Antique Painting Religious Subject Oil on Canvas Italy XVII Century

Oil on canvas. The scene depicts an episode from the 17th-century novel "Les Aventures de Télémaque" (The Adventures of Telemachus) by François Fénelon, published in 1699. In Fénelon's tale, Telemachus (son of Ulysses), while searching for his father accompanied by Mentor (who disguises himself as the goddess Athena), is shipwrecked on the island of Calypso and falls in love with a nymph. To prevent Telemachus from leaving the island and abandoning the girl, the goddess Calypso, who has taken them in, orders her nymphs to burn the ship on which Telemachus and Mentor had arrived. In the painting presented, in the left foreground, Mentor urges the young Telemachus to turn away, while he is still gazing at the girl standing on the path to the right; meanwhile, the other nymphs set fire to the boat, stranded on the shore, with their torches. The canvas, previously relined, has several paint losses. It is presented in a period frame.

Oil on canvas. Central Italian School, 17th century. Iconography recognizes this figure as the hermit saint Onuphrius, who lived as an anchorite in the Egyptian desert in the 4th century. He is depicted here in a rocky, desolate setting (typical of paintings that celebrate the theme of penance and asceticism), traditionally as an old man with a long beard and white hair, almost completely naked (covered only by a loincloth of leaves), kneeling, his hands clasped in prayer or in a gesture of profound imploration, a rosary attached to his arm, a cross, and an open book (a Bible) on the rock beside him—signs of prayer and meditation. The painting has been restored and relined in the past. It is presented in a refitted antique frame.

Oil on canvas. Lombard-Venetian School, late 17th-early 18th century. A farmer is depicted in the foreground, half-length, carrying a hoe on his shoulder. The figure is characterized by meticulous detail, from the wrinkles on the face to the dirt on the hands, from the tattered clothes to the roughness of the hoe. The painting's style recalls the work of Pietro Bellotti, who introduced figures of a similar nature into his portraiture. The painting has been restored and relined in the past. Framed in period style.

Oil on canvas. Central Italian School, 18th century. Large boar hunting scene, with knights, servants, and dogs scattered across the wooded countryside. Notable is the presence in the left foreground of a Moorish assistant, restraining one of the dogs and carrying a rifle on his shoulder. The painting has been restored and relined in the past. It is presented in a contemporary antique frame.

Oil on panel. 18th-century Northern European School. The horizontally arranged scene depicts the myth of Orpheus, son of Apollo, who received a lyre from his father with which he tamed wild animals, moved rocks, and bent trees. The tale is known from Virgil's Georgics and Ovid's Metamorphoses: a symbol of the civilizing power of art, it is a popular subject in European art. Orpheus is depicted in the center, sitting on a rock among trees, playing the lyre. On the sides are numerous animals of various breeds coming toward him, from natural environments near and far, including exotic animals (an elf, lions, a llama, etc.), and, on the right edge, a fantastical beast, the unicorn. In the background is a stream with a city on the shore; on the left, on the hill, a small temple, probably dedicated to the god Apollo. The painting has been restored in the past. It is presented in a period gilded frame.

Oil on panel. The painting echoes the composition of Titian's masterpiece (dated 1510, currently in the Louvre), but places it in a completely different landscape and develops it on the sides, with the introduction of a goat on the right and a faun playing a flute on the left. Furthermore, the four figures taken from Titian are developed inverted, probably because the artist of our painting was inspired by an engraving. The central scene shows two young men sitting on a meadow making music, flanked by a young woman with her back turned, while a second is drawing water from a marble basin. The two women are both naked, barely covered by slipping cloaks, while the two men, speaking to each other, are dressed in period costumes. The subject is intended to be an allegory of poetry and music, with the two women of ideal beauty, who are like two unreal apparitions generated by the imagination and inspiration of the two young men. The painting presented here shows traces of previous restorations. Currently, there are some paint losses and damage to the panel.

Disciple of Pietro da Cortona

Oil on canvas. The work is based on the fresco created by Pietro da Cortona on a wall of the Sala della Stufa in Palazzo Pitti, part of the cycle of the Four Ages of Man, inspired by Ovid's Metamorphoses. Scenes from the Bronze and Iron Ages contrast images of a civilized society with those of the violence perpetrated during wartime. As Ovid states, fraud and deception arose during the Iron Age, and men not only demanded that the earth bear fruit, but also dug into its depths. Thus iron and gold were discovered, and war began, bringing with it acts of pillage and violent plunder, even against the defenseless, such as the elderly, women, and children. This scene, also known as "Group of Soldiers Massacring Civilians" depicts dramatic scenes of violence and oppression, such as the soldier in the foreground about to kill the defenseless old man lying on the ground, or, on the right, the man cutting off a young mother's hair to take her ornaments, despite her pleas. The painting shows traces of previous minor restorations. It has a frame.

Oil on canvas. Northern Italian school, 17th century. The large scene is animated by numerous intertwining figures: in the center, illuminated by the beam of light coming from above, Mary with the baby Jesus in her arms, watched over by St. Joseph on the right; on the left, the three wise men, bearing their gifts in rich caskets, and their entire entourage, along with the angels watching from above. A curious detail is the two little angels at the bottom, preparing the manger to welcome the baby Jesus. The painting has been restored and relined in the past. Frame in period style.

Oil on canvas. The scene depicts a plea for clemency from a king: a man begs the king to pardon the young man who is about to be beheaded by two servants; curiously, a crowned head lies at the king's feet. The scene takes place in a camp near a city, with several soldiers attending, while the two prisoners are in civilian clothes, as are the servants brandishing swords over the prisoner. The scene is not clearly linked to a specific biblical historical episode, but it certainly aims to convey the king's mercy, contrasted with severe justice. The painting has been restored and relined in the past. It is presented in an early 20th-century frame, regilded.

Oil on canvas. French school, late 17th century. The painting is inspired by the one by Nicolas Poussin, created around 1635 and now on loan to the National Gallery in Edinburgh. However, compared to that work, ours features many variations and is much smaller (the entire right section of Poussin's scene, full of foreground and background figures, has been eliminated). The subject recounts a biblical episode from the Book of Exodus: the people of Egypt were wandering in the Sinai desert, and were without water; God then ordered Moses to take his staff, gather the elders, and strike the rock at Horeb before the people: from it sprang a spring of water, from which all the people could quench their thirst. The painting presented has been restored and relined in the past. It is presented in a late 19th-century frame.

Copy from Jacopo Palma il Vecchio

Oil on canvas. The original painting from which this painting is based, faithful even to its size, belonging to a private collection, was exhibited in 2022 at the exhibition organized by the Museum of Santa Caterina in Treviso. The work depicts the Madonna and Child in the center, with two saints on the right, almost isolated in a spiritual discussion. The rightmost figure is Saint Catherine, recognizable by her cogwheel symbol; on the left is Saint Joseph, depicted with a youthful appearance, likely because he uses the features of the patron. The painting has been restored in the past. It is presented in a gilded frame, in period style.

Oil painting on canvas. The painting offers a half-length portrait of a young man who, in deshabillé, is lighting his pipe by drawing fire with a stick from the candle placed in front of him, on the table where a sword is also placed: perhaps it is a young knight in a moment of rest. It is precisely the candle, the only source of light in the scene, which suggests that the artist looked to the production of Georges De La Tour (1593 -1652), the French painter of the Caravaggio style who established himself for his "nocturnal" scenes, characterized by figures, usually low-ranking people rather than historical models or high-ranking figures, illuminated by the light of a candle, to create a special atmosphere of intimacy. The painting, restored and relined, is presented in a period frame.