70s Mirror

Group of Sixteen Works with Photos and Mixed Techniques

Group of sixteen works, featuring photographs and mixed media. Edition no. V of XX. This is an extremely rare multiple edition, signed by sixteen artists to publicize the celebrated exhibition "Collective Exhibition" organized by Roberto Peccolo and Studio Marconi in 1977 at the Galleria D'Arte Lastaria in Rome. The exhibition aimed to promote works that combined, sometimes in parallel, sometimes in a single piece, two different artistic mediums: painting and photography. The exhibition highlighted the value of photography, with all its related technical possibilities (enlargements, close-ups, reproductions, etc.), as a potential new field of artistic inquiry. The following participated in this project: Vincenzo Aglietti, Denis Alkan, Roberta Allen, Monika Baumgartl, Ania Bien, Han Bierman, Mari Boeyen, Blythe Bohnen, Vincenzo Cecchini, Bruno Di Bello, Giulio Paolini, Lucio Pozzi, Richard Thatcher, Olivier Thomé, Jose Urbach, and Gianfranco Zappettini. The series comprises 15 works, each measuring 39 x 29 cm, and one measuring 58 x 29 cm (because it is composed of two pieces placed side by side). They are mounted in glass frames; the back of the mounting panel bears the artist's name, serial number, and inventory number. The group is accompanied by a text written by Studio Marconi, with an introduction by Roberto Peccolo, along with biographical and critical notes on the artists and black-and-white reproductions of their works presented in the exhibition.

The Women of Cervara Rome

Oil on canvas. This high-quality painting is a replica of Hébert's 1856 work, exhibited at the Salon Carré in 1859 and at the Exposition Internationale de Champ de Mars in 1867. The work is currently on display at the Musée d'Orsay. The painting depicts three generations of women, symbolizing the three ages of life: childhood, youth, and old age. It depicts a little girl and two women walking under an archway to draw water. Hébert lived for several years in Cervara—an ancient village in the province of Rome, famous for its rock-carved figures—and in his work of folk subjects, he depicted the life and spirit of the villagers, in their everyday actions and their emotional feelings. The work presented here is framed in the same period.

Oil on canvas. The saint is recognizable as Jude Thaddeus, one of the Twelve Apostles, by the halberd he holds in his hands, the instrument of his martyrdom. Another recurring symbol in the iconography of the saint, and featured in this depiction, is the book, symbolizing the Word of God, which Thaddeus fervently proclaimed. The painting shows signs of previous restoration and relining. It is presented in an antique wooden frame.

Oil on canvas. Off a lake shoreline punctuated by mountain peaks, two women and a child row in a small boat, carrying bundles of wood and baskets; they're probably simply crossing to the other shore. The rosy atmosphere of a sunset stands out, creating colorful reflections on the water and the snow-capped mountain peaks. The work is presented in a contemporary carved and gilded wooden frame.

Oil on oval panel. The painting reflects 18th-century pictorial styles: in a broad landscape with mountain peaks in the background, a river flows, flanked by houses; at the center of the scene, a stone bridge spans it, over which several figures walk, while other characters go about their daily tasks on the path or along the river itself. The painting is presented in a contemporary gilded wooden frame.

The Involuntary Confession

Oil on canvas. This is a copy of a painting by Benjamin Vautier from 1881, sold at a Sotheby's auction in 1998. The Swiss artist specialized in popular genre scenes: in this painting, two young women walking along the path leading out of the little church behind them exchange secrets, unaware of the priest sitting reading his breviary on the bench behind the tree! The work is presented in a period frame.

Oil on canvas. Portrait of a young woman with her dog, outdoors, against a vast river landscape. The painting, on the first canvas, shows traces of previous restorations. It is presented in a period frame.

Vase of Carnations

Oil on canvas. Signed lower right. The Pisan artist was best known as an engraver (he taught engraving at the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence) but also devoted himself to painting, which he achieved with remarkable originality and extraordinary poetic depth, using colors that he himself defined as "the colors of the soul." Although he favored popular subjects, flowers were also often the subject of his works, so much so that a section of a recent (2023) retrospective dedicated to him in Pisa was titled "The Colors and Flowers of the Soul". The work is presented in a contemporary frame.

Oil on canvas. Flemish School, 18th century. The work was attributed to the circle of Hendrick Mommers (1623-1693) at a Christie's auction in 1991. It features a classic architectural capriccio, a vast landscape featuring the ruins of a majestic classical building. This work also features numerous figures walking along the path in front of the ruins: a herdsman with his flock, a woman with a child, and a couple on a romantic stroll. The work is still on its original canvas and is in excellent condition. It is presented in a period gilded frame.

The Proposal

Oil on canvas. The scene depicts a marriage proposal between two commoners and is a copy of the work by Eugène Von Blass (1843-1931) from 1887. The Italian-Austrian artist often depicted this theme, as well as other genre scenes of simple, everyday life. The work is presented in a period gilded frame.

View of the Matterhorn

Three oil paintings on cardboard. All three panels are signed in the lower right corner. The three paintings together create a single, continuous composition: the central panel depicts the summit of Mount Cervino, while the two lower panels extend the mountain range on both sides to the most famous peak. Alessandro Catalani painted views and landscapes, in oils and watercolors, characterized by soft colors and loose brushstrokes. The work is presented in a contemporary frame (to be restored).