19th CENTURY PAINTINGS
 

Copper panels decorated with enamels. This is a 19th-century reproduction of the enamelled Cross of Paschal I (817-824), an important staurotheca in embossed and gilded copper, which contained within it minute fragments of the Cross of Christ, and which became part of the Treasure placed by Leo III (795-816) in the oratory called Sancta Sanctorum in the Lateran. The Cross is made up of five panels, arranged in the shape of a Latin cross, on which seven episodes from the life of Jesus are depicted with lively enamel figures. In the upper panel are the Annunciation and the Visitation of Mary; in the centre panel is the Birth of Jesus; on the left is the Flight into Egypt and on the right is the Adoration of the Magi; and finally in the lower arm is the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple and the Baptism of Jesus. The panels are composed on a wooden base and presented in a glass case frame.

Oil on canvas. Central European school of the late 19th-early 20th century. Unidentified signature on the lower right. The landscape glimpse shows a countryside with coniferous woods, crossed by a stream and dominated by rocky peaks. The painting is presented in a golden frame from the early 20th century, with decorations and friezes.

Courtship Scene 1887

Oil on canvas. Signed and dated lower right, with additional inscription "Baden" (place?). The scene shows a young couple in 18th-century folk clothes, sitting on a bench under a flowering tree, along a country path: the boy is making the girl try playing the recorder, a nice courtship device. There are no biographical information about the artist, who is of German origin by name and place indicated. The painting is presented in a period frame.

Family Scene

Oil on canvas. Signed lower left. The scene depicts the affectionate meeting between a grandfather and his grandson who, visiting with his mother, climbs into the old man's arms to hug and kiss him, generating joy in the man. This is a characteristic genre scene of a family setting, typical of the late production of the Istrian painter Cesare Dell'acqua. Specializing mainly in historical subjects, the artist dedicated his last years to scenes of domestic life, characterized by his most appreciated qualities, namely correct drawing, compositional ability and, above all, "photographic" fidelity in the reproduction of the smallest details. The work is presented in a period frame. Small patch visible on the back.

Oil on canvas. Portrait of a gentleman proudly displaying an important medallion, perhaps an award, an award he has been awarded, and his rings. The painting has slight damage to the lower parts. It is presented in an early 1900s frame, repainted and with small scattered losses of color (to be restored).

Tempera on canvas. Framed in a painted, scroll-carved and gilded frame, a mother and daughter are portrayed: the young woman is languidly stretched out on an Ottoman sofa, and caresses the little girl kneeling next to her, holding a lunch basket in one hand. On the back there is a restoration, with a patch in the central part. The work is presented in a period frame.

Oil on canvas. Portrait on a monochrome background of a young lady, in mourning with a strictly black dress, although enriched by a gold pendant earring. The painting has some paint loss, with a rather marked crack. It is presented in a contemporary regilded frame.

The Black Cape, 1950s-60s

Print on paper. At the bottom the words "Gallery Five PU4/IK - Black Cape by Audrey Beardsley - Printed in England". This is a 1950s-1960s reissue by the London gallery of one of the Art Nouveau illustrations made by Audrey Beardsley for Oscar Wilde's play "Salomé: a tragedy in one act", written in French in 1891 by Oscar Wilde, published in London in English for the first time in 1893 and released the following year with sixteen illustrations by the young artist. Wilde's irreverent genius found full expression in Beardsley's drawings: Beardsley's elegant black and white silhouettes are the exact icon of the style that the designer and writer embodied, that is, the figure of the dandy who elevates himself and his life to a work of art, through an egocentric satisfaction in his own aesthetic refinement. Beardsley's flat, asymmetrical, superficial decorations were in sharp contrast to trompe l'oeil naturalism, to everything that is volume or plastic body, to massive, heavy, overloaded forms, to excess of detail, in short to the taste of the mature Victorian era. The work is presented in a frame.

Alpine Pasture with Cows

Oil on canvas. Signed lower right. On the frame a label with the name and dates of birth and death of the artist, of whom there is no further biographical information. The painting offers a glimpse of a wide, green Alpine valley, where a herd of cows grazes, near the watercourse. Realist in style, and with impressionist suggestions, in the dims of light and shadow, of reflections in the water, of shaded colors. It is presented in a period frame.

Gallant Scene 1885

Lithography. Signed lower left. Published by Arthur Tooth in London. The scene is typical of the painter of Italian-Austrian origins: Eugene de Blaas favored cute and often mischievous genre scenes, with girls and young men (often placed in Venetian streets but not only) intent on chatting, gossiping and courtship games. His favorite subject was the common female figure, depicted with an angelic face with diaphanous skin and a mischievous and romantic look, described with bright colors and with excellent technique in her daily environment. The lithograph has widespread humidity stains. In a mid-20th century frame.

Oil painting on canvas. Central European school of the early 1900s. This is a copy of the famous painting created around 1880 by Carl Ludwig Friedrich Becker (1820 -1900) and sold at auction at Sotheby's in New York in 1999. At the bottom right there is the writing Becker to imitate or refer to the original. In the scene the Moor of Venice is telling Desdemona and the Doge his adventures as captain of the Venetian fleet.

