PAINTINGS ONLINE | ANCIENT AND CONTEMPORARY ART GALLERY - Page 9

Oil on canvas. Lombard school of the late 17th-early 18th century. The rich composition offers a large bouquet of colorful flowers in an embossed vase, next to a bowl full of porcini mushrooms and a bunch of grapes: with different intensities of color, the various naturalistic elements emerge from the completely dark background, creating effects of lights and shadows. Restored and relined, the painting is presented in an early 20th century frame.

Oil on canvas. Flemish school of the 18th century. Lively and animated scene, depicting a popular festival in the village: a group of men and women in front of the village inn, recognizable by the sign, dance accompanied by musicians on the left, while the people around observe, drink, chat. Restored and relined, the painting is presented in a gilded frame in period.

Oil on canvas. In the beautiful composition you can see, resting on an inlaid wooden sideboard, a basket full of cherries, some of which are scattered on the top, and a plate full of red currants, mixed with leaves and a few cherry blossoms. A goldfinch rests on the handle of the basket; to frame the composition, on the right a large bouquet of multicolored flowers in a vase, on the left a red curtain. The bright colors of the fruits, the flowers and the curtain stand out, while the support cabinet blends into the dark background, as does the little bird, distinguishable from the dark background only by the white plumage on the wings and the red outline of the eyes. The work is part of the large 17th century Emilian production of this highly decorative type of subject. The painting, restored and relined, has a marked crack and drops of color along the edges.

Oil on canvas. Lombard school of the late 17th-early 18th century. The rich composition offers a large bouquet of colorful flowers in an embossed vase, next to two large pumpkins and mixed fruit (grapes and peaches): with different intensities of color, the various naturalistic elements emerge from the completely dark background, creating effects of lights and shadows. Restored and relined, the painting is presented in an early 20th century frame.

The Tale of Apollo and Marsyas

Oil painting on canvas. Northern Italian school of the seventeenth century. The large canvas derives from an engraving of 1562 by the Venetian Giulio Sanuto, who faithfully reproduced the homonymous work by Bronzino (1503-1572), currently preserved in the Hermitage; compared to the original, the engraving added the group of Muses and modified the landscape background by introducing views of the villages. The work is divided into four scenes, which must be read from right to left. The first scene depicts the musical contest between Apollo and the Silenus Marsyas, who played the flute so well that he was considered superior to the same god; the two contenders are performing, the god with the lyre and the silenus with the flute even upside down (to increase the difficulty of the undertaking), in front of King Midas and the goddess Minerva, recognizable by her attributes, the helmet, the spear and the shield. In the second scene Apollo is intent on skinning Marsyas, to punish him for having won the musical contest; lean on the ground next to him, his cloak and lyre. In the third scene, it is King Midas who is punished by the god for having preferred Marsyas to him: Apollo is putting the donkey's ears on Midas, while Minerva is watching. Finally, the fourth scene, in the foreground on the left, is characterized by a particular figure, identified in the faithful servant and barber of the king: since Midas had ordered him to keep the secret on his donkey ears, not being able to let off steam otherwise, he dug a hole in the ground and yelled into there his secret; in that place, however, legend has it that a bush of reeds grew that with the wind whispered "King midas has donkey ears", thus revealing the dreaded secret. The painting has been previously restored and relined, but currently needs any further color recovery. On the back in pencil there is an old attribution to the Ferrara school ("Ercole da Ferrara"). It is presented in a late 19th century style frame.

Oil on canvas. Northern Italian school of the 17th-18th century. In a large, rather barren hilly landscape, which widens and fades to the right, there is a high rock, shaped like an arch, under which there is Saint Jerome penitent, depicted in the act of prayer and adoration of the Cross. In accordance with the canons of 17th-18th century painting, the figure of the Saint, adapted to the iconography in his clothes and attitude, is however inserted in an unsuitable landscape, close to that of the painter who drew on the landscape reality known to him. . The painting, restored and relined, is presented in a period frame.

