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Figures of Lovers 1975

Oil on canvas. Signed and dated lower right. The painting belongs to ORAZI's production from the 1970s. In this phase the artist abandoned completely abstract and relief painting and returned to figurative painting, rendered however with simplified and distorted lines. In particular, he created the series called Lignes Circulaires and the one, to which this work belongs, of paintings called Têtes-Paysage, in which he created compositions that depict mysterious human heads or heads of fauns and mythological figures (sometimes accompanied by their insect companions), often couples of lovers kissing: the lines, in these paintings, intertwine to simultaneously form compositions, intertwining bodies, often in an erotic attitude. The work comes from the artist's family's private collection.

Figures, 1975 ca.

Oil on canvas. The painting belongs to ORAZI's production from the 1970s. In this phase the artist abandoned completely abstract and relief painting and returned to figurative painting, rendered however with simplified and distorted lines. In particular, he created the series called Lignes Circulaires and the one, to which this work belongs, of paintings called Têtes-Paysage, in which he created compositions that depict mysterious human heads or those of fauns and mythological figures (sometimes accompanied by their insect companions), often couples of lovers kissing: the lines, in these paintings, intertwine to simultaneously form compositions, intertwining bodies. Here we can perceive some figures, human and animal, probably mythological, engaged in an erotic plot. The work comes from the artist's family's private collection.

Composition, 1933

Oil on canvas. Signed and dated lower right. Partial label of the Galleria Pesaro in Milan on the back. The work belongs to the first period of the French artist ORAZI (a name he wanted written in capital letters), a period still linked to figurative painting, influenced by the historical avant-gardes, in particular by post-impressionism; already in this first phase, research on color has a dominant place in the representation of characters and objects. In this composition, the red and blue colors of the books, the bottle label, the feather, stand out against the soft and homogeneous colors of the other objects, among which the stone mask dominates the left hemifield. The work comes from the artist's family of origin. It is presented in a period frame.

Peinture en Relief, 1960s

Mixed technique on hardboard, with applications of materials in relief. From 1958 to 1968 ORAZI, who had already moved from the figurative to the abstract phase, devoted himself to creating compositions in relief: he collected and used materials and fibres of different types, especially natural materials and fibres such as tiny grains of sand, seeds, plant filaments and fragments of bark, with which he created relief shapes that emerged from the surface of the canvas. The basis of this artistic experience, called Peinture en Relief, was the exploration of nature, its components and its phenomena (flowers, plants, sands, rocks, volcanic lava, coasts and seabeds, eruptions, storms, petrified meteorites). The works of this period were initially characterised by a still rather low relief; but subsequently the relief became more and more pronounced, often coming out of the perimeter of the support, to the point of appearing more like statues than paintings. The work presented here probably belongs to the first experimental phase, with a still not very pronounced relief. The work is mounted on a support panel. It comes from the artist's family collection.

Scene with Figures, 1950 ca.

Oil on canvas. It belongs to a group of works called Jeux de Symboles, created from 1945 to 1950 approximately, in which ORAZI's painting moves towards the production of the so-called Peinture du Mouvement, characterized by the work on the dynamic effects of the human body (and animals) in motion, emphasized by the strength of color. Color dominates this scene, strong, acid, bright color, which outlines almost geometric human and animal figures, with marked and clear contours, in which two different ethnic groups seem to be recognized in comparison. The canvas has small losses of color. It comes from the artist's family collection.

The Shawl Portrait of a Mexican Woman ca. 1950

Oil on canvas. Signed lower right. The French painter ORAZI stayed in Mexico in 1955 and then in 1956-57, which was an exceptionally attractive world for intellectuals and artists of the time. The natural scenery, the customs and traditions of the local population were the themes that converged in the series of paintings called Peintures sur le Mexique, landscapes, compositions and portraits without giving in to the taste for the exotic, with an extremely careful work on the color to represent, without descriptivism, the elements of nature and the figures of men and women, already projected towards abstraction. This pictorial series, composed of 35 pieces, was then exhibited in 1957, upon his return to France, at the Vendôme Gallery in Paris. The painting comes from the private collection of the artist's family.

Portrait of a Woman 1951

Oil on canvas. Signed and dated lower left. The date of the work places this work in the period in which ORAZI was already projecting himself towards a less realistic painting, creating a portrait characterized by very marked physiognomic features, almost geometric, and a color scheme that plays on the variation of a single color range. The figure portrayed is that of an elderly woman, belonging to the peasant world.

