ANCIENT PAINTING
 

Oil painting on canvas. The scene is occupied entirely by female figures: the protagonist in the center is a young and rich woman, with a pearl diadem on her head, probably a real character; she is accompanied on the right by an older woman, who holds her hand and shows her the way. On the left the entourage of servants and ladies-in-waiting, among which, barely visible, a black girl, perhaps to underline the group's exotic origins. The scene evokes the welcome of a queen or princess who arrives as a guest, and the presence of a black girl among her entourage suggests that she comes from an exotic place. The restored painting has some small tears. It is presented in a stylish frame.

Oil painting on canvas. Northern Italian school of the seventeenth century. In the portrait of this no longer young woman, dressed in an austere black dress that blends into the background, the white lace of the neck and sleeves and the detachable stomacher, or rather the richly embroidered bib to simulate a jewel, invented at the end of the '600 to cover the deep necklines of women's dresses, following the Catholic moralizing influence of the French court; the woman then exhibits a fine gold bracelet on her wrist. Restored and relined in the 19th century, the painting is presented in a late 19th-early 20th century frame.

Oil painting on canvas. Scene taken in reverse and with different variations in the background and in some details, from the work of Pieter Van Avont (1600 -1652), probably disseminated through engravings. This sacred subject was widely proposed in pictorial production, as an emblem of the Family, a fundamental model of the bonds of affection, love and understanding that every human family is called to express. Also in this representation the parental tenderness, the affections of the extended family in the figure of the little cousin Giovanni, the serene relationships between the children, watched over by the adults, transpire. Restored and relined, the painting is presented in a 19th century frame.

Allegory of Fire with Jupiter and Semele

Oil painting on canvas. The large scene sees in the centre, flying over the rocks, a bird from which flames hover, allegorically representing the natural element; on the left side of the scene the frenetic life of a forge takes place: in the foreground two men with panniers full of wood, two others more secluded are intent on talking with putti, in front of an altar. However, the main part of the frame is occupied by Jupiter and Semele: in the upper part the king of the gods descends from the sky, covered by a fluttering orange drapery, in his hands he holds a bundle of lightning bolts and is accompanied by the winds; lower right the princess, reclining on a cushion and surrounded by cherubs. The painting is attributable to the workshop of Luca Giordano (1634-1705) plausibly created in the 1680s. In fact, our canvas re-proposes, albeit with some modifications, the same subject that Giordano had already painted for the Zarzuela Palace in Madrid, where it was sent in 1688 together with other paintings with mythological subjects. This subject must have been particularly appreciated, because at least one other copy of the workshop is known, made as a counterpart to that of the Madrid palace, kept in the Casa Martelli Museum in Florence: this version belongs to a series of paintings by Giordano depicting the four elements, coming from the collections of don Gaspar de Haro y Guzmán, Marquis del Carpio and viceroy of Naples from 1683 to 1687. Compared to the original, our version also presents changes: not in counterpart, but with the same setting of the scene, however, it differs in size, slightly widening the height from 114 cm of the original to 125 cm of this canvas, thus allowing for a wider framing. This shrewdness plausibly leads us to suppose that the painting in question had been created for a very specific client, perhaps Italian, and in the appropriate dimensions for the place of placement. Another important modification can also be read as a direct request from the client, namely the fact that Princess Semele is presented in a more chaste variant, no longer almost naked and with only a light drapery to cover her, but dressed in a tunic and a coat. Compared to the original autograph by Luca Giordano, our version demonstrates, despite the high pictorial quality, a greater ingenuity and a less meticulous rendering, which therefore leads the attribution to the workshop. The painting shows signs of restoration and relining.

The Return from the Hunt

Oil on canvas applied to the table. Northern European school of the XVII-XVIII century. On the back there is an ancient attribution to Peter Wouwerman (1623 -1682), justified by the closeness to the pictorial methods of the Flemish artist, very attentive to the rendering of minute details. This painting depicts the return of a gentleman from hunting to his palace on the left side: while the horses are taken to rest and the dogs are watering at the fountain, a servant helps the master to remove his high boots, while the women leave the house to accommodate hunters. The painting is presented in a late 19th century frame.

Oil on paper applied to canvas. The four works propose pastoral subjects, animated by shepherds with their herds and their faithful dogs, sometimes at rest on the side of the road, in two scenes also flanked by fruit sellers. The works are inspired (as well as by the citation on the back of one of them) by the production of Francesco Londonio, the Milanese artist of the 18th century who made a name for himself for his rural and pastoral scenes, in a repertoire of tasty snapshots of peasant life. The four paintings are presented in contemporary gilded frames, with small defects.

