Portrait of Woman with Muff

The meeting of the Centurion Cornelius with the Apostle Peter

Mixed technique on paper (charcoal, pen, brown ink, watercolor and white lead). Signed Pasqual Otin lower left; coming from a private collection, there are the brands of two previous collections, Dalla Bella and Frigerio. The work is also accompanied by a critical study by dr. Francesco Vincenti and a certificate of authenticity from the Orler Collection. It is a fascinating drawing by Pasquale Ottino known as Pasqualotto, a Veronese painter (the surname Otin corresponds to the Venetian wording) who, after a period of training in Rome, embarked on a painting career in Verona marked "by the Caravaggesque luminism declined in the Venetian style with the use of robust colourism ". Also in this drawing the Counter-Reformation tendency is already perceived, for the meaning of immediate teaching, linked to the dramatic expressiveness of the characters. The episode recounted, drawn from the Acts of the Apostles, sees a Roman centurion who begs for blessing from Peter, inside a room that draws light from the window and is filled with other characters from the newspaper, the attendant on the right and the servant who brings bread and wine to the tray on the left. Central is the intense gaze between the two protagonists, accompanied by the hint of a smile on their lips, to express the joy of the encounter of Salvation. Framed.

Oil painting on canvas. Northern Italian school of the 17th-18th century. The work of a devotional nature, sees the Madonna, seated on the clouds and assisted by two angels who support her garments, is venerated by two saints, kneeling at her feet: on the right the young woman in princely clothes, at whose feet is resting a royal crown, it refers to Elizabeth of Hungary; on the left, the saint holding the Infant Jesus in his arms can be identified as San Caetano da Thiene. Particular is the play of glances between the various characters, which intertwine together with the positions and gestures, to create an almost circular movement. The painting has been restored and relined. It is presented in an ancient frame restored at the beginning of the 20th century, with various current shortcomings (to be restored).

Oil on canvas. Italian school of the eighteenth century. It is a large hilly landscape, rich in vegetation and crossed by a small stream, along which two men, in the center of the scene below, are fishing from a pool of water. Above them a sky full of clouds, which fade into the distance, evoking imminent rains. Restored and relined, the painting is presented in a gilded frame from the mid-1900s.

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 canvas. Northern Italian school of the 17th-18th century. On the back this label of the Art Gallery with the indication "Venetian School of 1600". The Gospel episode of the deposition of Christ from the Cross is depicted. The body of Jesus, which stands out white for the pallor of death but also as a symbol of his purity, stands out in the center among the other figures, the only one inert among the other characters. His arms still open while he is detached from the Cross, constitute a link between the two figures of Mary and John standing below him, and the sky. Around several figures that chorally create movement, intertwining, shapes and colors. The restored and relined work is presented in a coeval frame, in carved, stuccoed and lacquered wood.

Oil on canvas. The two large canvases present the figures of two Greek divinities, Venus and Mercury, painted in the manner of statues inserted in a loggia, in almost monochrome tones to recall marble, and on a dark background. Mercury is recognizable by the staff with the coiled snake, called the Staff of Asclepius, one of the symbols of the god; Venus is traditionally depicted in a pose that flaunts her nudity, that is, her beauty. The two panels are conceived as complementary parts of an interior design. Restored and relined, they are framed in simple wooden strips.

Oil on canvas. French school of the seventeenth century. The scene, set at night in the garden of a villa, of which you can glimpse the ornate facade on the right and in which the fountain gushing with cherubs stands out, under a dark sky and further obscured by heavy clouds, proposes two figures who entertain each other in conversation : an elderly modestly dressed is sternly admonishing a seated young man, richly dressed, who seems instead to make the gesture of mea culpa with his hand. The physiognomy and the gestures of the two characters, together with the style of the clothes, would refer to the philosopher Aristotle who was called to the court of Macedon to be the tutor of the young Alexander, the future king then known as Alexander the Great: according to what Plutarch recounts in his “Parallel Lives”, the young Alexander was a brilliant pupil, so much so that he was also initiated into the most profound and esoteric Aristotelian doctrines, from which derives the aura of mystery and profound interiority that shines through in the work presented here. The painting has been restored and relined. It is presented in a stylish frame. The painting, restored

Oil on canvas. The composition is not a traditional still life because the fruit (grapes and apples) and the bird are inserted in a large landscape, as its added elements in the foreground; Behind them opens a verdant countryside with a village on the hill. Restored and relined, the painting is presented in a period frame.

Oil on canvas. French school of the seventeenth-eighteenth century. The external scene is divided into two strongly contrasting parts: on the left, on the dark and gloomy background of a rocky wall, there are some ancient ruins, bases and fragments of columns with fallen damaged statues; on the right instead, against the background of a blue sky and gray from the clouds, the mountainous landscape opens onto a path, from which some figures emerge, a lively woman carrying a laundry basket and holding a child by the hand, a wanderer with his bundle of shoulders. It seems a metaphor between the past, now dead and dark, and the present, alive and lively. Restored and relined, the painting is presented in an early 20th century frame.

Oil on canvas. The large scene, set in a hilly countryside, with a village and ruins in the background on the left, is completely occupied by the compact group of numerous living figures: the shepherd's family sitting in the center, observing the companion who holds the child in her arms in swaddling clothes; all around, the animals, from the faithful shepherd dog to the beasts of the flock, sheep, goats and cows, also at rest. The great naturalism of the animal figures stands out, which refers as a pictorial modality to the works of the school of Philipp Peter Roos, known as Rosa da Tivoli (1657-1706), the German painter considered one of the best painter of animals active in Italy in the seventeenth century, characterized by the peculiar ability to evoke the fleece and the looks of animals. The work, restored and relined, is presented in a gilded style frame.

Oil painting on canvas. North European school. The pleasant portrait of a young woman in an elegant evening dress embellished with a round of pearls around the neck, recalls the pictorial ways of Peter Lely (1618 -1680), the Dutch painter who devoted himself mainly to portraiture, becoming at the court of London and throughout the kingdom of England the successor, in the role of portraitist, of Antoon van Dyck. The painting, restored and relined, is presented in a period gilded frame.

Oil on canvas. Lombard school of the seventeenth century. A smiling young girl is portrayed in an elegant black dress, embellished with lace on the neckline and a play of red and green laces and ribbons on the sleeves, which match the red embroidered petticoat; she wears her jewels around her neck, wrists, ears, in the hairstyle of her hair, where the austerity of pearls is lightened by colored ribbons; she holds a bouquet of flowers in her hand, which emphasizes her gracefulness and grace. Restored and relined, on the second canvas there is written, probably a copy of the original on the first canvas, which indicates who the young woman is: \\\"Margh.a D. Gridonia Gonz. Agnella - Soada Maffei - D\\\'etta Anni XVIII\\\", followed by a coat of arms with the initials C FAS This writing, in addition to defining the name and age, highlights the young woman\\\'s belonging to the College of the Virgins of Jesus in Castiglione delle Stiviere, founded in 1608 by the Marquise Guidonia Gonzaga together with the two sisters Cinzia and Olimpia, all nephews of San Luigi Gonzaga. This college had the purpose of imparting an education to young noblemen or young people from good families, who, with the dowry donated to the college, contributed to the sustenance of the same. The portrait has minor flaws. It is presented in an ancient, non-coeval frame, with small shortcomings.