Informal Composition 60s

Mixed tecnique on cardboard. From the second half of the 1950s ORAZI moved from figurative to abstract painting, with a progressive evolution that started from flat compositions (like the one presented) to works in relief, which culminated in the series called Peinture en Relief (Painting in Relief). The work comes from the artist's family collection.

Mexican Peasant Figure 1956

Oil on canvas. Signed and dated 1956 lower left. The French painter ORAZI stayed in Mexico in 1955 and then in 1956-57, which was an exceptionally attractive world for intellectuals and artists of the time. The natural scenery, the customs and traditions of the local population were the themes that converged in the series of paintings called Peintures sur le Mexique, landscapes, compositions and portraits without giving in to the taste for the exotic, with an extremely careful work on the color to represent, without descriptivism, the elements of nature and the figures of men and women, already projected towards abstraction. This pictorial series, composed of 35 pieces, was then exhibited in 1957, upon his return to France, at the Vendôme Gallery in Paris. The painting comes from the private collection of the artist's family.

Oil on canvas. The noblewoman is richly dressed, with an elegant red cape resting on her shoulders, which leaves the lace-trimmed dress uncovered; her hair is embellished with pearls. At the top right of the canvas, the coat of arms of the woman's family also appears: tripartite, it features two rampant and crowned lions facing each other, surmounted by a plausibly floral decoration. Restored and relined, the painting is presented in a period frame.

Oil on panel. The scene captures the Holy Family probably during the flight into Egypt, in a moment of rest during the journey; in fact, in addition to the figures of the family, an angel appears at the bottom, recognizable by the hinted wings, who offers a plate with food, from which Joseph has already taken some cherries, as the apocryphal versions of the gospels tell. The panel has some small woodworm holes. It is presented in an early 1900s frame.

Oil on canvas. Second half of the 19th century. Intense close-up portrait of a man, probably North African, which belongs to the artistic period defined as orientalist, that is, in that artistic production that was fascinated by the oriental world, following the numerous trips in vogue in the 19th century to the warm and exotic lands of the countries of Western Asia. The painting is presented in a period frame.

Interior with Female Figure

Oil on canvas. Signed lower right. In a soberly furnished room, an elderly woman sits reading, or perhaps meditating, with her book resting on the table under the window, while her dog sleeps curled up on a bench to the right of the woman. The scene is rich in finely depicted details; from the window, with the curtains raised to let in the light that illuminates the scene, we can glimpse figures walking on a road that leads to a fortified palace. The German painter August Friedrich Siegert established himself mainly for his portraits and genre scenes that represent moments of daily life with great attention to detail and a touch of realism. The painting is presented in a contemporary gilded frame from the second half of the 19th century.

Oil on canvas. The painting, restored and relined, has a small hole in the upper left. It is presented in a period frame from the early 1900s.

Oil on canvas. The scene depicts the Holy Family accompanied by St. John the Baptist and another saint kneeling before the Baby Jesus, who is conversing with them while sitting on his mother's lap; Mary, on the other hand, is turned backwards, observing the carpentry work that her husband Joseph is doing, intent on chiseling. The adult saint who stands next to St. John the Baptist, and who occupies the left half of the scene, to underline his importance for the client, has no particular iconographic signs, even if his physiognomy could refer to St. Peter. The scene is set outside a marble palace, in an Italian landscape. Restored and relined, the painting is presented in a late 19th century frame.

Trame di Vita 2011

Acrylic on wood and collage of various materials. On the back, under the protective cardboard, there is an artist's label with the signature and the title of the work. Clara Bartolini, a multifaceted artist (she has tried her hand at painting, photography, collage, sculpture, assembly, always looking for new materials and new creative paths, but also with poetry, scenography, she is a stylist) said of this series of her works called Trame: "I have always worked with thread, a very representative symbolic element, it assures me of the return, it shows me the paths already taken, it keeps alive the thought on what is important in my life. Ariadne's thread, the fil rouge, the thread of the speech and, why not, mending the tear, putting a patch on it and much more. Thread (I have also been a stylist) has always had a great importance in my life. It often appears in my works, in cotton, copper, brass, iron, nylon. In order not to lose the thread...". The work is presented in a frame.

