ART SELECTION

The Concert

Oil painting on canvas. Signature and location Rome at bottom right. On the back of the frame there is a label with the artist's name and the words "Chez J. Spiridon, Rue Pigalle, Paris". Also present on the frame is a label with inventory number. The label refers to the French collector Joseph Spiridon (1845 -1930), who dedicated himself to continuing the collection of works of art already begun by his father Georges, purchasing them in Italy from Cardinal Fesch, the prelate stationed in Rome who was his once an important art collector. The location of the painting in Rome corresponds to the long period that the Valencian artist Vicente March spent in the capital, where he had arrived while still young to further his artistic training. March stood out in particular for his paintings of folkloric subjects and genre scenes, a follower of costumbrismo, the Spanish artistic-literary movement that took inspiration from the costumes and scenes of popular life. His works achieved widespread success throughout Europe, ending up in numerous private collections. In this painting, of fine quality, March proposes an interior scene in a patrician setting, with two girls in eighteenth-century dresses who amuse themselves by playing the lute, one and the other singing; the two figures are placed near a high worked window of a rich hall, with frescoed walls and furnished with tapestries, with inlaid furniture and a fine damask fabric on the table. The capacity for pictorial rendering of details and details is notable. The painting is presented in a contemporary frame from the end of the 19th century.

Italy, Late XIX - Early XX Century

Marble bust depicting the god Apollo of the Belvedere with a three-quarter face.

Martyrdom of the Franciscans in Nagasaki

Oil painting on canvas. The work is a faithful copy of the homonymous masterpiece by Tanzio da Varallo (1580-82 /1633), created by the painter from Valsesia for the Franciscan convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Varallo, and currently preserved at the Pinacoteca di Brera. The painting depicts the martyrdom which occurred in 1597 in Nagasaki of twenty-three Franciscan friars, who were subsequently beatified in 1627, a date which allows us to place the work in the last years of the artist's activity. Tanzio da Varallo was probably inspired for its creation by the text "Life and exploits of the Martyrs of Japan" by the Spanish Franciscan Marcello di Ribadeneira; of the Brera painting we know a partial preparatory drawing (preserved in the Pinacoteca di Varallo), a sanguine drawing published by Testori (1964) and a canvas (from a private collection in Borgosesia) published by Ferro. The replica proposed here is faithful to the original, even in size, only a few centimeters lower in height, probably lost during the re-lining of the work. Although it is a copy of notable quality, where in particular the richness of highlights stands out which stand out on the warmer and darker tones of the flesh tones, compared to the original one notices a lower fineness of execution, a tendency towards simplification and a pathetic accentuation, which they testify to the hand of a copyist concerned with reproducing the model in every detail, without granting himself any license. Furthermore, this copyist seems to have been very familiar with Tanzio's style, to the point of even perfectly imitating his hooked hands. One can therefore think of a pupil of Tanzio or of his workshop (which was continued by his brother Melchiorre upon Tanzio's death), or of an artist who saw and appreciated his works, such as for example Pietro Francesco Gianoli, who worked above all in churches in Valsesia and in the Novara area and of which other replicas of works by Tanzio da Varallo are known, such as David with the head of Goliath. Furthermore, since the work presented here, before being acquired by a private collector, remained located for centuries in a Franciscan convent in Lombardy, it is plausible that it is a copy of that of Tanzio commissioned by the Order itself, for another monastery, by a painter who was stylistically close to Tanzio and could look to the original. The painting has been relined and restored. It is presented in a late 19th-early 20th century setting.

Flemish School, XVI Century

Oil on wooden board. Flemish school of the 16th century. The work has a plaque at the base attributing it to Lambert Van Noort (1520 -1571), justified by the closeness to his pictorial methods which can be found in the faces of Jesus and Magdalene, but not confirmable for the other parts of the painting. The work recounts the episode from the Gospel of John in which the scribes and Pharisees brought a woman accused of adultery to Jesus, to test her observance of the law of Moses, which included stoning. But Jesus, bending down to the ground, began to write with his finger in the dust, then when urged, he pronounced the words "Let anyone among you who is without sin cast the first stone", saving the woman and subsequently forgiving her. The large stage is filled with a large and tight group of characters. Jesus in the centre, is the only figure bent on the ground, estranged from the rest of the group and fixed in his gesture of writing with one finger; standing behind him, with a precise vertical alignment of her face with that of Christ, is the accused woman, who covers her body with her cloak observing Jesus' gesture, while awaiting the sentence; all around the scribes, the Pharisees, some soldiers, who instead speak animatedly among themselves, are agitated, confronting each other, indicating what Jesus is doing. The subject was widely represented in Flemish painting, with different interpretative methods. If in this painting the Flemish school is clearly perceived in the faces with hard features and in the rather rigid bodies in the movements of the scribes and Pharisees, as well as in the representation of the building in the background and in the meticulous representation of the shoes in the right foreground, the two The figures of Jesus and the woman are instead affected by the Italian influence, which softened the features of the faces, gave the movements of the body greater composure and gracefulness, and with the help of a brighter color made them stand out among the other figures. The panel of the painting was subjected to restoration and relined in the first half of the 20th century. The painting is presented in an adapted antique frame.