Oil on canvas. In a Nordic landscape, with mountain ranges in the background and green hills, a small herd of cows is placed in the foreground, watched by a shepherdess who, sitting to rest on the edge of the road, indicates to the dog at her side the small castle, the probable destination of their journey. The painting, relined, presents small but widespread losses of color and scratches. It is presented in an early 1900s frame.

Tempera on canvas. Signed Mimy and dated lower right. The scene, set in an elegant living room, features a group of ladies and gentlemen entertaining themselves musically during a reception: while a woman plays the spinet, a young couple dances. The work is presented in a period frame, with a large lack in the upper part.

Oil on canvas. Roman school of the 17th century. The bloody episode of the sacrifice of Iphigenia, also told in the Iliad, originates from the wrath of Artemis, goddess of the hunt, who, offended by Agamemnon for his boasting as a hunter, prevents the Greek fleet from sailing towards Troy; the soothsayer Calchas then prophesies that the wrath of the goddess can only be appeased by sacrificing the youngest daughter of King Agamemnon himself, Iphigenia, and so it happens. In the centre of the scene the girl is depicted prostrate at the foot of the sacrificial altar, while she is being prepared by the priests according to the rituals; in the left corner we can glimpse her father Agamemnon (with the crown abandoned at his feet) with her mother Clytemnestra who, in despair, do not dare to look. Above, the goddess Artemis watches the scene, recognizable by the moon on her hair, the bow she holds in her hand and a deer, her symbolic animal, at the foot of the canopy: according to a less violent version of the myth, at the moment of the sacrifice Iphigenia is replaced by Artemis with a doe, as the presence of the animal in this representation might indicate. The work presented here derives from the painting by Pietro Testa, published between 1640 and 1642 (now at the Galleria Spada in Rome) and from his engravings: the entire composition of the figures is taken from it, although modified in the clothes, colors and various details. Restored and relined, the painting is presented in an early 20th-century frame, contemporary with the restoration.

Courtship at the Well 1873

Oil on canvas. Signed and dated lower right. Haier was a Viennese painter and photographer, but lived for a long time in the Czech Republic. His pictorial production includes portraits and many genre scenes, set like this one in the Czech rural environment. We have a seller of jars, transported on the back of his donkey, who entertains himself at a well in amorous conversation with a girl, who in the meantime offers a tuft of grass to the docile beast. The painting is presented in a period frame.

Landscape with Figures

Mixed media on cardboard. Signed lower left. Stamp of the artist's studio on the back. The painter of Apulian origins Giuseppe Casciaro, painter and teacher at the Institute of Fine Arts in Naples where he trained, was essentially a landscape painter and produced in particular views of the surroundings of Naples, Irpinia (Nusco) and Puglia. He preferred the pastel painting technique in which he excelled. Here is a glimpse of a Mediterranean countryside, crossed by a path with wayfarers. It is presented in a period frame.

The Angel of Death 1979

Oil on hardboard. Signed and dated lower left. Further signature, date and title on the back. Angelo Peratici's artistic production is characterized by a desire for expressive freedom that draws on his fervent imagination to represent reality. Starting from this innate impulse to transfigure reality, his art has transformed into a laborious research process, fertile with metaphorical and visionary images, sometimes grotesque, eccentric, which we see realized in particular in the production of the early 80s.

Oil on canvas. The large scene, set in a hilly countryside, with a village and ruins in the background on the left, is completely occupied by the compact group of numerous living figures: the shepherd's family is seated in the center, watching his companion who is holding the swaddled baby in her arms; all around, the animals, from the faithful sheepdog to the animals of the flock, sheep, goats and cows, also resting. The great naturalism of the animal figures stands out, which harks back in pictorial style to the works of the school of Philipp Peter Roos, known as Rosa da Tivoli (1657-1706), the German painter considered one of the best animal painters active in Italy in the 17th century, characterized by the peculiar ability to evoke the fleece and the looks of the animals. The work, restored and relined, is presented in a gilded frame in style.

