ART SELECTION

Lombardy Early 18th Century

Sculpture of a baroque angel holding a vase in carved lime wood and completely repainted black in a later period, Lombardy, early 18th century. The figure, dressed in a robe decorated with lambrequins, is placed on a base supported by four feral feet. The tastings carried out brought the original colors to light.

Jesus In Front Of Caiaphas

Oil on canvas. The painting reprises the piece of the Dutch master Gerrit Van Honthorst, realized in 1617 and now preserved in the National Gallery in London. Dutch by birth, he came to Rome soon after the death of Caravaggio, from whom he assimilated the style that earned him the nickname "Gherardo delle Notti". While in Rome, the artist was hosted by the Giustiniani family, who commissioned him a piece for his private collection, where it stayed until 1804. Brought to Paris first, in the Bonaparte collection, after more changes of ownership, it finally got to London in 1922. The painting tells the dramatic episode of the encounter between High Priest Caiaphas and Jesus, during his Passion. The whole upper part is occupied by the dark: the emptiness, the void, they focus the attention on the two protagonists and on the tragedy that is happening. The scene is strongly static, almost frozen in a specific moment, the accusatory act of the Priest towards Christ, to highlight the intensity of the inner drama, profoundly painful. In the scenem Caiaphas is on the left, sitting at the table on which the book of Jewish Law is sitting, and holds his finger up in an accusatory tone; Jesus is on the right, standing with his hands tied, in a humble attitude. There is a candle in the middle, the only source of light, that connects the face of Caiaphas and Jesus', that meet in a game of glances along a diagonal line, and of which the artificial light undelines mercilessly the expressive contrast, the priest's grotesque and angry, while Christ's is bright and composed. On the background, behind the two protagonists, there are figures of High Priests. They are just shadows in the dark who are waiting on the judgement and their faces are shrouded in the darkness that increases the tension. The mark of Caravaggio's influence is easy to spot in the contrast between lights and dark and the intensity of their gazes. The canvas here proposed, half the size of the original but faithful in the stylistic and interpretive forms, was probably commissioned in a smaller size by someone who appreciated the original in Palazzo Giustiniani. Restored and recanvased in 19th century. There are some names written on the back, signs of ownership. Frame in style.

River Landscape with Shepherdess Child and Herds

Oil on canvas. The painting is accompanied by the expertise of two art historians, dr. Dario Succi and Dr. Federica Spadotto. Both confirm the attribution of the painting to Giuseppe Zais, "the master from Belluno unanimously recognized as one of the most original and genuine interpreters of the great landscape painting of the Venetian seventeenth century." In the landscape, under the branches of a tree that frames the left and with the background of blue mountains, a shepherdess and her little son stand out in the foreground, making their animals (sheep and cows) water from the river. the Zais, after an initial training in his native country at the school of his fellow countryman Marco Ricci, who moved to Venice in 1732, soon became part of the ranks of lagoon landscape architects, appreciated and hired for large decorative works in the palaces of the city. In the 1970s the Zais abandoned this production and chose to devote himself only to small works, which reflected an adhesion to the world of the humble and a contemplative dimension of the past, rarely subjects present in the paintings of important clients. The work presented here can be considered an example of this last creative phase, according to art historians in the 70s of the eighteenth century: the Zais proposes a rather barren foothill landscape, where the shepherdess followed by her little son play the their assignment, without any concession to an ideal beauty, but rather with a reminder of a precise, hard, simple real life, made up of effort and affection at the same time. Even the colors of the canvas enhance the artist's empathy for the world he depicts: the warm golden-brown tones of the landscape, illuminated by the blue of the distant peaks reverberating that of the sky, envelop the human and animal figures in the foreground, which they emerge thanks to material brushstrokes and brighter but not bright colors, especially in the fleece of animals and in women's clothes. Peculiar of the Zais are also the faces, round and full, with features that are repeated always identical in the peasant figures of his works, associated with turned bodies, dressed in clothes that look like papier-mâché. The work shows signs of restoration, although still on the first canvas. On the back there is an inscription in German with the name of the previous owner and the date "Christmas 1977". It is presented in a gilded frame from the early 1900s, with small cracks and lacks.

