ANCIENT PAINTING

Oil on poplar panel. The young commoner depicted, belonging to the category of "pitocch" (a term used to indicate the state of complete indigence of the characters, the result of careful and unconventional observation of reality), reveals a marked strabismus, which transforms the laughing expression into an amused grimace. The painting shows traces of small restorations. It is presented in a 19th century frame.

Oil on poplar panel. The young commoner depicted, belonging to the category of "pitocchi" (a term used to indicate the state of complete indigence of the characters, the result of careful and unconventional observation of reality), opens his mouth wide in a cry that, from the frowning expression on his face, seems to be one of anger or pain. The painting has slight losses of color. It is presented in a 19th century frame.

Oil on canvas. Italian school of the 18th century. The elegant gentleman is portrayed with some volumes placed on the surface in front of him, on the spines of which the authors can be read; the name of Paolo Valcarenghi, a professor at the Faculty of Medicine of Pavia in the 18th century, stands out in particular. The man portrayed therefore wants to underline his belonging to the world of Medicine. Restored and relined, the painting is presented in a frame reconstructed with ancient elements and equipped on the upper side with a working lighting headlight from the mid-1900s.

Oil on canvas. Portrait of a nobleman flaunting the important honor of the Order of the Golden Fleece, a chivalric order established in Bruges in 1431 by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, with the task of spreading the Catholic religion, and later passed to the House of Habsburg and subsequently also to the Bourbons of Spain; it is considered the highest and most important order of chivalry. The painting, relined, is presented in an 18th-century frame, which requires restoration.

Oil on canvas. The portrait derives from the half-length one painted in 1725 ca. by Ilario Spolverini (1657 -1734) and preserved at La Rocca Sanvitale in Fontanellato. Antonio Farnese (1679 -1731) was the eighth Duke of Parma and Piacenza, as well as the last of the Farnese, who had poor political and administrative skills and was unable to take care of the administration of the state and to remedy its enormous financial deficit; his subjects were burdened by blood-sucking taxes, while the court continued to get into debt with the Genoese bankers. The painting requires restoration due to paint loss and two small holes at the bottom. It is presented in a contemporary frame.

Oil on canvas. Flemish school of the 17th century. On the back there is a collector's cartouche. In a hilly landscape of rocks and clumps of trees, overlooking a small village on the left, a stream flows to form a foaming waterfall; on the banks some figures of peasants in transit or in conversation; on the right stands out the bird with the long tail, perched on a dry shrub. In the background, the hills fade into the sky full of clouds. The painting is presented in a regilded frame from the late 19th century.

Oil on canvas, applied to panel. Venetian school of the 17th century. The painting is inspired by the style of Paolo Veronese (see his painting preserved at the National Gallery), who was widely reproduced: the arrangement of the figures is the same, following an oblique ascending line that reaches the Holy Family on the left, towards which all eyes converge; similar is the background of the marble arch behind which a large landscape opens up. The painting is presented in a late 19th century gilded frame.

Oil on copper. The saint, leaning on a stick, dressed in a brown-gray habit tied at the waist with a rosary of large wooden seeds, is on the seashore and looks towards the angels who are flying above, carrying a coat of arms with the word Charitas. According to tradition, he received this vision while praying, which offered him the shield with the words "This will be the coat of arms of your Order". Founder of the Order of Minims, he is the patron saint of Calabria and of numerous maritime cities in Southern Italy, as well as the patron saint of Seafarers, because legend has it that he performed the miracle of having calmed a storm, saving the boats. The small painting is presented in a period frame.

Rebecca at the Well

Product in good condition, shows small signs of wear. We try to present the actual state as fully as possible with photos. Should certain details not be clear from the photos, the description will apply.Oil on canvas. The scene recounts a biblical episode from the Book of Genesis: Eliezer, Abraham's servant, is sent by the latter in search of a wife for his son Isaac. At a well, Eliezer meets a young woman, Rebecca, who offers him some of the water she had just drawn for herself and her camels. The servant interprets this gesture of kindness as a divine sign and proposes her as a bride for Isaac. Widely represented in this work, the figure of the young Rebecca stands out in the centre, intent on handing the wineskin full of water to the servant Eliezer, while all around the servants and maids observe the scene. The work, already re-framed and restored, is presented in a lath frame.

Female Head

Tempera on wood depicting a half-length female figure; she wears a red dress over a light-colored tunic, while a green cloth rests on her right shoulder. The red hair is gathered in a central parting and is partly covered by a white headdress; the full face has an absorbed expression: the pensive gaze, the arched eyebrows and the slightly furrowed lips. Presented in a frame made with parts of an ancient frame of larger size.

Oil on canvas. Italian school of the late 18th - early 19th century. The landscape of romantic taste sees a river flowing between rocky banks topped by leafy trees; on the bank, in the foreground on the left, two fishermen cast their lines into a pool of still water created by a small inlet. The painting bears a label on the frame attributing it to Domenico Pecchio (1693 -1760). Restored, it is presented in a period frame.

Oil on canvas. Venetian school of the late 17th-early 18th century. Within a large classical landscape, rich in vegetation and with pink atmospheres, there is a small group of soldiers: some, resting on a rock overlooking a stream, are watching one of them who is getting wet, after having placed his armor in the water. The painting was presented at the Lempertz auction in 2017 with an attribution to Andrea Locatelli (1695 -1741) and an estimate of €7/9 thousand; the pictorial methods of the work also seem closer to those of Marco Ricci (1676 -1730), widely taken up by other authors of the Venetian area. Restored and relined, the painting is presented in a late 19th century gilded frame.

