Engraving on Paper - Charity

Oil on canvas. The painting, made in the first half of the 1900s, takes up the landscape works in the subject and in the pictorial mode: in a landscape rich in vegetation and with peaks in the background, a young commoner asks for charity from some travelers who rest on the roadside , near a stone arch. The canvas has undergone aging and is presented in a late 19th century frame.

Oil on canvas. Half-length portrait of an elderly peasant couple, she with her head covered by a red scarf, he with a traditional headdress; the two faces emerge from the dark background with dignified and serene expressions. The painting is presented in a contemporary frame.

Luca Giordano's School

Oil on canvas. School of Luca Giordano. The scene depicts the conversion of Saint Paul, as recounted in the Acts of the Apostles. While traveling to Damascus to persecute the Christians, Saul (his name before his conversion), a Jew but a citizen of Rome, was suddenly enveloped in a divine light and heard the voice of Jesus asking him why he was persecuting him. This event led him to convert to Christianity, taking the name Paul and dedicating himself to spreading the Gospel. Saul is depicted falling from his horse, which has overturned on its side, while a beam of light dazzles him, coming from the cloud on which Christ is seated, surrounded by angels. Around Paul, Roman soldiers and his entourage are agitated, not understanding what is happening. The numerous figures, both human and animal, intertwine and overlap with great dynamism, supported by bright and vibrant colors. The work's style is reminiscent of Luca Giordano (1634-1705), the prolific 17th-century artist who translated modern Baroque concepts into painting with remarkable imagination and creativity, drawing on Caravaggio's naturalism and infusing it with new Baroque trends. His vast output spawned a large following of minor painters, who espoused his style. The painting was relined in the second half of the 19th century. It features paint loss at the lower right. It is presented in a late 19th-century gilded frame.

Oil painting on canvas. The coastal glimpse, near a rocky inlet where torrential waters flow, sees figures at the landing place of the ships, ready to welcome the boats that are approaching; in the distance the profile of the city. Restored and relined, the painting has widespread dirt stains especially in correspondence with the sky. It is presented in a stylish frame.

Oil painting on canvas. Northern Italian school of the eighteenth century. The landscape, set on the banks of a wide river, sees in the center some figures of peasants intent on picking fruit from a tree: a girl holds the ladder while the boy cuts off a bunch, on the left another couple places the fruit collected in a tub. All around a vast green countryside and some farmhouses. Restored and relined, the painting is presented in a period frame.

Oil on canvas. The scene corresponds to a station of the Via Crucis, during which Jesus falls under the weight of the heavy cross, which he carries on his shoulders as he climbs towards Golgotha. Christ, bent over on the ground, his gaze low and sad, is pursued by the guards, who prod him with the sticks of the lances, and one tugs at him with the rope that he has tied around his waist; a commoner looks at Jesus afflicted, while he supports the heavy wood. The painting shows traces of previous restoration and has been relined. It is presented in a period frame.

Adoration of the Shepherds

Oil on canvas. A composition replicated several times by disciples and students of the Bassano school, in particular a work by Jacopo Bassano (1515 -1592). In the original scene, here reproduced with fidelity to the composition of the figures but not to the colors, Bassano had approached the theme on the one hand respecting tradition, on the other introducing innovations. In fact, they act as a scenic backdrop of archaeological ruins, a frequent element in Italian iconography of the Nativity. Here we see a row of broken columns on a high pedestal, on the model of Greek temples, against which a hut is leaning. The unusual architectural structure symbolizes the overcoming of paganism and the construction of the Christian church, of which the birth of Jesus is the first act of foundation. The shepherds occupy the center of the scene, and if it were not for the left side of the painting, it might seem like a genre scene with a rural character. The shepherd from behind is kneeling, showing his bare feet, a reminder of his extreme humility, and holding a lamb, the sacrificial animal par excellence, a reference to the future Passion of Christ. On the far right, a curious insert: a crouching boy blowing on a burning ember, in a futile effort to rekindle a flame. In this replica, the yellow and red colors of the robes of the two shepherds in the center and of the boy on the right stand out, prevailing in vivacity even on the figures of the Holy Family and emerging from the ochre hues of the landscape and the architectural structures in the background. The painting was restored and relined in the 19th century, with the replacement of the frame (on it there is contemporary writing in English, probably export addresses). It is presented in a period frame.