Oil painting on canvas. The wide view of the Imperial Forums of Rome is part of the vast landscape production of the Grand Tour period, intended for wealthy European aristocrats traveling to Europe - and in particular in Italy, where Rome was considered a must - who wanted a souvenir of the places visited. The Roman Imperial Forums are an architectural complex consisting of a series of monumental buildings and squares, the center of political activity in ancient Rome, built over a period of about 150 years, between 46 BC. and 113 A.D. Despite the enlargements, the fires, the restorations and the reconstructions, during the Antiquity the Imperial Forums kept intact both their architectural conformation and their function. Their almost definitive destruction occurred during the Renaissance at the hands of Pope Julius II (1503-1513), who used the whole area as a quarry for materials to be reused in the building and artistic renovation of the city he initiated. The protests of leading artists such as Raphael and Michelangelo were of little use. In the following centuries various excavation campaigns were undertaken, with greater vigor starting from the nineteenth century, but the area was completely excavated at the beginning of the twentieth century and the ancient architecture was almost completely erased to make room for the construction of via dei Fori Imperiali , which connects Piazza Venezia with the Colosseum. The Forum was rediscovered starting from the sixteenth century also thanks to the Roman view painters who at that time loved to paint the ruins emerging in the pasture area. The view proposed here presents the Imperial Forums before the excavations begun in the nineteenth century, when the road that still crosses them had not yet been built: they are still surrounded by green countryside and the Roman hills stand out in the background. Restored and relined, the painting is presented in a re-adapted 19th century frame.

Landscape with Figures at the River

Oil on canvas. The wide landscape is centered on the river that flows into the valley rich in vegetation. Along its course, in the foreground, some women are washing clothes. The pictorial features, fast and not very aggregated, refer to the production of Antonio Francesco Peruzzini, belonging to a family of painters originally from Pesaro, including his father Domenico and his sons Giovanni, Antonio Francesco and Paolo, active in the Marche region and in Italian cities such as Rome. Bologna, Turin and Milan, during the seventeenth century and the first quarter of the eighteenth. Antonio Francesco's production is often associated with that of his brother Giovanni, having the two worked together. Antonio Francesco specialized in landscape painting, under the influence of Salvator Rosa and landscape architects such as Pietro Montanini and Pandolfo Reschi, and further influences also came from Nordic painters active in Italy, especially from Pieter Mulier known as il Tempesta. In his first works the originality of his painting is already distinguished given a rapid drafting and an intense and brilliant chromatic stamp. From the beginning of the nineties the long artistic bond between Antonio Francesco Peruzzini and Alessandro Magnasco began, following their meeting in Milan, where Peruzzini had settled; from this period onwards his painting seems to fall apart, through forms that become more dynamic and light, almost fantastic, to finally arrive at a style marked by an ever greater disintegration of the forms of nature and their movement. Restored and relined, the work is presented in an early 20th century frame.

Oil on canvas. The whole scene played on the chiaroscuro of black and red with high flames that blazing between towers and peaks of the cyty: in the frontground Enea and his father Anchises' figures with his son Ascanio next to him while running away from the city; on the right, in the background, Trojan horse. Even if the subject is close to the one of Alessio De Marchis (1684-1752), the painting in question is closer to the femish painting. Restored and displayed in an ancient frame.

Oil on canvas. Northern Italy school. The depiction of the Nativity is seen here as a contemplative moment of the Holy Child, by Mary and Joseph, accompanied by little angels. The pictorial ways resume those of widely replicated models, starting from Correggio, from Barocci, to arrive at the numerous versions of Gherardo delle notte, or the Flemish painter Gerard Von Honthorst, representative of tenebrism, a pictorial current that played on strong contrasts of darkness and light, light and dark. In this work too, the light radiated by the Baby Jesus illuminates the figures around him and makes them emerge from the surrounding darkness. The restored and relined work is presented in a 19th century frame.