Trame di Vita 2011

Acrylic on wood and collage of various materials. On the back, the artist's label with the signature and the title of the work. Clara Bartolini, a multifaceted artist (she has tried her hand at painting, photography, collage, sculpture, assembly, always looking for new materials and new creative paths, but also with poetry, scenography, she is a stylist) said of this series of her works called Trame: "I have always worked with thread, a very representative symbolic element, it assures me of the return, it shows me the paths already taken, it keeps alive the thought on what is important in my life. Ariadne's thread, the fil rouge, the thread of the speech and, why not, mending the tear, putting a patch on it and much more. Thread (I have also been a stylist) has always had a great importance in my life. It often appears in my works, in cotton, copper, brass, iron, nylon. In order not to lose the thread...". The work is presented in a frame.

Grotesque with Angels

Fake fresco on canvas. In imitation of classical frescoes, the canvas features a grotesque decoration, characterized by fantasy plant forms intertwined with human figures, animals or bizarrely deformed masks, in this case cherubs and birds, inserted in architectural references, as in this case the fake support base.

Landscape with Water and Shepherds

Oil on canvas. In a green hilly countryside, where a stream flows, some shepherds sit whistling in the shade of the trees, while they check the flock that is drinking. Thick dark clouds gather in the sky. The style recalls the production of Marco Ricci, a painter from Belluno who became famous for his undoubted talent for naturalistic and architectural representation. His landscapes, still of a distinctly seventeenth-century taste, are already lit up by powerful and emotional lights, by dry and twisted trees, rocks and towers, cumulus clouds that suddenly break into vague flashes of blue, a complex repertoire that transfigures nature into a dramatic and restless representation. He became a point of reference for several other artists contemporary to him, who took up his style, as in this work. Restored and relined, the painting is presented in a period frame.

Winter Landscape with Figures

Oil on canvas. In a wintry countryside landscape, sprinkled with snow, on the bare, dark, arid nature, a path winds through completely bare trees that leads to the village, and some wayfarers pass along it, while on the side some woodcutters are at work. A sky full of dark clouds looms over everything, although on the left there is a patch of blue. The style harks back to the production of Marco Ricci, a painter from Belluno who made a name for himself for his undoubted talent for naturalistic and architectural representation. His landscapes, still of a distinctly seventeenth-century taste, are already lit up by powerful and emotional lights, by dry and twisted trees, rocks and towers, cumulus clouds that suddenly break apart into vague flashes of blue, a complex repertoire that transfigures nature into a dramatic and restless representation. He became a point of reference for several other artists contemporary to him, who took up his style, as in this work. Restored and relined, the painting is presented in a period frame.

Oil on canvas. Venetian school of the 18th century. The landscape, rather barren and with snow-capped mountain peaks in the background, frames in the foreground a family of shepherds, sitting to rest on the edge of the road outside the village, while their herd drinks from the nearby stream; in the meantime they converse and ask directions to the commoner who passes by on the path with her basket under her arm. Restored and relined, the painting is presented in a period frame.

Oil on canvas. Venetian school of the 18th century. Large landscape of pre-Alpine hills, crossed by a stream that reaches the mill in the right foreground, while numerous figures of commoners animate the path that leads to the building, busy with various occupations; in particular, in the center foreground, the two fishermen with their nets stand out. Formerly attributed to Giuseppe Zais (1709 -1784), a Venetian painter who became famous for his large landscapes animated by figures, characterized by an airy luminosity and a care in the description of nature. Restored and relined, the painting is presented in an early 20th century frame.

Confidences

Watercolor on paper. Artist's monogram top left. Tranquillo Cremona, after an initial period close to romantic painting, from 1870 onwards distanced himself from the influences of Francesco Hayez and adopted a painting style with indefinite contours, developing the concept of "macchia scapigliata" together with his friend Daniele Ranzoni: after an initial intervention with brushes, he refined the works with his fingers to blend, using all his fingers to make his paintings as vaporous as possible. This technique (which cost him his life due to lead poisoning caused by repeated contact with the skin of the colors) was compared by Camillo Boito to the views of the magic lantern, when the right focus of the lens had not yet been found: the image is already distinguishable, but is immersed in an almost gaseous vapor. The subjects of Tranquillo Cremona's works were always human figures, present in the historical-literary scenes of the romantic period, as in the portraits and genre scenes of the scapigliata phase; his subjects were taken from everyday life, in its simplicity and spontaneous immediacy, like these three female figures depicted in a moment of confidential and intimate conversation between friends. The work is presented in a late 19th century frame.

Oil on canvas. Lively naturalistic composition of multicolored flowers in blue ceramic vases, which recall the sky color of the upper part of the background, which then fades into an earthy color in the lower part; on the left a parrot stands out for its unusual dark color. The painting has slight color losses, especially in the background. It is presented in a contemporary regilded frame.