the signature on another painting then tacked and painted over. The color on the edge of the painting seems to be a shade lighter like that of the signature than the darker color on the front of the painting (could be the angle and camera flash glare).

Now that I think about it, since there isn't any paint under the signature it would make sense to me that it is the original signature for the painting and was intended to be placed on the side of the painting. I haven't seen a lot of old paintings and never look on the side of them. It's a very nice painting, I would have been thrilled to find it!

Kevin

[idaho1]

I cant remember exactly why she said it is Dutch , another friend into antiques also said the same thing .
It might have been the clothing and the items that are Dutch . I just dont know anything for sure . Its done so well it was not an amateur who did it according to the antique shop lady . The A.T. roadshow does not come here so i can 'slip it in' 

[mariok54]

Have you inspected the actual painting for signs of another signature? It seems to me that when framed that signature would not show, also, looks like it's possibly in pencil?
Nevertheless, very nice painting.

[mart]

Have a Dr`s appt. so didn`t get to research more,, but check out Johannes Fransiscus Spohler, 1853-1894 !!  Style was a bit different but could have been done either very early or late in his artistic life !!  Style is more old masters but its worth checking as his works sell pretty well and for a few $$$ !!

[waywardangler]

From http://www.akantiek.nl/kunst.htm
Johannes Franciscus Spohler was a Dutch landscape painter born in 1853, the son of the well-known landscape artist Jan Jacob
Spohler and a brother to Jan Jacob Coenraad Spohler who was also an artist. He learnt his fine technique from the accomplished
painter of town views, Cornelis Springer (1817-1891). Small images on mahogany panel speak of fine draughtsmanship, carrying a
strong feeling of traditional Dutch landscape painting. His delicate palette unites the intense sensitivity of typical Dutch scenes with
stunning light effects, giving a delightful insight into life of that time. His father, Jan Jacob Spohler, died when Johannes Franciscus
was only thirteen-years old, so it is likely he, unlike his sixteen-year older brother Jan Jacob Coenraad, never had lessons from him.
This absence of a paternal painting influence is possibly why Johannes Franciscus chose a different genre to that of his father and
brother. He concentrated on painting historicist city and village scenes with figures instead of summer landscapes and winter scenes.
His oeuvre was inspired by that of the grand master in the field, Cornelis Springer, with his depictions of narrow streets of Old-Dutch
houses, populated with all kinds of people busily engaged in all kinds of activity. Spohler’s work is represented in various leading
museums.

I am not sure this is the correct artist. Spohler was a landscape artist and this painting is truly from a portrait artist that excelled in people. Signatures compared...

[mart]

Signatures are not downloading for me !!  May not be him !! But no other names in the Dutch, Flemish or Belgian list were similar !!  And it does look similar in style to the Dutch artists !! I wonder if there is paint on the bottom of the canvas ?? That it may have been trimmed to fit a frame at some point in time !! If so then the name could have been written in the border then to remember who the artist was. One thing that people don`t take into account about art is that it was meant to be sold !! Many things can happen after it leaves the artists hands !!

[waywardangler]

It is possible that whoever wrote in pencil on the edge of the canvas, was not the artist but someone who interpreted the spelling of the artist's signature. I would look very, very closely at the dark areas of the painting for indications of a signature. If there, a professional cleaning would make the signature and muddy areas of the background stand out.

It looks like some black letters in the area of the white arrow. I would look at this area really good with a loupe.

[cogar]

That looks to be a "scrub brush" lying on the table, ... if so, ..... it's design/construction could/might be used to determine the painting's origin.

[mart]

This one is certainly worth contacting a major gallery or auction house and getting an expert opinion !!  But don`t do anything to it till you have it checked out other than dust it off with a soft dry cloth !!