Chiquito Futbolista de Tanger 1982

Sanguine on paper. Signed and dated in Roman numerals lower right. The title at the top right. Claudio Bravo Camus was a Chilean painter who established himself above all for his compositions (particularly parcels) and hyper-realistic portraits, including those of eminent political figures. Rightly considered one of the greatest masters of hyperrealism, Claudio Bravo pursued photography in painting, but always starting from the direct observation of the objects themselves: "The eyes see much more than the camera: half tones, shadows, minute changes of color and lights,” he said. The portrait presented here, that of a well-known Moroccan football player, exudes a meticulous and mimetic realism, particularly in the man's gaze; it was created during the years in which the artist lived in Tangier, where he had taken refuge to escape Franco's dictatorship. It is presented in a frame.

Oil painting on canvas. Emilian school of the 18th century. Large portrait of a 17th century nobleman, dressed in an elegant cloak edged with spotted fur and with the white wig typical of 17th and 18th century fashion, identifying a high lineage. The gentleman is holding a sheet of paper on which a church surrounded by other buildings is drawn, perhaps a convent, or in any case a village of which the nobleman was probably a benefactor. The painting has been restored and relined. It is presented in a contemporary gilded frame. The previous owners indicated that it came from an elegant building in Parma.

Untitled, 1971

Acrylic on cardboard. Signed lower right. Accompanied by Authentication on photo signed by the artist, with stamp of the Bolzicco Gallery of Portogruaro (VE). Published in the General Catalog of Electa editions (vol.II, page 535, n. 230). Emilio Scanavino, a painter and sculptor originally from Genoa, after a figurative beginning, gave his painting post-cubist characteristics, with the forms becoming progressively stylized until they dissolved completely in the early 1950s. In '54 the stylized knot began to appear in his canvases, which became his characteristic sign, characterizing all his subsequent production. In the production of the 70s, to which the work presented here belongs, the "knot" becomes perfectly delineated and recognisable, expressed in disturbing shapes, sometimes threatening and stained with blood red. The work is presented in a frame.

Oil on canvas. Mid 19th century. The large scene tells an unidentified historical episode, set in the Renaissance period, in which an archbishop listens to the plea of a young man in arms, accompanied by his mother, who supports his plea. The setting is inside the reception hall of the high prelate, presumably in the bishop's palace, which from the loggia in the background overlooks the Cathedral, whose dome can be glimpsed; the bishop is surrounded by his subordinates and guards, while different people of the people attend. Particular is the presence of the man sitting in the foreground on the left, who looks towards the viewer and points to the scene, as if he were telling it. The atmosphere is played on the contrasts between lights and shadows, between the bright colors of the dominant characters compared to the dull and suffused tones of the surrounding figures, who literally tend to disappear into the shadows at the limits of the scene. The work is part of that large nineteenth-century production that drew on the historical or literary subject, re-proposing it in a romantic key. The painting, restored and relined, is presented in an important frame from the second half of the 19th century, with some shortcomings.

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.

Snowy Landscape with Figures 1872

Oil on canvas. Signed, dated 1872 and located in Parma in the lower right corner. It is a large winter landscape with a strong scenic impact, which fits well into the scenographic traditionalism of the painting of Mentore Silvani, a native artist of Traversetolo (Parma), a landscape painter but also known as a set designer. In the scene, sprinkled with the white of a short snowfall that creates that typical rarefied and silent winter atmosphere, between bare and dry trees, a dirt road winds its way through by a traveler; on the right a dilapidated building with a wash house where a woman draws water; in the center a small column on which a sacred image is mounted. Trained in his hometown, Silvani participated in the exhibitions of the Encouragement of Parma starting from 1864, and it is mainly in his city that his works are found today (at the Municipality of Parma, the National Gallery, the Paolo Toschi artistic high school ); however, he also exhibited in Milan (1872) and Florence (1875). Trained as a scenographer at the school of Gerolamo Magnani, Silvani held this position in Parma but also in Venice starting from 1871. His pictorial production, which includes mainly rural landscapes of the Parma countryside, is always characterized by fidelity to reality. The work proposed here is presented in a contemporary frame.