The Spinner 1897

Oil on canvas, applied to panel. signed and dated lower left. In the foreground a young woman is portrayed intent on spinning, inside a simple room. This type of portrait of popular figures, of a realist nature, characterized the artistic production of the Belgian painter Oscar Halle, who also produced outdoor scenes, always animated by figures. The painting is presented in a period frame.

Oil painting on canvas. Central European school of the late 19th century. The Madonna sits on the throne, with Jesus asleep on her lap; on both sides a group of little angels, dressed as children of different ages, play instruments and sing: their concert is perhaps the lullaby that accompanies the sleep of the Divine Child. The scene is depicted painted in a marble altar, on whose side balustrades the angels are placed; behind Mary there is a lunette with a starry sky, while at her feet there is a dove and olive branches, symbols of peace. The work is presented in a period frame.

Mountain Landscape with Lake 1863

Oil painting on canvas. Signed and dated lower left. The Prussian noble painter Stanislas Eduard von Kalckreuth distinguished himself for the production of mountain landscapes, in particular views including the small bodies of water on the mountain peaks. This work was previously sold at public auction in Munich. Restored and relined, it is presented in a period frame.

Le Bionnay 1892

Oil painting on canvas. Signed, dated and located lower right. This is a small glimpse of the town of Le Bionnay, located in Haute-Savoie: the damage caused by an avalanche which destroyed one of the village's huts is depicted. The work is presented in a mid-20th century gilded frame (small defects).

In the Sheepfold, 1857

Oil on wooden board. Signed and dated in the center of the left margin. On the back there is a label from an art exhibition held in Sondrio in 1966 and one from the Martina art gallery in Turin. Eugène Verboeckhoven, a Belgian artist, distinguished himself for his paintings of animals, inserted into landscapes or placed in the interiors of stables. He belonged to that school of artists who, starting from the observation of nature, created compositions studied in detail, idealized reproductions of reality. Thanks to his dexterity in depicting animals, many artists called on him to enrich their works with some of his animals and figures. Between 1841 and 1842 he visited Italy, Switzerland and Scotland. The work presented here, an interior of a sheepfold with sheep and chickens scratching around, is presented in a period frame.

Mixed technique (pencil, pen, brown ink and white chalk) on paper. Italian school of the early 19th century. The scene represents the meeting between a high priest and a leader: if he is followed by his entire army, with grim and armed soldiers of different ranks, the priest is followed by all the people who praise the winner, while two young women on their knees they offer wreaths of flowers. Behind the scene, the mighty walls with the entrance door to a city, towards which the priest points, almost as if handing it over to the leader. The priest's clothing, in particular the presence of the so-called "Decision" breastplate that he wears, refers to an Israelite priest, and therefore the city could be Jerusalem; instead the clothing of the victorious leader, with the helmet surmounted by two horses, refers to Alexander the Great, who actually conquered the city in 332 BC. The drawing is presented in a carved wooden frame from the late 19th century.

Ludovico il Moro's farewell to his wife..

Mixed media (pencil, pen, brown ink and white chalk) on paper. Italian school of the early 19th century. Ludovico Maria Sforza cries at the tomb of his young wife Beatrice d'Este (1475 -1497); around him the friars of Santa Maria delle Grazie and on his left Bramante and Leonardo. On the short side of the marble canopy of the tomb there is the Sforza coat of arms, with two snakes and two eagles. Il Moro was profoundly shaken by the early death in childbirth of his very young wife Beatrice, his companion in his private but also political life, as well as his husband's, a patron of the artistic geniuses of their court, such as Leonardo da Vinci. and Bramante, authors of many pictorial and architectural works of the Visconti-Sforza court. Various versions of this episode are known, especially from the nineteenth century, from that of 1815 by Giovanni Battista Cigola at the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, to that of Alessandro Reati of around 1850. The painting is presented in a carved wooden frame from the late 19th century.

Mountain Landscape, 1917

Oil on cardboard. Signed and dated lower right. Originally from the province of Cuneo, Giovanni Rava dedicated himself mainly to landscapes, rendered in realistic forms and with an impressionist touch, in the shades of luministic effects. The work is presented in a mid-20th century frame.

Interior of Stable, 1889

Oil on hardboard. Signed and dated 11-30-1889 lower left. Delleani, who initially painted mainly historical subjects, progressively approached landscape painting "en plein air", especially of the places of his origins, the Piedmontese valleys, characterizing his views with chromatic vibrations and warm brightness. In the last decades of his life, however, he also allowed himself to be involved in the orientalist trend, but then returned to his landscape views, creating above all panels rich in warm colors and suggestive atmospheres. Rarer but equally evocative is his production of interiors, such as this one of a stable, where the animated figures, the sheep, appear as almost indistinct spots of color within an environment played entirely on the luminous effects of a single chromatic range. Restored and protected, the painting is presented in a gilded frame from the early 1900s.