Hieronymus III Francken (1611-1661), The denial of Peter

The denial of Peter

Oil on oak board, coming from an important historical Florentine collection. The collection started by an ancestor of the family who was in Vienna in 1798 and then in Wurzburg until 1813, as a companion of exile of the Grand Duke of Tuscany Ferdinand III. The collection was transferred to Florence after the fall of Napoleon, and its importance is proved by a copy of an inventory compiled in 1881. At number 14 of it (corresponding to the one shown on the cartouche at the back of the table), the compiler's description:...a two feet and four and a half inches long wooden footboard, and one foot and eight and a half-inch high, representing Peter who denies Jesus Christ to the maiden in Anna's house. We see the Savior from far away carried to that pontiff to be examined, in the midst of a crowd and a quantity of soldiers. In the 1960s, an initial attribution to Bruegel was denied and relocated to Francken. The composition was obviously successful because other versions of the workshop were known (see for example, an oil on copper with identical subject and dimensions in the Koller auction on 18/09/2015). Presented in a refurbished frame.

False Board Still Life with Fruit and Bushmeat Trompe l'oeil 1757

Trompe l'oeil,1757

Oil on canvas. Undeciphered signature in the middle along the earthenware pot with lid and date. Fascinating composition with many quotes and references identifying the owner as an erudite or an academic. At the top left a false painting with the phrase: 'Ma fuori uscì la notte e il mondo ascose' taken from Gerusalemme Liberata by Torquato Tasso (canto 11, stanza LXXXII). Below the image of two players identified as 'Tradasso palatino' (Tradasso is the antique Italian name for double bass) and 'Guido da Sury'. Another phrase is written near the cat 'Aggiunge ora l'astuzia alla rapina' with clear reference to the cat trying to reach the hare hung at its side. The hare has a phrase too 'Nec dedit fuga salutem' with reference to its useless escape from the hunter. Above the two mercenaries a letter dedicated to 'Pisstoia- al sig. Gismondi (?)" o Giannoli(?)'. The composition is complemented by a lot of fruit, dishes and a roast chicken. The painting is presented in a beautiful coeval frame from Emilia Romagna. 1757.

Holy Family with Angels Oil on Copper Octagonal Frame XVII Century

The Holy Family with Angels, oil on copper in octagonal frame, early XVII Century. Surrounding the Child sleeping in Mary's arms we find St, Joseph and several adoring angels. In the background a landscape. The painting is presented in a beautiful ebonised wood and gilded bronze octagonal frame. Hold between two ebonised frames, a gilded bronze edge contains silvered metal inserts with bronze roses. Externally, a decoration made of perforated bronze with cherubs and gilded bronze flames. One of these flames was substituted. There are signs of nails indicating that other decorations are missing.

Denijs Calvaert school

The virgin with child and Saint John

Oil painting on canvas, the Holy Virgin with Child and Saint John. The painting, because of its construction, colors, and physiognomies, is connected to the Bologna area of the late 16th Century, and in particular to the work of the painter of Antwerp, Denijs Calvaert, and the students working around his school. Restored, it is presented in a more recent frame.

Adrien Manglard (1695-1760), Chivalric Scene

Landscape with a scene of chivalry

Oil painting on canvas. A chivalric scene, probably inspired by Tasso's 'Gerusalemme Liberata', stands in the foreground, featuring two warriors with armor and feathered helmet, armed shields and swords, both flanked by two ladies, about to face a duel for The possession of a box placed on the ground between the two contenders; A third knight with a red drape on a bay horse and a fourth knight on his shoulders watch the contention, leaning on a double stick, also in full war outfit. The scene is set in a mountain gorge with a tower on the right, in front of a stormy sea and a coastal view in the background. The painting is a significant example in the catalog of Adrien Manglard for the singularity of the figurative scene combined with his acclaimed landscapes painter skills, expressed by the taste of the original inventiveness and prospective application, by his representation of rocks, waves and distant islands. The attribution to the Manglard can be confirmed by the comparisons with various works of this kind, as he was a well-known painter of sea landscapes, both in storms and in quiet atmospheres of silence. For this purpose, it is possible to consult the monograph of S. Maddalo (Adrien Manglard 1695-1760, Multigrafica editore, Rome 1982) with particular reference to Figures 34-39 and 41, focusing on sea landscapes of such an environment, including the Cycle of Palazzo Ducale Colorno, the canvases of the Guéret Museum and Palazzo Boncompagni Ludovisi and the fresco of Palazzo Chigi. In these paintings, we find similar and sometimes almost matching inventive parameters, with a matching pictorial style with the canvas in question. The evocative representation of stormy sky and sea, attesting the careful observation of these phenomena by Manglard, should be emphasized in particular. Moreover, his validity as a figure painter is proved by a general examination of his curriculum, including in particular the 'Call of the first Apostles' dating back to 1731. There is an AM mark in the painting on the box at the bottom of the center. The work is accompanied by an expertise by Professor Giancarlo Sestieri. The painting is restored and presented in a more recent frame.