Antique Painting with The Announcement Oil on Hardboard Italy 500

Hunting Scene

Oil on canvas. Northern European school of the 18th century. The large scene, set in a Nordic landscape, with thick vegetation under impervious blue peaks, represents the culminating moment of a hunt for a fawn: the knight, who occupies the upper part of the scene, is spearing the prey, terrified and broken down in agony; all around the pack of dogs participates, running around the rider and the prey. Among all, the dog in the center at the bottom stands out, the only one with light fur: the intense brightness that it emanates and which brings out the accurate design of its fur, the moving muscles, the exalted expression of the animal, makes it they make the protagonist of the scene, drawing the gaze towards themselves, while all the other figures, including the knight, become the outline, accurate and precise but not the protagonist. It is precisely the accuracy in painting the animals that places the work close to the production of Philip Peter Roos, known as Rosa da Tivoli: originally from Frankfurt but then moved to Rome, where he remained until his death, this artist was very active above all as a painter of animals, shot in the foreground against landscape backgrounds and executed with rich color and intense light effects. The great success he had and the consequent very large production (sometimes to the detriment of the quality of the works), justify the frequent attribution to this painter of works with a subject and pictorial technique close to his, such as the one presented here, which however is not documented and validated. Restored and relined, the painting is presented in a late 19th century frame.

Figures with Autumnal Still Life

Oil painting on canvas. The H.Sanders signature is present on the barrel at the bottom left. The scene, set outdoors in a street of a Flemish city, with the canal in the background on the left, sees in the foreground a vegetable seller behind her stall, which is set up with a varied composition of winter vegetables, a composed still life from cauliflowers, cabbage, carrots, corn on the cob; next to the woman, a passer-by carrying a harpoon on his shoulder is offering her some fish, evidently the fruit of his catch that he wants to sell. The setting brings to mind Amsterdam, the city where the Dutch painter Hercules (or Herkules) Sanders was born and lived, who established himself mainly as a portraitist, but of whom an interior genre scene is known, currently at the Detroit Institute of Arts, dated 1647 and entitled "Woman cleaning fish", whose female figure closely resembles the seller of the work presented here. Restored and relined, the painting is presented in a period frame.

Oil painting on canvas. Roman school of the 17th century. The large scene represents the famous episode halfway between real history and legend, told for the first time by Tito Livio in his "Ab urbe condita libri" (the books of the "History of Rome from its foundation"). To populate the newly founded city, Romulus, founder and first king of the city, resorted to a stratagem: he invited the Sabines, who lived in the nearby city of Curi, to the Consualia festival, in honor of the god Neptune, and kidnapped their women. The painting depicts the moment in which the Romans kidnapped the Sabine women, forcibly taking them away from their companions, under the eyes of the king, who remained hidden behind the columns of the temple of the deity, the god Neptune, recognizable by the trident. In the center at the rear is the obelisk, which for the Romans acquired a symbolic meaning as war booty and testimony to imperial strength. The many figures intertwine with each other, chasing each other, overlapping, creating plays of bodies and chromatic effects. Restored and relined, the painting is presented in an antique frame.

Oil painting on canvas. Northern Italian school of the 17th-18th century. The large scene is full of figures in ancient oriental clothing, placed in a Nordic landscape, rich in vegetation and with mountain peaks in the distance. The left half is mainly occupied by Saint John the Baptist, standing and depicted according to traditional iconography: he is dressed in a poor tunic made of animal skins, but has a red cloak draped around him, symbol of martyrdom; with one hand he holds the cross-shaped stick, around which is rolled the scroll with the writing "Ecce Agnus Dei", symbol of his role as precursor and herald of Christ, and at his feet the lamb itself, sacrificial victim and therefore a symbol of Christ's sacrifice. With his other hand John points to someone on his right outside the frame of the scene, but who is obviously Christ: this gesture catalyzes the gazes of the entire crowd located on the right of the scene, a varied crowd representing genders, social classes and races different, indicating the universality of the Baptist's message. The work, previously restored and relined, has a widespread patina that needs to be cleaned. It is presented in an antique frame.

Oil painting on canvas. Southern Italian school of the 17th-18th centuries. The scene, full of characters, sees the figure of a leader standing at the centre, well defined in the details of the armour, the crest, as well as the anatomy: he is benevolently accompanying with the movement of his arms a kneeling man who, together to his companion, he is paying homage to an emperor, however indicating with his outstretched hand the group of six children, held back on the right by soldiers. The emperor has risen from the throne, on the left, and goes to meet the prostrate couple, but he too seems almost in an attitude of reverence towards the central leader. The scene seems to refer to a historical episode of clemency of a leader, who due to his age, features and type of armour, could be Alexander the Great, a character who, however, is difficult to match with the other figure crowned with laurel, who descends from the throne in the sumptuous palace . It is therefore not possible to specifically identify the episode (historical or legendary?) of reference. Furthermore, the compositional richness of the scene is appreciated, with numerous well-detailed figures and bright colors to underline its dynamism. The work, restored and relined, is presented in an antique frame.

Oil painting on canvas. Aulus Vitellius Germanicus Augustus is one of the Eleven Roman Emperors who were portrayed half-length in a series created by Titian in 1536-40 for Frederick II, Duke of Mantua. Passed first to the English royal house and then to the Spanish court, the paintings were all destroyed in a catastrophic fire at the Royal Alcazar of Madrid in 1734 and are now known only from copies made by various Flemish engravers between the end of the 16th and beginning of the 17th century. Among these, we have received the engraving of the portrait of Vitellius made by Aegidius Sadeler (1570 -1629), compared to which our copy presents some small differences, as was usual when works by other great artists were copied. The emperor, characterized by a prominent nose, thin lips, plump cheeks and a double chin, holds the staff of command and wears armor with a red cloak over it. The painting has been restored and relined.

Oil painting on canvas. Northern European school of the 18th century. Caratacus was a Celtic king of the Catuvellauni tribe of Britons and leader of the anti-Roman resistance and famous as a freedom fighter. For eight years he resisted the Roman invasion of Britain starting in 43 AD. For eight years he was the most wanted man in the Roman Empire, hunted relentlessly, from fight to fight, from fortress to fortress, in the mountains of Wales, until he was not betrayed and handed over to the Romans in 51 AD by Cartimandua, queen of the Yorkshire Brigands, to whom he had turned for help. Defeated, he was brought in chains to Rome with his entire family: brought before the emperor, the British king spoke with such wisdom and pride (with the speech reported by Tacitus in his Annales) that Claudius, struck by his words, granted the grace to him, his wife and brothers, allowing them to spend the rest of their days in Rome. The painting presents the moment of Caratacus' peroration, at the center of the scene in chains, fervently pleading his case before the emperor: he is sitting on his throne, flanked by his wife and surrounded by senators and soldiers. The painting, restored and relined at the end of the 19th century, has slight damage.

Oil painting on canvas. The scene, outdoors at the foot of a slope, shows two female figures slumped over and behind them a pilgrim, with the traditional staff and shells on his cloak. The woman in the foreground holds a rosary in one hand, and a sleeping child lies on her lap. The scene brings to mind a moment of sorrowful and contemplative prayer. The painting, already restored and relined, has several drops of color and stains. It is presented in a stylish frame.