Oil on canvas. On the original canvas, currently covered by relining, the data relating to the man portrayed were written in French, currently indicated by attached photographic documentation. The character is identified as Thiard Count of Bragny, portrayed at the age of 38, in 1702. The nobleman is portrayed in armor, decorated with the honor of the royal military order of Saint-Louis (full name Chevalier de l'Ordre de Sait-Louis), a French military order of chivalry founded in Versailles by Louis XIV on 5 April 1693 and dedicated to Saint Louis (Louis IX). It was reserved as a reward for deserving officers. The painting, restored and relined, is presented in a period frame.

Oil on canvas. Set in a classic landscape, rich in vegetation, the scene represents the biblical episode from the book of Genesis which tells how the people of Israel, who are crossing the Sinai desert to reach the Promised Land, find themselves without water: Moses invokes God's help and performs the miracle of making water spring from a rock. In the scene, the people of Israel rejoice and celebrate the miracle, rushing to bathe and quench their thirst in the pool of water evoked by Moses, who can be glimpsed standing to the left of the dry trunk in the foreground, a symbol of the aridity of the land. The branches of the trees moved by a strong wind and the sky full of dark clouds that are beginning to tear, evoke the presence of God. The multiple figures, rendered with accurate details, create movement and action. This painting has already been presented at the Lempertz auction with an attribution to Giovanni Ghisolfi (1623 -1683), an artist who developed a perfect combination between past and modernity, thanks to a deep interest in classicism, rendered however with effective perspective precision in the landscape and great precision of details in the figures. Restored and relined, the painting is presented in a late 19th century gilded frame.

Oil on canvas. French school of the seventeenth century. The scene, set at night in the garden of a villa, of which you can glimpse the ornate facade on the right and in which the fountain gushing with cherubs stands out, under a dark sky and further obscured by heavy clouds, proposes two figures who entertain each other in conversation : an elderly modestly dressed is sternly admonishing a seated young man, richly dressed, who seems instead to make the gesture of mea culpa with his hand. The physiognomy and the gestures of the two characters, together with the style of the clothes, would refer to the philosopher Aristotle who was called to the court of Macedon to be the tutor of the young Alexander, the future king then known as Alexander the Great: according to what Plutarch recounts in his “Parallel Lives”, the young Alexander was a brilliant pupil, so much so that he was also initiated into the most profound and esoteric Aristotelian doctrines, from which derives the aura of mystery and profound interiority that shines through in the work presented here. The painting has been restored and relined. It is presented in a stylish frame. The painting, restored

Oil painting on canvas. At the top right are the name of the man portrayed and his age, 78 years old. The man's habit and the attitude of prayer, in front of the Crucifix, with the meditation book in his hand, identify him as a prelate. The surname Albertoni is widely spread in Italy, in various families that started from Lombardy to extend to Parma and then to Rome. The painting, restored and relined, is presented in a period frame.

Oil painting on canvas. Northern Italian school of the 17th-18th century. The work of a devotional nature, sees the Virgin Mary seated on the clouds and assisted by two angels who support her garments, is venerated by two saints, kneeling at her feet: on the right the young woman in princely clothes, at whose feet is resting a royal crown, it refers to Elizabeth of Hungary; on the left, the saint holding the Infant Jesus in his arms can be identified as San Caetano da Thiene. Particular is the play of glances between the various characters, which intertwine together with the positions and gestures, to create an almost circular movement. The painting has been restored and relined. It is presented in an ancient frame restored at the beginning of the 20th century, with various current shortcomings (to be restored).

Oil painting on canvas. It is a vintage copy of the engraving of the same name made by Annibale Carracci (1560-1609), which had immediate success and gave rise to a series of printed replicas and painted copies. It presents the moment of the Passion in which Christ is crowned with the crown of thorns, the object of torture, the disparaging symbol of his proclamation as King of Kings. The act is performed by two figures, the Roman soldier and the Jew, representing the two people who they took part in Christ's death sentence. The figures, vigorous and sanguine, those of the two tormentors paler and more inert than the victim, create an intertwined composition of bodies, with that of the central Jesus joining the other two, uniting them in the shared responsibility of what they are doing; placed sideways, Jesus has his head bent forcibly to the left by the soldier who imposes the crown of thorns on him, while the Jew on the right places the bamboo cane in his hand, replacing the scepter. The scene is dominated by gloomy and dark colors, among which only the bright red of Christ's robe stands out, a symbol of his suffering humanity. The painting has been restored and relined. It is presented in a beautiful coeval frame, with shortcomings.

Oil painting on canvas. Tuscan school of the seventeenth century. Scion of an ancient Longobard lineage of Aquino (in the province of Frosinone), Thomas (born around 1226) went to Naples to study, in 1243 he entered the order of Dominican preachers against the wishes of his relatives, but during the journey to the northerner was arrested by his brothers and held prisoner for about a year. In the scene, the young saint in the centre, already dressed in the Dominican habit, is surrounded on both sides by four richly dressed figures, precisely his relatives, probably including his mother, who hold him kindly, almost embracing him, while with gestures of the hands and the afflicted and loving looks try to convince him, almost begging him. The figures are also placed in a prison, as indicated by the bars in the window on the right, to underline the coercive action performed. Rich and detailed are the details of the clothes of the characters, with bright colors that contrast with Thomas' dress, plastic movements properly in Baroque taste. Already restored and relined, the painting is in good condition, with evident cracking. It is presented in an antique re-lacquered and re-gilded frame.