Oil on wooden board. Central Italian school of the second half of the 16th century. The sacred scene of the Annunciation sees the two protagonist figures placed in the foreground in an interior that corresponds to Mary's room. The young woman is sitting in front of a small wooden desk, supported by figures of angels, on which rests the prayer book and a vase with small flowers; at her feet, the sewing basket. Mary's body is partially turned backwards, in a twisted movement, almost as if she were trying to escape, as if she wanted to get away from the other figure, that of the Archangel Gabriel. He stands on the right, majestic and elegant, with one hand holding a lily and the other pointing upwards above him, where the white dove, symbol of the Holy Spirit, is emerging from a gap of light. In the background, tall columns with drapes surmount the platform on which Mary's bed rests. The composition refers, in the figurative style and in the chromatic choices, to the already mannerist painting of the schools of central Italy: in particular there is a strong concordance of style and composition with some works of the same subject by the painter Bastiano Vini Detto Bastiano Veronese (1525-1530 / 1602), who lived and worked in Pistoia from around 1540. It is in this city that some of his Annunciations are found: in particular the one in the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie (an altarpiece measuring over two meters in height), shows clear similarities on a formal and compositional level with the one presented here . There is concordance in the setting of the sacred scene: a room, in the background of which is a curtain that partially covers a bed, furnished with the elements essential to the narrative, the lectern and the chair richly decorated with caryatids of cherubs or angels that seem to be carved in the wood. The compositional scheme corresponds, albeit with slight variations, with the two figures arranged "frieze-like" on the same laying plane, and the somatic features of the Virgin and the Archangel also correspond. However, the floor differs, which, while it is homogeneous in our table, in the Pistoia one presents itself with alternating checkerboard colors, but it seems that this design of the floor was added in a later period, on the occasion of the reconstruction of the altar in 1637 -1639, in pendant with that of another work by the same Sebastiano Vini in the same church, a Sacred Conversation. It therefore seems rather certain that our panel was painted looking at the work of Bastiano Veronese, probably at the specific request of the client, and before the change in the floor, therefore dating back to the second half of the 16th century. The painting has undergone restoration, with the application of two reinforcements to the back of the panel. It is presented in a late 19th century setting. (Reference for the Pistoia altarpiece: Catalog of cultural heritage https://catalogo.beniculturali.it/detail/HistoricOrArtisticProperty/0900035285)

Oil on canvas. Neapolitan school of the eighteenth century. The scene, located near the sea, is dominated by a large complex of architectural ruins, with statues, arches, hanging gardens, and animated by numerous figurines of commoners intent on various activities. Restored and relined, the painting is presented in an antique frame.

Italy, Half XIX Century

Female statue in white statuary marble, allegorical personification of autumn, Italy mid-19th century. Whole figure dressed in the old fashioned way with gown, headdress of vine leaves and bunches of grapes, the latter also placed along the left side; with his right arm he holds autumn fruits. Resting on a circular base. Small breaks.

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.

Tempera on paper, applied to hardboard. The biblical episode depicted, described in the book of Exodus, tells how young Moses, still at the court of the Pharaoh of Egypt, defends the seven young daughters of the priest Jethro, harassed by some Midianite shepherds while they draw water from the well. After his intervention, Moses will receive in marriage one of Jethro's daughters, Zipporah. This subject is very popular in art history, it is presented here with a particular attention to the portrait component, with a particular exacerbation of the expressive traits, both in the faces and the poses of the characters. The scene is very lively, with the figure of Moses in the centre, vigorous and combative, who divides the field in two: on his left the seven girls, each characterized by a different behaviour; on the right the importuning shepherds, who suffer the wrath of Moses. In the background, a landscape typical of 18th century productions, with an architectural ruin behind the well. The work is presented in a frame in style.

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.

Oil on canvas. Intense and high quality, the painting depicts a monarch of the royal house of Scotland. Around the portrait, in a painted oval frame, there are some writings: the name Rober(t) appears at the top left, the title Rex at the bottom left and the abbreviation Scot, which stands for Scotorum, on the right; the writing at the top right is not identifiable, but it seems to be an acronym. The man portrayed wears a hat and a coat adorned with ermine fur, which is considered the noblest fur, reserved for royalty. He wears a golden pendant around his neck, which depicts two leaves with the fruit of the thistle, which, in heraldry, symbolizes Scotland. The writing and the pendant therefore refer to a Robert of Scotland, probably from the dynasty that reigned in the fourteenth century. The portrait was however executed in the romantic nineteenth-century period, probably using some ancient engravings for inspiration. Restored and relined, it is presented in a frame in style.

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.

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.

Drunk Baccus

Oil on canvas. Signed lower right. The god is depicted standing on the scene, clad only in a cloth around his loins and by ivy leaves placed on his hips and head, while holding a chalice in one hand; his gaze is vacant and dazed. Behind him, a semi-reclining putto plays with ivy. All around are white clouds, just as the ground is white, with flashes of blue sky and a green bush creating the only contrasts. On the back of the work is the label 'Mario Galli Collezione d'Arte', with cataloguing number 64 and the artist's autograph inscription. The work well represents the painting of this artist, who was born in Modena but trained artistically first in Rome and then in Florence, where he spent most of his life. His rich production initially proposed mainly historical subjects, but then turned to portraits and finally to landscapes. His uniqueness can be recognised in his ability to range from historical subjects, often placed in settings taken from ancient Pompeii, to the Macchiaioli-style naturalism of his second period, in which Muzzioli sought a significant perception of atmosphere and light in subjects inspired by the rural Tuscan environment, often set in antiquity. In this work, a portrait of a mythological character, the artist's luministic intent strongly transpires, the search for the effect of light playing on the naked bodies of the god and the putto, then fading into the background. The Art Gallery label leads back to the Florentine Mario Galli (1877 -1946), a sculptor who was also an important collector of works especially by Macchiaioli. The work shows an important crack and has been retouched. It is presented in a stylish frame.