Painting of a Little Girl's Face

Copy from David Teniers II

Oil on panel. The painting is a revised copy of the famous work by David Teniers the Younger (1610 -1690), executed between 1634 and 1640 and currently preserved at the Prado Museum in Madrid. The title of the lively scene refers to the so-called Twelfth Night, a celebration corresponding to the Epiphany, precisely twelve days after Christmas, which was the last night of celebrations, in which one could drink beyond one's limits, dedicate oneself to love, to partner and gender swapping, a sort of carnival, during which the King of Misrule (literally the king of Misrule) was elected, a ruler in reverse who imposed his laws, subverting rules and behaviors. This work, like many others by Teniers, had such success linked to the numerous commissions from royals and aristocrats during the 18th century, as to induce a large posthumous production of copyists, many of whom even signed with the artist's name. The painting presented here has several paint losses, to be remedied. It is in a late 19th century frame, adapted for size.

Composed of woodblocked sheets, sewn together and partly colored, with matching figures and texts. The group consists of 23 booklets, of which two in three copies and one in four copies; another couple has the same cover but different contents. The booklets can be considered as "manga" of the nineteenth century: the word "manga" still today can designate many different productions, such as single cartoons, scattered drawings, more elaborate illustrations, comic strips, comic books, as well as animated drawings. Therefore, starting from the assumption that there is no "manga form" but different ways of conceiving objects and graphic forms all denominated with this word, the term manga can be attested in literary and essayistic use in Japan as early as the eighteenth century to indicate, as mentioned above, drawings and sketches. But it is from the first half of the nineteenth century that Katsushika Hokusai's 15 volumes of illustrations, studies, graphic entertainment and detailed bichromatic prints became established, thanks to the progressive publication, starting from 1814. If, on the other hand, we want to give the word the more specific meaning of “stories drawn in sequence”, then the debut must be placed in the second half of the nineteenth century, similarly to what happened in Europe and the United States for comics. The booklets are in good condition.

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.

The Announcement of Defeat at Waterloo

Oil painting on canvas. French school of the 19th century. The scene, set in the poor bedroom of an elderly war veteran, who is crying in his bed, sees his family telling him the sad news of the defeat at Waterloo, as can be deduced from the sheet of newspaper in the woman's hands, on which the name of the historic location where Napoleon Bonaparte was definitively defeated. The canvas shows signs of previous restorations, in particular the patch corresponding to the female figure is clearly visible. It is presented in an early 20th century setting.

Oil painting on canvas. Northern European school of the early 19th century. The painting, according to nineteenth-century taste, aims to propose more of a genre scene than a landscape: in the foreground, in a barren countryside landscape with traces of snow, the figures of a small family descending from a sort of sleigh stand out. made of wood, filled with straw and pulled by a horse. Restored and relined, the painting is presented in a gilded wooden frame in style, with several defects.

Oil on canvas. French school of the late 19th century. Trace of unidentified signature at the top right. In the foreground, the faces of two popular characters who seem caricatured, perhaps characters in a theatrical performance: it seems the scene of a satirical courtship, with the man who looks lasciviously at the woman, certainly not young and attractive, who is holding a bunch of flowers with an expression between resigned and confused. The painting is presented in a frame from the early 1900s.

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. 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. Inside an inn, which almost seems to be made in a cave, opening onto a rather barren countryside, some men eat, drink and relax at the table next to the fire, while a woman sitting on the floor watches them amused while eating. The figures are grotesque, almost caricatural, the colors earthy, to underline the peasant extraction of the scene. Restored and relined, the painting is presented in an ancient frame.

Oil on canvas. The wide view frames a snowy mountain landscape, with a wide valley under sharp peaks, in which a small lake opens up; small figures of wayfarers walk along the path that starts from the village on the left. The whiteness of the snow creates a muffled and luminous atmosphere, in contrast with the dark cloudy sky. The painting is presented in a golden frame from the early 1900s.

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.

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).