Antique Altar Cards Neo-Baroque Carved Wood Italy XIX Century - Italy, XIX Century

Oil on canvas. Central European School, mid-19th century. In the center of the scene, before a throne surmounted by a red velvet canopy and flanked by royal insignia, a king is settling a dispute between two groups of men, represented by several dignitaries in civilian clothes. Behind them, two different flags rise from the crowd; these are likely two political factions from the same city. The city's skyline in the background places the scene in a Central European context. The painting was applied in the early 20th century to plywood. It is presented in a regilded, late-19th-century frame.

Copy from Francesco Guardi

Oil on canvas. The original painting, created by Francesco Guardi in 1746 and donated to the Venice Civic Museums in 1830 from the collection of Abbot Teodoro Correr, has been on display at Ca' Rezzonico since 1936. The painting is an "interior view" in which the painter carefully and delicately depicts the visiting room of the monastery of San Zaccaria. The daughters of the most important Venetian families were nuns in the convent: in the parlor, relatives and friends could converse with the nuns, and puppet shows were also organized for the little ones during these gatherings, as seen on the right. Guardi's work is characterized by its portrayal of all the familiar elements of eighteenth-century Venice, with its gallant and worldly atmosphere that also permeated convents. The copy presented here is fairly faithful to the original, although it is missing a section on the right, behind the small theater. Having already undergone restoration and relining in the past, the painting currently requires cleaning. It is presented in a period frame.

Oil on canvas. French school, mid-19th century. The scene, set at the entrance to the grounds of a villa during a romantic sunset, depicts the first meeting between a beautiful young woman, accompanied by her father, and a suitor, who is introduced by the black-clad figure in the center, the matchmaker. The painting is part of the 19th-century historical-literary pictorial movement, which depicted literary episodes in a romantic vein. The figures in this scene wear 16th-17th-century clothing and could be characters from a famous novel. For example, the old father's clothing recalls Pantalone, the Commedia dell'Arte character who tries to force his beautiful daughter Rosaura into a marriage of convenience, a theme widely used in literature. The painting has undergone minor restorations. It is presented in a period frame.

Oil on canvas. Northern European school, late 19th-early 20th century. In a resting place, a group of soldiers, having laid aside their armor and weapons, are playing dice on a drum, with an elegant gentleman in red challenging them. Thimble painting is an identical version by Robert Alexander Hillingford (1828-1904), a British painter of historical scenes, often depicting military life. The painting has been restored in the past. It is presented in a mid-20th-century frame.

Preparing for the Market

Oil on canvas. Signed lower right. The scene shows the old farmer sitting smoking a pipe in the kitchen, in front of the burning fireplace, while he watches amusedly as his grandson tries to use the steelyard. On the floor, baskets of vegetables from their garden are being prepared for sale at the market. The work of the Florentine painter Adolfo Dumini features many similar genre scenes, depicting everyday life with vivacity and cheerfulness, and a wealth of detail. The painting is presented in a contemporary gilded frame.

The Little Girl and the Sheep

Oil on canvas. Signed lower right. Cesare Laurenti was a multifaceted artist, highly influential in the history of applied arts in Italy between the 19th and 20th centuries, ranging from easel painting to mural decoration, sculpture, illustration, architecture, engraving, monumental ceramics, restoration, technical experimentation, and the antiques trade. His early work was influenced by Domenico Morelli, whose pupil he was in Naples; some of his rural scenes, featuring shepherdesses and flocks, such as the one presented here, are inspired by a realist taste. His artistic career later shifted toward a more symbolist style, experimenting with various artistic techniques. The work is presented in a period frame.

Oil on canvas. The scene is inspired by an episode from the 14th canto of Torquato Tasso's poem "Gerusalemme Liberata" (published in 1581). Rinaldo, after freeing a group of knights imprisoned by Armida, is in turn taken prisoner by the furious sorceress. She takes him to a small island and lulls him to sleep with magical arts, intending to kill him in revenge. However, the sleeping Rinaldo's youthful beauty is such that she falls in love with him. In this scene, the sorceress holds the sleeping knight in her arms, while numerous winged cherubs and nymphs surround her, bearing wreaths of flowers and casting arrows of love, arousing the woman's love. The painting has some paint loss, requiring restoration. It is presented in late 19th-century mints.

Oil on canvas. Northern European School, mid-19th century. In a verdant countryside landscape, near the well with its watering trough, several farmers and wayfarers are stopping with their carts, resting, getting water, and washing clothes. Previously restored and relined in antique style, the painting currently shows damage and slight paint loss. It is presented in a beautiful late-19th-century gilded frame.

Oil on canvas. French school, second half of the 19th century. A sealing wax stamp on the back reads 2Atelier Gustave Courbet". The renowned artist (1819-1877) repeatedly depicted woodland scenes with deer and fawns, but the painting presented here cannot be attributed to him. The intensely realistic work depicts a doe and her calf within a clump of trees in the woods, with light filtering through the branches to create luminous effects. The painting is presented in a beautiful 18th-century frame, lacquered and restored.

The Shepherdess

Oil on canvas. A beautiful figure of a young girl in traditional pastoral costume, elegant in her gold-fringed vest, her hat with a peacock feather, her earrings, her water bottle on her belt, and her hooked staff held firmly in her hands: it seems more like a portrait in folk costume than a real figure of the people. Pesenti became famous for his views of interiors, often of churches, but also for genre scenes with popular figures. The painting has been restored in the past. It is presented in a period frame.

Stable interior

Oil painting on canvas. Signed lower left. The work was previously acquired at the Sotheby's auction in Milan on 10/12/2007. It was exhibited in 1991 in the exhibition "Giovanni Sottocornola. Images from a collection" held in Milan at the Silbernagl Gallery. After an initial pictorial phase dedicated to portraits and still lifes, in the 1880s Giovanni Sottocornola approached social themes, which were becoming the favorite subjects of young Lombard painters attentive to the poorest aspects of society, linked to the adoption of original artistic techniques. Sottocornola embraced the practice of pointillist painting, of which he wrote in 1895 "For now it is certain, I am convinced that there is no other painting more capable of conveying certain sensations than this one". However, this type of painting remained entirely focused on light, on its uncertain tonal vibrations, as happens in the Interior of a stable, created towards the end of the 1980s, where the plays of light and shadow play and create the effects visual in the brushstrokes of color played on a few chromatic ranges, those of browns, expressed in a wide variety of shades. The work is presented in a period frame.

Oil on canvas. English school, second half of the 19th century. Serene landscape framing a mill overlooking a flowing stream, set in lush countryside surrounding the farmhouse. Pencil traces with the artist's name (undeciphered) appear on the back of the canvas. The painting is presented in a period gilded frame.