Antique Candle Holder Art Nouveau Bronze XIX-XX Century - Europe, XIX-XX Century

Portrait of an Officer

Oil on canvas. Signed lower right. Giuseppe Amisani established himself as a portraitist of famous and high-ranking figures. Considered late Impressionist, his painting was influenced by the Belle Époque, which led him to use vibrant colors and rapid brushstrokes, yet always with an eye for elegance. The sitter portrayed here is a high-ranking officer, seated, albeit with a very straight and military stance, in a luxuriously furnished living room. The work is framed in period style.

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.

View of the Village at Sunset

Oil on cardboard. Signed lower right. Gheduzzi was best known for his work as a set designer at the Teatro Regio in Turin, but he also established himself as a landscape painter, painting en plein air in the style of the Rivara school, a Piedmontese imitator of the more famous Barbizon landscape school. This glimpse of a country village, illuminated by the rosy reflections of the sunset sky, exudes a captivating atmosphere. The work is presented in a carved and gilded wooden frame, with some minor losses.

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.

Oil on canvas. Signed at the bottom A. Greppi, but the signature is inconsistent given the period and cannot be attributed to the renowned painter. The scene draws on the 19th-century genre of popular realism, which featured genre scenes with figures in folk costumes, often engaged in folkloric or working poses, often in intimate family moments. In this case, a woman sitting on a meadow in the woods, busy with her sewing, caresses the head of the young man lying before her, perhaps her son. The painting is presented in a period frame.

Gouache on cardboard. View of the Bay of Naples with Mount Vesuvius erupting, while the fishermen's lives continue as usual! Framed in period style.

Gouache on cardboard. Wide view of the Bay of Naples, taken from the hill north of the city, with a commoner walking along the path. Framed in period style.

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. From an important Emilian villa, the large overdoor painting features an octagonal frame with scrolled friezes and floral decoration. Within it is a winged cherub holding a lit torch, hovering over a cup. This figure has an allegorical meaning, embodying concepts related to passion, light, or life. The canvas has slight paint loss at the bottom. It is presented in a period frame.

Val Vogna

Oil on canvas. Signed lower right. The back features a label from the 1928 Venice Exhibition. Mountain view of the Val Vogna, a small, wild side valley of the Valsesia. Trained at the Brera Academy under Tallone, Milanese artist Lodovico Zambeletti successfully devoted himself to landscape subjects, for which he expressed a particular sensitivity, although he also painted genre and environmental figures and was an important portraitist. The painting has slight paint loss; it requires restoration. Framed.