The Continental School in art is a broad term used by art historians and auction houses to describe works created by European artists when the specific country, region, or individual painter is uncertain. Rather than identifying a precise national tradition—such as French, Italian, or Dutch—the label “Continental” simply indicates that the work originated somewhere on the European mainland. Many paintings categorized this way date from the 17th to 19th centuries and often feature popular subjects such as pastoral landscapes, genre scenes of daily life, portraits, or still-life arrangements.