Jesus on the Road to Calvary

Oil on canvas. The work is a replica of the one executed by Pierre Mignard and donated to Louis XIV, now preserved in the Louvre Museum in Paris. The dramatic scene is set just outside the walls of Jerusalem; a procession of people accompanies Jesus on his climb to Calvary, which can be glimpsed in the background on the right, with the crosses of the two thieves already erected. Instead, the Cross of Christ is carried by Simon of Cyrene, forced by the guards after Jesus' umpteenth fall, who is rudely urged with a whip to get up. In front of Christ walk the two thieves tied up, accompanied by some servants; on the left is the group of pious women who accompany and support Mary, broken-hearted with grief. In contrast to this group, there is another group of women of the people on the right, who watch in an attitude of pious compassion, averting the gaze of their children from the terrible spectacle. The landscape in the background is harsh and barren, under a sky that is filling with grey and dark clouds. The work was restored and relined in the mid-1900s, and mounted on a new frame. It is presented in a period frame.

Oil on canvas. Northern Italian school of the 17th - 18th century. The widely known biblical scene of the quarrel between the two brothers, sons of Adam and Eve, which then leads to the fratricide of Abel at the hands of Cain, is depicted here within an Italian landscape, rich in vegetation, with the complement of two particular fires. In fact, on the sides of the two figures, which occupy the center of the scene, there are two sacrificial pyres with a burning fire: however, while from Abel's, on the left, a high smoke rises which is sucked up by the clouds above it, to indicate that God has accepted this sacrifice, instead Cain's fire is low, almost crushed on the embers, and no smoke rises from it, a sign that God rejects it. Even the red color of Abel's tunic is intended to emphasize his sacrificial value, his martyrdom. The painting needs cleaning. In a period frame.

Oil on canvas. In an Italian landscape, the scene is centered on a group of commoners who are trying to get away from the besieged and burned city, carrying their goods on the cart and leading the small flock; a small group of enemy soldiers, however, has chased them and is trying to stop them, with their weapons drawn. On the back of the frame there is a pencil inscription that attributes the work to Jan Both (1618 -1652), a Dutch painter known above all as the author of Italian landscapes, often animated by figures. The painting has been restored and relined in the past. It currently requires cleaning. It is presented in a period frame.

Oil on canvas. Northern Italian school of the 17th century. In this Holy Family, the central figure is Mary: sitting in the center of the scene, she turns her face to her left toward Joseph, listening intently and concentratedly to what her companion is reading to her from a book; meanwhile, the woman's arms are lovingly covering the little Jesus with a cloth, who is sleeping peacefully in the cradle to the right of his mother. The Child's face is also illuminated and radiates its light toward his Mother. In the background is an Italian landscape. The figures appear harmonious and balanced in the movements of their bodies and the whole scene emanates a tranquility and domestic serenity, very earthly. The painting was relined at the beginning of the 20th century. Traces of previous tears and slight losses of color are visible. It is presented in a golden frame from the early 20th century (loss of gilding).

Oil on canvas. Second half of the 18th century. On the back there is a hand-written cartouche, dated May 1835 and indicating several important families (Castelbarchi, Fraganeschi, Castelbarco Litta Albani) from Northern Italy, who probably owned the work. The painting shows a Nordic landscape, of a rather barren countryside, crossed by a watercourse; a path, on which some wayfarers are passing, leads to the village at the foot of the hill. The painting is presented in a period frame, with several missing parts.