The Swatch Centennial Olympic Games Collection Switzerland 1996 - Switzerland, 1996

Italy, Late XIX Century

Half-moon walnut corner cabinet, central door and drawer under the top, perforated top with two shelves. Bracket legs. Italy, late 19th century.

Sketches for Aida

Mixed media on paper. Seven signed and dated sketches, and, at the top, a reproduction of the artist's signature. These are works by the prominent Italian painter Remo Brindisi, whose painting, based on a descriptive and realistic approach in his early works, added expressionist nuances in his later works, giving rise to his own neo-figurative language. His work is always imbued with social and political intentions. Brindisi also worked as a sculptor, illustrator, writer, set designer, and cultural curator. From a private collection in Milan. His collaboration on the grandiose sets and costumes for the 1974 production of Aida at the Verona Arena was particularly noteworthy. A series of seven signed and dated sketches from this work is presented here. Framed

Landscape with Flock and Shepherds

Oil on canvas. Signed lower left. This is likely Achille Dovera's largest work, presumably intended for an important patron. A small preparatory sketch on wood depicting the same scene has been sold on the market. In the center of the foreground, the work features a large flock of sheep walking along a path, accompanied by several shepherds. The animals emerge, enveloped in a great cloud of dust, from a passage through lush vegetation, in a flat countryside against the backdrop of mountain peaks. The Milanese painter Achille Dovera is considered a leading exponent of 19th-century naturalist and genre painting. A landscape painter, Dovera formally maintains a connection with phenomenal reality, which he reproduces with precision, even though color and light play a fundamental role; his rapid, moving brushstrokes lend freshness and immediacy to the scene without disrupting the forms. This large painting is presented in a beautiful, contemporary gilded wooden frame.

Oil on walnut panel. The painting follows early 16th-century Tuscan models (for example, the pictorial style of Domenico Puligo), but is a slightly later production and by a weaker hand, typical of "peripheral"production. The absolutely traditional subject features the Madonna breastfeeding the Baby Jesus, framed by a curtain; the infant, sucking at his mother's breast, looks toward the viewer, while the mother gazes tenderly at her son. The monogram CP appears on the back of the panel, likely indicating the artist. The panel has several small paint losses.

Oil on canvas. Northern Italian school, early 18th century. A landscape of rocky hills features a village of turreted buildings, rising near the seashore, visible in the background on the right. In the foreground, along a small coastal inlet, popular life is bustling, with numerous figures engaged in various activities. The painting shows signs of previous restoration and relining; the crack is currently well-defined, but the color is still intact. The painting is presented in an antique frame, with minor losses.

Oil on chestnut panel. Central European school, 16th century. The traditional scene shows the Baby Jesus, in the arms of his Mother, with whom he exchanges a tender gaze, preparing to slip the wedding ring onto the finger of Catherine of Alexandria, symbolizing the mystical marriage the young saint desired to enter into with the Divine Child. The saint is depicted, as per her customary iconography, wearing a crown and regal robes and jewels, to emphasize her princely origins. The painting is likely the work of a Flemish artist inspired by Italian models of the 15th and 16th centuries. The panel shows signs of previous restoration.

Multiplo in Feltro 1974

Collage of felt fragments on panel. Signed and dated on the back, with serial number no. 28/75. Dorazio paints abstract-geometric paintings, developing various forms over the years: after an initial production of monochromatic works, he introduced color in the early 1960s, creating geometric compositions on large, free-form patterns, with layers of flat colors. From the second half of the 1960s, he worked on dynamic formal situations enclosed in horizontal grids; from the 1970s, he thickened the texture with minimal, still horizontal, lines of color and line, using various materials. Framed.

Figure in Landscape 1920

Oil on canvas. Signature, date, and location (Venice) at lower left. Work by the Venetian artist Giovanni Caldana, who established himself as a portraitist. Presented here is a portrait of a man in walking attire against the backdrop of Alpine mountain slopes. The work is presented in a period frame.

Big New Year's Eve Party 1960

Mixed media on paper. Signed and dated lower right. A humorous and ironic presentation of the menu for the 1960 New Year's Eve party, by the renowned Russian set designer, painter, and illustrator Nicola Benois, who was the chief set designer at Milan's Teatro Alla Scala from 1935. The work includes a photo of a thank-you note that accompanied the piece, addressed to the friend with whom the artist shared the party. Framed work.

The Man in the Kitchen

Mixed media on paper. Signed lower center. The renowned Russian set designer, painter, and illustrator Nicola Benois, who was the chief set designer at Milan's Teatro Alla Scala from 1935, contributed some of his drawings in 1977 to illustrate Francesco de' Rogati's book, "La cucina dell' uomo solo" (SM editore, 1977). The original drawing, which later served as the cover illustration for the text, printed in a smaller format, is shown here. Framed.

The Man in the Kitchen

Mixed media on paper. Signed lower center. The renowned Russian set designer, painter, and illustrator Nicola Benois, who was the chief set designer at Milan's Teatro alla Scala from 1935, contributed some of his drawings in 1977 to illustrate Francesco de' Rogati's book, "La cucina dell'uomo solo" (SM editore, 1977). Presented here is an original drawing, which was later used as an illustration for the text, printed in a smaller format. Framed.

The Man in the Kitchen

Mixed media on paper. Signed lower center. The renowned Russian set designer, painter, and illustrator Nicola Benois, who was the chief set designer at Milan's Teatro Alla Scala from 1935, contributed some of his drawings in 1977 to illustrate Francesco de' Rogati's book,"La cucina dell' uomo solo" (SM editore, 1977). Presented here is an original drawing, which was later used as an illustration for the text, printed in a smaller format. Framed.