Painting of the Penitent Magdalene

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.

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. Central European school of the 18th century. At the center of the scene, set in a landscape rich in vegetation, is a shepherd with his flock of sheep, captured in a moment of rest; behind them is the farmhouse with the stable. On the back there is a collection label and the word "Tedesco" (German) is hand-written on the frame, probably to indicate the provenance. The painting is on the first canvas, with the original frame and contemporary frame, regilded.

Oil on canvas. Central European school of the 18th century. The vast Nordic landscape, rich in vegetation, is crossed by a small stream, along which, in the foreground, a herd of cows is drinking; in particular, the shepherd who, kneeling on the bank, is reciting a prayer; two other wayfarers not far away are observing him. On the back there is a collection cartouche and the word "German" is hand-written on the frame, probably to indicate the provenance. The painting is on the first canvas, with the original frame and contemporary frame, regilded.

Female Head

Tempera on wood depicting a half-length female figure; she wears a red dress over a light-colored tunic, while a green cloth rests on her right shoulder. The red hair is gathered in a central parting and is partly covered by a white headdress; the full face has an absorbed expression: the pensive gaze, the arched eyebrows and the slightly furrowed lips. Presented in a frame made with parts of an ancient frame of larger size.

Oil on canvas. Venetian school of the late 17th-early 18th century. Within a large classical landscape, rich in vegetation and with pink atmospheres, there is a small group of soldiers: some, resting on a rock overlooking a stream, are watching one of them who is getting wet, after having placed his armor in the water. The painting was presented at the Lempertz auction in 2017 with an attribution to Andrea Locatelli (1695 -1741) and an estimate of €7/9 thousand; the pictorial methods of the work also seem closer to those of Marco Ricci (1676 -1730), widely taken up by other authors of the Venetian area. Restored and relined, the painting is presented in a late 19th century gilded frame.

Oil on canvas. Set in a classic landscape, rich in vegetation, the scene represents the biblical episode from the book of Genesis which tells how the people of Israel, who are crossing the Sinai desert to reach the Promised Land, find themselves without water: Moses invokes God's help and performs the miracle of making water spring from a rock. In the scene, the people of Israel rejoice and celebrate the miracle, rushing to bathe and quench their thirst in the pool of water evoked by Moses, who can be glimpsed standing to the left of the dry trunk in the foreground, a symbol of the aridity of the land. The branches of the trees moved by a strong wind and the sky full of dark clouds that are beginning to tear, evoke the presence of God. The multiple figures, rendered with accurate details, create movement and action. This painting has already been presented at the Lempertz auction with an attribution to Giovanni Ghisolfi (1623 -1683), an artist who developed a perfect combination between past and modernity, thanks to a deep interest in classicism, rendered however with effective perspective precision in the landscape and great precision of details in the figures. Restored and relined, the painting is presented in a late 19th century gilded frame.

Oil painting on canvas. Northern Italian school of the 17th-18th century. The work of a devotional nature, sees the Virgin Mary seated on the clouds and assisted by two angels who support her garments, is venerated by two saints, kneeling at her feet: on the right the young woman in princely clothes, at whose feet is resting a royal crown, it refers to Elizabeth of Hungary; on the left, the saint holding the Infant Jesus in his arms can be identified as San Caetano da Thiene. Particular is the play of glances between the various characters, which intertwine together with the positions and gestures, to create an almost circular movement. The painting has been restored and relined. It is presented in an ancient frame restored at the beginning of the 20th century, with various current shortcomings (to be restored).

Oil painting on canvas. It is a vintage copy of the engraving of the same name made by Annibale Carracci (1560-1609), which had immediate success and gave rise to a series of printed replicas and painted copies. It presents the moment of the Passion in which Christ is crowned with the crown of thorns, the object of torture, the disparaging symbol of his proclamation as King of Kings. The act is performed by two figures, the Roman soldier and the Jew, representing the two people who they took part in Christ's death sentence. The figures, vigorous and sanguine, those of the two tormentors paler and more inert than the victim, create an intertwined composition of bodies, with that of the central Jesus joining the other two, uniting them in the shared responsibility of what they are doing; placed sideways, Jesus has his head bent forcibly to the left by the soldier who imposes the crown of thorns on him, while the Jew on the right places the bamboo cane in his hand, replacing the scepter. The scene is dominated by gloomy and dark colors, among which only the bright red of Christ's robe stands out, a symbol of his suffering humanity. The painting has been restored and relined. It is presented in a beautiful coeval frame, with shortcomings.

Oil on canvas. Lombard school of the 17th century. According to the classic iconography, the penitent Magdalene is depicted with tears in her eyes, her hair loose, undressed, holding the jar of ointment with which she anointed Jesus in the Gospel episode, and the skull, the Memento mori par excellence. Above her, a little angel points to the sky above. The pictorial methods are very similar to a similar work by Panfilo Nuvolone (1581 -1651), an Italian painter active between Lombardy and Emilia, an interpreter of an outdated late Mannerism inspired by the dictates of the Counter-Reformation, known for his still lifes but also the author of figures similar to this one. The painting, restored and relined, is presented in an antique gilded frame.

Oil on canvas. Venetian school of the 17th century. The figures, portrayed in the foreground half-length, see Mary placed in the center with the baby Jesus in her arms; behind them on the left is Saint Joseph and below him the little John the Baptist, dressed in furs and with the traditional cross-shaped staff with the band bearing the inscription "Ecce Agnus Dei". The gazes of these four figures are turned to the left, where Saint Catherine of Siena appears, recognizable by the black habit of the Dominicans, and by her iconographic attributes, the crown of thorns, the stigmata and the lily. Jesus is holding out his hands towards her, to stipulate that mystical marriage that characterized the saint. Restored and relined, the painting shows widespread small losses of color. It is presented in a re-adapted 19th century frame.

Oil on canvas. Portrait of a nobleman, proud with his hand resting on the hilt of his sword and dressed in a cloak edged with ermine. At the top right appears the coat of arms of his family, which features a red lion rampant crowned and holding a sword; across is a band with three groups of balls arranged in a flower. A similar lion rampant is found in the coat of arms of some cities in central Italy, such as Faenza. Restored and relined, the painting is presented in a contemporary frame in carved and lacquered wood.