Siege Scene

Oil on canvas. Outside the fortifications of a city, a commander, surrounded by his soldiers, is about to light the fuse of the cannon. The army defends the citadel outside the walls and the soldiers scan the horizon looking downwards: this leads us to place the scene on the fortifications of a city, in particular those of Genoa, that rise on the mountains behind it and from which the Genoese defended the city from attacks from the sea; the Genoa setting is also supported by the banner that flies over the walls, the Saint George Cross (red cross on a white background), flag of the Republic of Genoa. The shape of the armor, weapons and clothing would refer to the siege of Genoa in 1522. It is therefore the nineteenth-century representation of a historical episode, which is then part of that pictorial production widespread in Italy in the nineteenth century, inspired by the new historical novel popular in literature. On the back of the frame there is the name G. Boni, together with a number that refers to participation in an official exhibition. Giovanni Boni was a pupil of the Brera Academy, in particular a follower of Giuseppe Sogni, an artist who was among the first to favour historical painting in its innovative romantic declinations. Not much is known about Boni, neither from a biographical point of view nor from his production. Of his certain attribution we know only the Nude of Man (painted Academy) with which he won the first prize for the Scuola del Nudo in Brera in 1852. The piece expresses the figures and the pathos of the scene with expressive efficiency; the characters in the foreground are very well characterized in their poses, expressions, in the details of the clothes and weapons, while the other figures fade into the background, suggesting the presence of a large army. The painting, still on the first canvas, shows small widespread losses of colour. It is presented in a frame in style.

Deer hunting

Oil on canvas. The painting is set in the woods near some architectural ruins and the focus is on the lively group of hunters dressed like knights and armed with swords and lances. They are delivering the final blow to the already wounded and dying deer with the help of dogs. The large format highlights the important commissioner. Restored and relined, it is presented in revival frame. 18th century.

Wild boar hunting

Oil on canvas. The scene is set at the feet of a mountain on the river bank where a fisher is fishing and the focus is on a group of hunters dressed like knights and armed with swords and lances who are delivering the final blow to the already wounded and dying wild boar with the help of dogs. The large format highlights the important commissioner. Restored and relined. Revival frame.

The Wayfarers 1910

Oil on cardboard. At the bottom left is the autographed inscription "Bozzetto per una copia", with the signature and the date Christmas 1910; the title at the bottom right. It is a sketch for a replica with variations of the homonymous painting made by Carena in 1907, large monumental (159 x 300 cm), exhibited at the Venice Biennale in 1909 and now kept in the Civic Museums, Modern Art Gallery of Udine, Some moving figures appear in the work, precisely of wayfarers, representing the different categories of humanity, men and women, adults and children, old and young, but all traveling in the same direction. Compared to the original, in this sketch with still undefined facial features, the figures are placed in slightly different positions, with the young man wrapped in a red cloak in the center, and the lower part as well as the background are missing. The colors are almost harsh, lively, spread with rapid brushstrokes and with undefined contours. The painting belongs to Carena's still symbolist pictorial phase, inspired by the French symbolism of Eugène Carrière, a period which ended with his participation in the 1912 Biennale. The work is presented in a coeval frame.

Oil on canvas. In the large scene set outside, the laboratory of a blacksmith stands out on the left side, who is intent to work on horseshoes with his helpers while the owner of the horse attends; in the centre, other knights arrive with their servants who are headed to the craftsman; on the right some popular figures are resting on the roadside. In the background, a large river landscape opens up on the right, while on the left there is the access to the village, dominated by a dilapidated building, with various popular figures intent on their activities: the woman who is about to breastfeed a child, while the other son runs away up the staircase, another woman hanging the clothes on the balcony of the house built on stilts on the rock, while a man climbs the ladder. It probably is a piece by a Flemish author working in Lombardy. Some references to clothing and construction certainly indicate the Northern European contamination, while other details indicate it was realized in a Lombard location. The painting comes from a prestigious historical residence of a Lombard noble family Still on the first canvas, it has some cuts and a hole in the lower band; some patches on the back from an old restoration. It is presented in a thin coeval frame.

Oil on canvas. The large scene is set at the entrance of a village near a stop for horses: numerous horsemen are standing with their animals, which are looked after by the servants and the peasants who fill the manger with hay; one of the servants, on the right, lets the animals drink in the nearby stream. In the background, the houses of the village arranged along the river, which then flows into the hilly landscape on the right. It probably is a piece by a Flemish author working in Lombardy. Some references to clothing and construction certainly indicate the Northern European contamination, while other details indicate it was realized in a Lombard location. The painting comes from a prestigious historical residence of a Lombard noble family Still on the first canvas, it has some cuts in the lower band. It is presented in a thin coeval frame.