Oil on copper. Flemish school of the seventeenth century. The painting, attributed by oral tradition to Frans Francken the younger (1581 -1642), depicts a miraculous healing performed by Jesus: while he goes with his disciples, he meets on his way a sick man, probably with leprosy, a disease that involved isolation and banishment from the city; the man invokes Christ who performs the miracle and heals him. The painting places the event on the left edge of the scene, in the foreground, where the figures dressed according to the typical style of the times of Christ stand out for their bright colours; moreover, the landscape that fills the rest of the scene is decidedly Nordic, with a river full of water flowing in a countryside full of vegetation, and a city in the background under mountain peaks. The pictorial description of the vegetation is meticulous and precise, rich and well defined in the details: the broken trunk in the foreground, the fronds of the large tree behind the characters, the birds flying high in the sky, the small flowers on the shore, the nuances of the The water in which plants and clouds are reflected are painted with a pictorial refinement typical of Flemish painting, similar in style to that of the great Antwerp artist. The painting is presented in a repurposed antique frame.

Oil painting on canvas. The great landscape presents a wooded countryside that overlooks a glimpse of the lake, surrounded by mountains and overlooked by small villages; a stream emerges from the lake and flows impetuously between the rocks on the banks. On the first canvas, the painting needs restoration due to a small tear and several drops of colour. It is presented in a late 19th century frame.

Oil on cardboard. Italian school of the 19th century. The pastoral scene sees on the left a flock of sheep and cows drinking and refreshed in the river; on the right bank, under a tree, the shepherdess is resting with her little son who, after having eaten their meal, play with a wooden loom. The bucolic scene is serene and peaceful. The painting is presented in a late 19th century frame.

Oil painting on canvas. The young woman, who already appears in the twin painting (code ARAROT0212468), is portrayed here in a wedding dress, richly adorned with lace. Moreover, the woman wears the same set of pearl jewels as in the other portrait, as well as exhibiting the same hairstyle, with a fringe on her forehead in pigtails. Restored and relined, the painting is presented in a period frame.

Oil on canvas with relief application of highly material colour, to define the crowns and initials at the top. The painting takes up the style of the ancient icons, both in the subject and in the gold painting to define some details, as well as in the use of Cyrillic for the initials at the top. Moreover, the inscription Rome appears in Latin characters on Mary's crown, probably to indicate the place of purchase. Already relined, the painting shows in the painted part some traces of previous restoration, rather coarse, and some small drops of color.

Oil on canvas. Mittel-European School. There is a No.S monogram on the back and numbers probably from an inventory. The painting reminds of pieces from the Austrian area. It represents a battle between knights, it is dominated in the foreground by the confrontation between two of them. The painting comes from a historical collection from Lombardy. The painting is still in its first canvas and original framing; there are patches on the back and signs of antique restorations, it has also undergone an additional pictorial and reperativr restoration, in our lab. Well marked crack. The painting is presented in an original and coeval frame, lacquered.

Oil painting on canvas. Northern European school of the 19th century. Family portrait of three girls, whose marked resemblance in facial features, smile and witty and mischievous gaze, is underlined by the almost identical clothes they wear, whose bright colors enliven the scene and on which the laces of the necklines stand out, exquisitely painted; the youngest in the center, still a child, has a slightly less worked dress and a less elaborate hairstyle, in keeping with her age. The painting is presented in a late 19th century frame that has been adapted and regilded.

Oil on canvas. Lombard school of the seventeenth century. A smiling young girl is portrayed in an elegant black dress, embellished with lace on the neckline and a play of red and green laces and ribbons on the sleeves, which match the red embroidered petticoat; she wears her jewels around her neck, wrists, ears, in the hairstyle of her hair, where the austerity of pearls is lightened by colored ribbons; she holds a bouquet of flowers in her hand, which emphasizes her gracefulness and grace. Restored and relined, on the second canvas there is written, probably a copy of the original on the first canvas, which indicates who the young woman is: \\\"Margh.a D. Gridonia Gonz. Agnella - Soada Maffei - D\\\'etta Anni XVIII\\\", followed by a coat of arms with the initials C FAS This writing, in addition to defining the name and age, highlights the young woman\\\'s belonging to the College of the Virgins of Jesus in Castiglione delle Stiviere, founded in 1608 by the Marquise Guidonia Gonzaga together with the two sisters Cinzia and Olimpia, all nephews of San Luigi Gonzaga. This college had the purpose of imparting an education to young noblemen or young people from good families, who, with the dowry donated to the college, contributed to the sustenance of the same. The portrait has minor flaws. It is presented in an ancient, non-coeval frame, with small shortcomings.

Oil painting on canvas. Of a bucolic and serene flavor, the scene set in the countryside on the edge of the village that can be glimpsed on the left, sees a woman and her son who, near a stream, await the shepherd with his flock with a lunch basket . Restored and relined, the painting is presented in an antique frame.