Oil on canvas. Lombard school of the 17th century. On the first canvas and mounted on the original frame. Set in a prison, the scene shows Saint Ambrose the bishop directing the person on his right, a soldier with a cross around his neck, towards the sky. He can be identified as Saint Victor, a Roman soldier originally from Mauritania, who served in Milan at the time of Maximian and was martyred for his Christian faith. It was the bishop of Milan who recounted the life and martyrdom of the saint in one of his writings and who spread his cult. On the left, another probable martyr of the faith, who witnesses the proclamation of the beatitude of his cellmate; around, numerous other figures of condemned men. The octagonal painting probably belongs to a series dedicated to the cult of the Holy Bishop of Milan. The canvas requires restoration and cleaning, presenting several stains and cuts (a tear in the centre, other smaller ones on the sides).

Oil on canvas. Northern Italian School of the 17th-18th century. The scene features the figure of the Risen Christ at the centre, seated on the clouds, holding the Cross with one hand and with the other pointing downwards, where His gaze is also directed, towards the recipients of the Redemption; He is surrounded by angels and is illuminated by a beam of intense light that projects diagonally from the top left, piercing the clouds, a symbol of the presence of God the Father. Restored and relined, the painting is presented in a late 19th century gilded frame.

Oil on canvas. Italian school of the 17th-18th century. Mary and the Baby Jesus, standing on her knees, are depicted already in the glory of heaven, with little angels at their side. Peculiar are the coral necklace and bracelets worn by the Child: in Christian symbolism the color of this material represents the blood that Jesus will have to shed; moreover, since ancient times, coral was also considered a talisman of protection against the evil eye and the forces of evil, and small children were adorned with it to protect them from the devil. The painting is on the first canvas and presented in an ancient contemporary frame.

Copper panels decorated with enamels. This is a 19th-century reproduction of the enamelled Cross of Paschal I (817-824), an important staurotheca in embossed and gilded copper, which contained within it minute fragments of the Cross of Christ, and which became part of the Treasure placed by Leo III (795-816) in the oratory called Sancta Sanctorum in the Lateran. The Cross is made up of five panels, arranged in the shape of a Latin cross, on which seven episodes from the life of Jesus are depicted with lively enamel figures. In the upper panel are the Annunciation and the Visitation of Mary; in the centre panel is the Birth of Jesus; on the left is the Flight into Egypt and on the right is the Adoration of the Magi; and finally in the lower arm is the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple and the Baptism of Jesus. The panels are composed on a wooden base and presented in a glass case frame.

Oil on canvas. Genoese school of the 18th century. The countryside landscape sees a crumbling structure rising in the center, the ruins of a building through whose torn walls you can see the masses of white clouds in the background flowing; in front of it flows a stream, in which a woman is washing clothes, while her companion sits on a nearby rock, in line with the female figure and almost symmetrical with the female figure. The scene is characterized by a particular search for light, by a dynamism of forms (you can notice the directional continuity of the treetops with the roof of the ruin and the clouds) and by the theatricality of the figures, all elements that have defined the pictorial production of the Genoese Baroque. Restored and relined, the painting is presented in a period frame.

Oil on oak panel. Flemish school of the 17th-18th century. The sacred representation shows the moment of the birth of Jesus in a cave, watched over and adored by Mary and Joseph together with four angels; the figures are well characterized and highlighted by bright colors, while behind them the donkey and the ox blend in with the chromatic uniformity of the cave and the earth. On the right, in the background and in soft colors, fading into the background landscape, the scene of the announcement to the shepherds is depicted. The painting is presented in a period frame.

Oil on canvas. The painting is inspired by the pictorial methods of Francesco Foschi (1710 -1780), an artist who specialized in landscapes and who widely spread the taste for winter landscapes. In this painting we have a glimpse of a mountain landscape, with a village located in a valley beneath rocky and snow-capped peaks. Even the houses and meadows are sprinkled with snow, which is absent on the path traveled by numerous figures; the pink atmosphere of the sky evokes the beginning of a new day, already fervent with activity. The painting has been restored and relined. It is presented in a mid-20th century frame.

Oil on canvas. Central European school of the first half of the 20th century. Unidentified signature on the lower left. In a wide valley under sharp mountain peaks, a small lake opens up, on which some houses overlook and boats sail; some common people's figures are busy with daily activities. Pleasant and serene in the green-blue hues of nature. It is presented in a period frame.