Virgin with Child the Father Angels and Saints

Oil on canvas. Tuscan school of the late 1500s - early 1600s. The canvas is part of a large sacred production, which exalted the glory of Mary and the saints close to the client. In the center, Mary sits on a throne with her little son in her arms, while above, from the open skies, the Eternal Father blesses her, with the terrestrial globe in her hands, a symbol of her power over the world; He is flanked by two angels. On either side of the throne there are two Saints: on the left, San Domenico di Guzman, dressed in the habit of a Dominican and holding a lily and a book in his hands; on the right, in his characteristic habit, Saint Francis of Assisi, holding the cross in the shape of a Tau and a book, and on whose hands the signs of the stigmata can be seen. The whole scene is characterized by the static nature of the figures still typical of the Renaissance period, by bright colors and by composed and delicate features of the faces. Restored and relined, the painting is presented in an antique frame.

Sculpture project

Pencil on watermarked paper. Signed lower left. The drawing is accompanied by an authentication on photo from the Fausto Melotti Archive, with code DIS 36 015, showing the data of the work. Fausto Melotti was a multifaceted and very prolific artist and it is almost impossible to link his production to a particular technique or theme, without providing only a partial view of his artistic vision. The salient features that are constant in Melotti are geometry, the study of abstraction, which leads him to use realistic but not scientifically accurate elements, and arranging the elements so that they recall a musical rhythm, a detail that refers to his training as a musician Sculptor, painter, musician, poet, he made numerous design drawings for his works. Drawing represented for him a fundamental exercise, to transfuse the original graphic trait from sheets of paper into sculptures and ceramics. The sculptures for which he is best known are made up of geometric elements made with metals (brass, iron and gold) worked into thin filaments, giving life to ethereal, weightless and almost fragile compositions. The work is presented in a frame.

Central Italy XVII Century

Baroque sculpture in walnut, central Italy 17th century. The male figure, created to be seen in an elevated position with respect to the observer and originally part of a larger sculptural group, is characterized by wavy hair and beard, right arm brought to the chin while the left in an enveloping position, in the act of to support an object or to cling to some element of support; dressed in a rich drapery that leaves the upper part of the bust and the legs uncovered, one bent and the other stretched out. The volume and plasticity of the body, combined with the sense of movement transmitted by the twist, look to the sculptural production of the Roman Baroque.

3 Faces 8 Leaves

Gouaches on paper. On the back there are stickers from Sotheby's Auction with the artist's name and the original title "Three faces eight leaves". These are two similar drawings, with the same subject albeit with small differences, and colored with different techniques. Jean Cocteau was a multifaceted artist: writer, playwright, playwright, he also dabbled in the visual arts, loving to experiment with all the avant-gardes of his century. Jean Cocteau published his first book of drawings in 1923, at just 36 years old. In it the poet portrayed his friends Raymond Radiguet, Pablo Picasso, Erik Satie, Francis Poulenc, but also numerous scenes of Parisian daily life, Nijinski's Russian ballets, allegories, caricatures, poetic images. Cocteau reveals himself to be a talented sketcher, but above all an artist capable of capturing the essence of faces, behaviors and human weaknesses. Framed work.

Winter Landscape with Figures on Ice

Oil painting on canvas. Flemish school of the XVII-XVIII century. On the frame there is a label attributing to Thomas Heeremans (but with incorrect date). The large scene offers a winter landscape appropriate to the Dutch territory, as it is characterized by a frozen canal, near a village, populated by numerous figures of skaters, intent on daily activities: the horse-drawn sleigh for transporting people, the the man who pushes the "wheelbarrow" full of wood, the child who pushes himself into his little box; other figures pass by on the embankment along the canal. The gray and cold sky of a winter day hangs over everything. The subject was the recurring one in the production of the Dutch painter Thomas Heeremans, who mainly painted winter landscapes of his land, replicating them several times due to the success obtained, and inducing numerous other artists to imitate him; it is therefore thought that this work can be traced back to an imitator of the Heeremans, rather than to him directly. Restored and relined, the painting is presented in a period frame.

Oil painting on canvas. Italian school of the eighteenth century. Within a rather barren landscape, with architectural ruins on the left and snow-capped peaks in the background on the right, some shepherds pass along the path, leading their flocks of cows, sheep and goats. In the Nordic landscape setting, the pinkish hue of the sky and the pastoral character of the scene give that idealistic atmosphere typical of eighteenth-century landscape painting, in which the satisfaction of feeling prevailed rather than the intention of realistic transposition. Restored and relined, the painting is presented in a period frame.