Ancient Secrétaire Mahogany and Fir Italy XVIII Century - Third Quarter XVIII Century

Italy, XVIII Century

Bowl in embossed and chiseled sheet copper in the shape of a shell with a triton and a centaur in battle.

Oil on canvas. The painting looks at the similar work by Paolo Veronese (1528-1588), datable around 1560-70 and now preserved in the Prado Museum, of which our painting takes the composition of the figures, changing the entire background and the clothing of the characters. Veronese's work was so successful that it was replicated by his own workshop, with numerous variations: our work probably derives from one of these copies, replicated at a later time. The episode depicted is narrated in the biblical book of Exodus and tells of the finding of the little Moses, left by his mother in a basket along the banks of the Nile River, to save him from the massacre of the children of Israel perpetrated by the Pharaoh; the Pharaoh's daughter, who went to the river with her entourage, finds him and saves him, adopting him. The figures in the scene are depicted in eighteenth-century clothing, in particular the princess' dress stands out for its richness and sumptuousness; the only exotic element is the presence of a colored servant in the retinue, while the background also refers to a landscape of northern Europe, with thick woodland vegetation. The painting, restored and relined, is presented in an 11th century frame.

Oil on canvas. Dutch school of the late 18th-early 19th century. On the back of the frame, an early 20th-century inscription reads "The Surgeon, based on a subject by Bega", referring to the Dutch painter Cornelis Bega (1620 - 1664) who stood out for his genre scenes, usually interiors and in a popular style. The interior of a house is shown here, where a woman is treating a man's leg wound, assisted by her little daughter and the curious old woman. The work is presented in an early 20th-century frame.

Oil on canvas. Northern Italian School of the 17th-18th century. The scene features the figure of the Risen Christ at the centre, seated on the clouds, holding the Cross with one hand and with the other pointing downwards, where His gaze is also directed, towards the recipients of the Redemption; He is surrounded by angels and is illuminated by a beam of intense light that projects diagonally from the top left, piercing the clouds, a symbol of the presence of God the Father. Restored and relined, the painting is presented in a late 19th century gilded frame.

Oil on canvas. Mary is depicted here in an attitude of suffering inner concentration, her gaze turned downwards, her head resting on her hand, her expression sad; even though she is haloed, the human dimension prevails in this painting, the suffering mother. Behind her is a deserted and barren landscape, accentuating her solitude and suffering. Restored and relined, the painting is presented in a period frame.

Gouache on cardboard. Accompanied by a Finarte authentication from 1982, which defines it as "Marco Ricci school". The landscape features a wide valley nestled between mountain peaks and inhabited by a village, with the river in the foreground, on whose bank some characters are engaged in conversation. The colors are soft and bright. The work is presented in a period frame.

Oil on canvas, applied to panel. A very human newborn Jesus lies abandoned in his sleep, while little John venerates him by kissing his chubby little hand; resting on the white sheets of the cradle, the pastoral staff in the shape of a cross, with the band bearing the writing "Ecce Homo": the only iconographic symbol of spiritual content, it is however also proposed in smaller dimensions, appropriate to the age of the two children. The work presents some small losses of paint. Strip frame.

Southern Italy Late 18th Century

Polychrome majolica plate decorated with a geometric motif both on the rim and on the bowl.

Oil on canvas. Genoese school of the 18th century. The countryside landscape sees a crumbling structure rising in the center, the ruins of a building through whose torn walls you can see the masses of white clouds in the background flowing; in front of it flows a stream, in which a woman is washing clothes, while her companion sits on a nearby rock, in line with the female figure and almost symmetrical with the female figure. The scene is characterized by a particular search for light, by a dynamism of forms (you can notice the directional continuity of the treetops with the roof of the ruin and the clouds) and by the theatricality of the figures, all elements that have defined the pictorial production of the Genoese Baroque. Restored and relined, the painting is presented in a period frame.

Oil on canvas. The painting is inspired by the pictorial methods of Francesco Foschi (1710 -1780), an artist who specialized in landscapes and who widely spread the taste for winter landscapes. In this painting we have a glimpse of a mountain landscape, with a village located in a valley beneath rocky and snow-capped peaks. Even the houses and meadows are sprinkled with snow, which is absent on the path traveled by numerous figures; the pink atmosphere of the sky evokes the beginning of a new day, already fervent with activity. The painting has been restored and relined. It is presented in a mid-20th century frame.

Oil on canvas. The scene depicts the episode told in the biblical book of Genesis, of the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, after they committed the sin of eating the forbidden fruit, fruit of the tree of knowledge of Good and Evil. Aware of their nakedness, the man and woman are driven away by an archangel, with the sword of justice in his hand and surrounded by a cloud of fire, they walk shamefully and modestly into the world, represented in a Nordic landscape. The painting, restored and relined, is presented in an early 1900s frame, with carved and applied wooden decorations and friezes.