Antique Painting The Holy Family Oil on Canvas Italy XVIII Century

Oil on canvas. Venetian School, 18th century. In a countryside landscape with rolling hills, a woman milks her cow by the stream; next to her, another woman with a small child on her shoulder waits, jug in hand, waiting for her own supply. The painting shows signs of previous restoration and relining. It currently requires further restoration to remove the colors. It is presented in a period frame.

Oil on panel. The painting echoes the composition of Titian's masterpiece (dated 1510, currently in the Louvre), but places it in a completely different landscape and develops it on the sides, with the introduction of a goat on the right and a faun playing a flute on the left. Furthermore, the four figures taken from Titian are developed inverted, probably because the artist of our painting was inspired by an engraving. The central scene shows two young men sitting on a meadow making music, flanked by a young woman with her back turned, while a second is drawing water from a marble basin. The two women are both naked, barely covered by slipping cloaks, while the two men, speaking to each other, are dressed in period costumes. The subject is intended to be an allegory of poetry and music, with the two women of ideal beauty, who are like two unreal apparitions generated by the imagination and inspiration of the two young men. The painting presented here shows traces of previous restorations. Currently, there are some paint losses and damage to the panel.

Period of Carlo Cignani

Oil on canvas. The painting closely replicates the one created by Carlo Cignani in 1702/1704, and is therefore the work of one of his students or at least from his workshop or circle. The scene depicts the infant Jupiter being suckled by the goat Amalthea, surrounded by nymphs and fauns intent on making music. According to myth, his mother Rhea, to save the child from his father Saturn, who devoured his children, hid him on the island of Crete, where he was raised by forest nymphs. The painting has undergone restoration and relining. It is presented in an antique gilded wooden frame.

Oil on panel. This amateurish work is reminiscent of Guido Reni, who created numerous portraits of the legendary fortune teller, traditionally wearing a turban. The work is presented in a beautiful contemporary gilded wooden frame.

Oil on canvas. Emilian School, 18th century. The large canvas depicts the Madonna in glory, seated on clouds in the sky, with Baby Jesus in her arms; angels and winged cherubs flutter around her. The entire scene is characterized by light and movement, and an atmosphere of lightness and serenity; the little cherubs in particular are depicted in joyful and playful poses, contrasting with the serious, yet smiling, attitudes of the two angels and of Mary and Jesus, engaged in an important symbolic gesture. In fact, the angel on the right and the two cherubs below are holding "scapulars"—two rectangular pieces of fabric held together by a string—and are handing them to Mary. These objects are a devotional symbol linked to the Madonna del Carmine (or Madonna of Mount Carmel), one of the oldest and most widespread Marian devotions, linked to the Order of Carmelites founded on Mount Carmel in the Holy Land in the 12th century. A symbol of protection and consecration, wearing the scapular—a gesture performed by various religious orders and lay people alike—is equivalent to a commitment to live one's faith united with Mary, imitating her virtues. The painting thus celebrates Mary's commitment to take under her protection those who trust in her. Originally from a major Bolognese collection, the canvas has been restored and relined in the past.

Disciple of Carlo Cignani

Oil on canvas. This work is one of several contemporary versions and replicas of a work by Carlo Cignani, testifying to the subject's success. It can be traced back to his workshop or one of his followers. The allegory of Charity was one of Carlo Cignani's favorite themes, and he painted it several times. She is always depicted as a breastfeeding woman, often surrounded by numerous children, a symbol of the unconditional love she gives to others. In this depiction, the woman is breastfeeding two older children while she covers the swaddled newborn sleeping in the crib. The scene is lively and serene, characterized by natural gestures, simple yet full of tenderness; one of the children holds two cherries, a symbol of love and sweetness. The painting shows signs of restoration and relining carried out in the late 19th century. The gilded frame, decorated with friezes, also dates back to this period.

Oil on canvas. Northern Italian School, 18th century. The gentleman, elegantly dressed with a red cape, is portrayed with various objects placed on the desk in front of him—books, a compass, and other drawing tools—indicating his interest in the arts and culture. The painting has been restored and relined in antique style. It is presented in a contemporary lacquered wooden frame.

Oil on canvas. Large pastoral scene, with a herd of cattle and sheep drinking from the river, while on the left a shepherdess gives directions to a traveler; in the background are blue-toned rocky reliefs. The back of the canvas is marked "School of Domenico Brandi": the pictorial style indeed harks back to the Neapolitan landscape painter (1684-1736), known for his bucolic landscapes enlivened by pastoral figures. It could therefore be the work of a pupil or a follower. The painting has been restored and relined in the past. It currently has dirt stains. It is presented in a period frame.

Oil on panel. Venetian school, mid-16th century. The crucified Christ at the center of the scene is surrounded by four saints identified by their iconographic symbols: on the left, Saint Francis and Saint Jerome; on the right, Saint Sebastian and Saint Roch. In the background is a view of a city, likely Rome, indicating the connection with the Church as an institution. A paper label with a number is on the back (from a 19th-century private collection). The painting is presented in a frame.

Oil painting on canvas. The painting offers a half-length portrait of a young man who, in deshabillé, is lighting his pipe by drawing fire with a stick from the candle placed in front of him, on the table where a sword is also placed: perhaps it is a young knight in a moment of rest. It is precisely the candle, the only source of light in the scene, which suggests that the artist looked to the production of Georges De La Tour (1593 -1652), the French painter of the Caravaggio style who established himself for his "nocturnal" scenes, characterized by figures, usually low-ranking people rather than historical models or high-ranking figures, illuminated by the light of a candle, to create a special atmosphere of intimacy. The painting, restored and relined, is presented in a period frame.

Oil painting on canvas. The scene takes place near a military camp: outside a tent on the left an army leader, probably Greek, is receiving offerings from a group of men, poor and ragged, who prostrate themselves before the new master; the first is holding out some loaves of bread, another is taking something out of a sack, the third is showing the wounds on his body to ask for mercy; behind them other figures of beggars are approaching, forming a scattered line on the path fading into the distance on the right. In the background on the left, life in the military camp is bustling. The painting has been restored and relined.

Oil painting on canvas. Italian school of the 17th-18th centuries. A large composition of colorful flowers, in embossed metal vases, and some fruits scattered on the ground, are placed close to a wall overlooking a maritime landscape: the brightness of the sky and sea on the right contrasts with the shaded area on the left, on which the colors of the flowers stand out. The painting, relined and restored, has a significant crack. It is presented in a contemporary lacquered and gilded frame.