Venus And The Graces Dance In Front Of Mars Oil On Canvas 18th Century

Oil on canvas. Central European School. The scene is set in the shop of a barber, who is intent on cutting a man's hair under the watchful eye of other customers and, above all, of some women with children, one of whom even observes the result of his work with glasses. Glasses were introduced in art first as a sign of distinction, and later also as a sign of scientific attention, progressively delineating the figure of the scholar, doctor and surgeon: in this painting, they actually underline the irony of the scene, and they are used as a tool for a close female examination of the spouse's haircut! The whole scene is filled with figures, painted in a crude and almost grotesque way, with very marked, almost theatrical expressions and poses, underlined as well by the bright colours. Due to these characteristics, the painting fits well into that production of genre scenes based on popular life captured in its most lively and characteristic moments, which originated in the seventeenth century in Central Europe, especially in the Netherlands, to replace naturalistic and religious painting with lighter subjects, and which in Italy found a particular expression in the "Bamboccianti School", developed in Rome by Flemish and Italian painters. The painting has been restored and relined. It is presented in an antique 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.

Oil on canvas. Central European school. The scene, set inside a tavern, depicts a fight between two men, who are held by the other patrons and by the innkeeper; on the table, next to the interrupted lunch, the cards of the game that sparked the quarrel. The whole scene is filled with figures, painted in a raw and almost grotesque way, with very pronounced, almost theatrical expressions and poses, underlined even more by the bright colours. Due to these characteristics, the painting fits well into that production of genre scenes based on popular life captured in its most lively and characteristic moments, which started in the seventeenth century in Central Europe, especially in the Netherlands, to replace naturalistic and religious painting with lighter subjects, and which in Italy found a particular expression in the "Bamboccianti School", developed in Rome by Flemish and Italian painters. The painting has been restored and relined. It is presented in a period frame.

Mater Dolorosa

Oil on canvas. Copy of a subject realized by Tiziano, who completed three different autograph copies, each one different from the other for the pose of the Virgin: 1. Mater Dolorosa, with open hands (oil on marble, at the Museo del Prado in Madrid); 2 Mater Dolorosa with folded hands (oil on panel at the Museo Cerralbo in Madrid); 3. Mater Dolorosa with folded hands (oil on panel, auctioned in New York on 06/04/2006). This pieces dates back to mid 16th century, but there are more later variants, attributed to the Venetian artist and his atelier. It is well known that Tiziano would introduce small variations even in his autograph copies to reinforce the autenticity effect. This copy, dating back to the following century, is still of the highest execution quality, There is a monogram on the back (in an affixed space on the canvas) that is probably the artist's signature. The painting, restored and recanvased, is presented in an antique frame.

Oil on canvas. Mittel-European School. There is a No.S monogram on the back and numbers probably from an inventory. The painting reminds of pieces from the Austrian area. It represents a battle between knights, it is dominated in the foreground by the confrontation between two of them. The painting comes from a historical collection from Lombardy. The painting is still in its first canvas and original framing; there are patches on the back and signs of antique restorations, it has also undergone an additional pictorial and reperativr restoration, in our lab. Well marked crack. The painting is presented in an original and coeval frame, lacquered.

Cherubs playing with cards

Oil on canvas. The depicted scene is set in a closed environment with a wide window which provides a glimpse of landscape. Three cherubs are sitting on benches and they are playing with cards, trying to build a castle. The painting has been restored. 18th century.

Still Life with carpets, jewels, fruit and a mirror

Oil on canvas attributable to Antonio Gianlisi. According to the different depicted objects such as a shirt thrown on an armchair, some jewels, a dressing table with mirror, some fruit and a tray with a pitcher and glasses, the still life could be located in the private room of a rich woman. Restored and relined, presented in an antique coeval frame. 18th century-19th century.

Oil on canvas. The large composition, intended as a decoration with a trompe l'oeil effect, shows a vase overflowing with a cascade of colourful flowers, that stands on a ledge, behind which you can see some architectural elements in the background, some capitals of half columns. The painting underwent some reparative restorations for some paint losses. It is presented in a frame in style.

Cherubs' Game

Oil on canvas. In the depicting scene, three cherubs are play-acting: one of them is wearing a smiling mask and is trying to scare his mate, while the last one is dressed up like a pilgrim. 18th century.

Oil on canvas. Northern Italian school of the 17th-18th century. In a large, rather barren hilly landscape, which widens and fades to the right, there is a high rock, shaped like an arch, under which there is Saint Jerome penitent, depicted in the act of prayer and adoration of the Cross. In accordance with the canons of 17th-18th century painting, the figure of the Saint, adapted to the iconography in his clothes and attitude, is however inserted in an unsuitable landscape, close to that of the painter who drew on the landscape reality known to him. . The painting, restored and relined, is presented in a period frame.

Oil on the table. Northern Italian (Venetian?) School of the 18th century. The shape of the table suggests that the painting was part of a furnishing set, inserted in a composite wall structure together with other mythological-allegorical scenes. The painting represents a mythological episode narrated in Ovid's Metamorphoses: Mercury prepares to put Argus to sleep with the persuasive melodies of his flute, and then kills him at the command of Jupiter. Argos, the shepherd with a hundred eyes and endowed with great strength, had been commissioned by Juno to watch over the young Io, loved by Jupiter and transformed by him into a heifer. In this representation, placed within a bucolic landscape, Mercury can be identified with his hat and winged shoes, while playing his flute, and Argus sitting watching the white heifer behind him: as in many representations of this myth, also in works of great fame, Argo is depicted as a simple shepherd, without a hundred eyes and without special gifts. The bucolic rather than dramatic dimension underlines the decorative intent of the panel, which seeks to evoke lightness rather than pathos. The work is in good condition.