Vintage Swatch Skin Silver Meshstream SFK118 SKF130 Switzerland - Switzerland, 2000

Mixed technique on paper. Initials AS at lower right. A bouquet of roses stands out against a blue background. The painting is presented in a contemporary ebonized frame, decorated with gilded carvings.

Oil on canvas. Signed and located on the lower left margin "Roma, Enrico Scifoni" The name of the sitter is cited at the lower left: "Signorina Maria Ciaffi". Scifoni was a Roman artist who was very active as a portraitist between 1870 and 1914. The young woman portrayed is dressed in a dress and hairstyle reminiscent of the fashions of the Empire period. The painting is presented in a 19th-century gilded frame, which requires restoration.

Saint Bernard of Clairvaux

The sculpture described here, carved from a block of Swiss pine in the early 17th century, depicts Saint Bernard of Clairvaux. The composition is reminiscent of the early 16th-century engraving by Marcantonio Raimondi, who depicted the Saint in monastic habit, holding a crosier, a Bible in his hand, and a demon in chains at his feet. The sculpture was intended for a niche and therefore unfinished on the back. The standing saint is depicted in slight motion, holding an open Bible in his right hand and the beginning of the chain that binds the demon at his feet in the other. Unfortunately, the central section of the chain is missing, but it is completed with a collar; the demon is subdued by the Saint, who rests his foot on it. Although the colors and gilding have some gaps and soot, we can see that the saint's complexion is rosy, while the demon is reddish, almost brown, due to exposure to the flames of the infernal world. Note the Saint's splendid robe, which, despite depicting a monastic habit, is lacquered in shades of red with gold embroidery on the inside and gold with bluish embroidery on the outside. The robe is no longer the humble hermit's, but that of the saint in celestial glory, bathed in light, in sharper contrast to the figure of the devil.

Ornaments and Ancient Vases

Hand-colored etchings. Created by Michelangelo Pergolesi in 1777-1778; the colored decoration is a posthumous work, dating back to the 19th century. Pergolesi designed and created furniture, fireplaces, ceilings, chandeliers, doors, and wall ornaments in the neoclassical style, working primarily in England. The drawings for these etchings are numbered and likely belong to the "Disegni per Vari Ornamenti per 70 Piatti" (Designs for Various Ornaments for 70 Plates), published between 1777 and 1801. The two etchings are presented in exposed frames.

River Landscape with Figures

Oil on canvas. Signed lower right. The subject is part of the painter's strongly naturalistic oeuvre. A native of Modena, he grew up artistically in and around Milan, places that were frequent subjects in his landscape work. This landscape also evokes the Lombardy plain. The work is presented in a period frame.

Oil on canvas. In this work, the Holy Family addresses a young friar in a Franciscan habit, likely a reference to the commissioner: the Child's outstretched hands reach out to embrace him, under the protective gaze of Mary and Joseph. Previously restored and relined, the painting is presented in an antique 18th-century frame, regilded.

Saint Sebastian

A late 17th-century sculpture in the round depicting Saint Sebastian tied to a tree and pierced. The saint, depicted wearing a short robe around his hips, is tied to the trunk and a branch, with one arm raised as he gazes at the viewer, who is metaphorically piercing him with arrows. The sculpture is cast in the round and painted in polychrome, with painted sections restored. Note the restoration of part of the left foot and the lack of arrows.

Seashore with Figures

Watercolor on cardboard. Signed lower right. Paolo Sala, born and trained in Milan, distinguished himself as one of the most important landscape painters of his time, as well as a view painter of the many Italian and foreign cities in which he worked. He favored watercolors, but also painted extensively in oils. He uses quick, broad, overlapping brushstrokes, in an Impressionist style, playing with color and light to create evocative atmospheres, as in this maritime view of figures on a beach busy sifting sand. The painting is presented in a period frame.

Part of an education of the Virgin Mary

This sculpture represents part of the depiction of the scene of the Virgin's education, which traditionally features Saint Anne seated with a book in her lap, while the young Mary stands beside her, intent on learning. In this case, the statue depicts the young Virgin, the rest of the composition missing. The young woman is depicted with one hand raised and the other at her breast, as if to announce the act of blessing along with the divine motherhood that will characterize her life. She wears a long red dress covered by a blue cloak.

Figures in the Garden, ca. 1860/1870

Oil on canvas. Signed lower center. Eleuterio Pagliano was an engraver and painter of the Romantic period. He is also remembered as a hero of the Milanese Risorgimento, and was thus nicknamed the "painter-soldier". Initially, he focused on historical subjects with a patriotic flavor, but later his work shifted to Romantic subjects, genre scenes of bourgeois daily life, filled with graceful figures engaged in recreational activities. In this work, Pagliano presents a relaxing countryside scene, with gentlemen and ladies relaxing by playing cards or reading, while children play at climbing trees. The soft luminosity, the harmonious colors of the figures, which harmonize with the greenery of the countryside, and the sense of relaxation of the figures stand out, creating an overall scene of serenity and tranquility. The work is presented in a contemporary frame.

Female Portrait

Oil on cardboard. Signed lower left. Noè Bordignon, an artist from the province of Treviso, devoted himself both to easel painting, creating scenes of rural life and portraits of popular figures, with great psychological renderings of some of the period's most significant figures, particularly children, adolescents, and mothers, and to frescoing sacred subjects for the churches of his area. In this work, Bordignon portrays a young commoner, creating a portrait of strong expressive intensity, despite the highly naturalistic rendering of the figure. Framed.