Architectural Capriccio Oil on Canvas Italy XVIII Century

The painting represents Clelia crossing the Tiber. Clelia was a Roman heroine, who was given as a hostage, together with other girls, to the Etruscan king Porsenna during the peace negotiations with the city; he managed to escape, however, by swimming across the Tiber. Porsenna asked the Romans to return it, who agreed, but admired by her heroism, he decided to free her by allowing her to take other prisoners with her, whom Clelia chose from among the youngest. The moment of the representation is precisely that of the crossing of the river, of which there is the personification in the foreground on the right, with an elderly gray-haired man, accompanied by a young woman with a cornucopia. The scene is very dynamic, with Clelia and the other girls who create a large and lively group, together with the horse ridden by the protagonist, as some versions of the story recall; behind them the tents of the Etruscan king's camp with some soldiers. On the other side of the river there is another group of women, the crossing already completed, while in the background you can see the expanse with the Capitoline city with a classic face. The work, as evidenced by a small scroll, is attributed to Domenico Lupini, an artist about whom not much is known but whose scope of activity between Bergamo and Venice can be hypothesized. The only two signed works are a "converted Magdalene" and an "Annunciation", but other works have been attributed to him by the scholar Federica Nurchis and placed in the monastery of Santa Chiara in Bergamo. These paintings present a warm and refined chromatism which, together with the elegance of the characters and the compositional modality, suggest a Venetian stay by Lucini, which seems to recall the atmospheres of Tintoretto, Veronese and Palma il Giovane. Presented in a 17th century gilded frame, restored and relined.

The model derives from an engraving by Marcantonio Raimondi based on a drawing by Raphael, specially made for the graphic work, deriving from a painting placed in the Stanza della Segnatura (1513-1515). This model was taken up and changed by Hans von Aachen in a canvas dated 1588 and today preserved at the Museum of the Charterhouse of Douai, in turn taken up in an engraving of the following year by Raphael Sadeler, in the Cabinet of Drawings and Prints of the 'Carrara Academy of Bergamo. The canvas in question is derived from this last version, which shows the same changes made with respect to the Raphaelesque original. At the center of the scene, which takes place immersed in a natural landscape, are the three goddesses who competed for the title of the most beautiful: Juno with the peacock, her symbolic animal, Venus accompanied by Cupid and Minerva next to which are the helmet, spear and shield. Paris, from behind, is giving the golden apple that decrees the winner to the goddess of love, under the gaze of Judge Mercury. Two cherubs flit around the protagonists, while in the foreground, always from behind, there is a male figure. A country boarding school is taking place on the back lawn. The work, as evidenced by a small scroll, is attributed to Domenico Lupini, an artist about whom not much is known but for whom it is possible to hypothesize the scope of his activity between Bergamo and Venice. The only two signed works are a "converted Magdalene" and an "Annunciation", but other works have been attributed to him by the scholar Federica Nurchis and placed in the monastery of Santa Chiara in Bergamo. These paintings present a warm and refined chromatism which, together with the elegance of the characters and the compositional modality, suggest a Venetian stay by Lucini, which seems to recall the atmospheres of Tintoretto, Veronese and Palma il Giovane. Presented in a 17th century gilded frame, restored and relined.

Oil on canvas. Emilian school. The large painting comes from the mixture of a piece by Guido Reni (1575-1642), "Virgin Mary at the sewing school", now lost, but known for studio copies and engravings, and another version, left unfinished by Reni himself and then completed by Gianandrea Sirani (1610-1670), and is now presented in the Hermitage Museum in Petersburg. The art historian Massimo Pulini has written about this second version and the finishing work by Sirani, in the article "Gianandrea Sirani painter of recitatives and finisher of unfinished pieces by Reni". The piece presented here refers to the version of Sirani in the composition that takes up the whole scene with female figures participating in the school, to which the little dog is added, however moved from left to right, while the presence of the girl accompanied by her mother on the right refers to the version of Reni. Moreover, an absolutely new element appears in this piece, which makes this canvas an additional version: the presence of a landscape opening in the background in the centre, framed between the two heavy curtains. The piece has been restored and relined. It is presented in an 18th century frame, regilded and adapted.

Jesus In Front Of Caiaphas

Oil on canvas. The painting reprises the piece of the Dutch master Gerrit Van Honthorst, realized in 1617 and now preserved in the National Gallery in London. Dutch by birth, he came to Rome soon after the death of Caravaggio, from whom he assimilated the style that earned him the nickname "Gherardo delle Notti". While in Rome, the artist was hosted by the Giustiniani family, who commissioned him a piece for his private collection, where it stayed until 1804. Brought to Paris first, in the Bonaparte collection, after more changes of ownership, it finally got to London in 1922. The painting tells the dramatic episode of the encounter between High Priest Caiaphas and Jesus, during his Passion. The whole upper part is occupied by the dark: the emptiness, the void, they focus the attention on the two protagonists and on the tragedy that is happening. The scene is strongly static, almost frozen in a specific moment, the accusatory act of the Priest towards Christ, to highlight the intensity of the inner drama, profoundly painful. In the scenem Caiaphas is on the left, sitting at the table on which the book of Jewish Law is sitting, and holds his finger up in an accusatory tone; Jesus is on the right, standing with his hands tied, in a humble attitude. There is a candle in the middle, the only source of light, that connects the face of Caiaphas and Jesus', that meet in a game of glances along a diagonal line, and of which the artificial light undelines mercilessly the expressive contrast, the priest's grotesque and angry, while Christ's is bright and composed. On the background, behind the two protagonists, there are figures of High Priests. They are just shadows in the dark who are waiting on the judgement and their faces are shrouded in the darkness that increases the tension. The mark of Caravaggio's influence is easy to spot in the contrast between lights and dark and the intensity of their gazes. The canvas here proposed, half the size of the original but faithful in the stylistic and interpretive forms, was probably commissioned in a smaller size by someone who appreciated the original in Palazzo Giustiniani. Restored and recanvased in 19th century. There are some names written on the back, signs of ownership. Frame in style.

The Fraticelli's Lunch

Oil on canvas. Genoese school of the eighteenth century. Inside a large room with arched windows opening onto the street, a group of friars seated on the ground are sharing a simple meal, placed on a white cloth. The scene refers to the sphere of Alessandro Magnasco known as Lissandrino (1667 -1749), a Genoese artist considered one of the most original painters of the Italian eighteenth century, who distinguished himself in popular genre painting and, in particular, in the production of scenes from the life of Capuchin or Camaldolese friars engaged in the most varied activities, from studying in the library to confession, from the work of sharpeners or carpenters in the convent workshops to the simple recollection around the fire: in these works you can appreciate all the expressive freedom of the artist\'s brush. moves on the canvas with quick touches to describe flames, fireplaces, cats, books, dogs, poor bowls, lenses, books, poor patched clothes, chairs and stools, in short, a whole daily world of gestures and things built with a very special and unmistakable technique, made of a mixture of lively color and almost all played on monochrome, on which a few, skilful strokes of light descend to give shape and consis tence to the bony figures of the monks. The author of the work proposed here was certainly trained in the Magnasco area and was inspired by his style, although it is more sedate, without the flashes and interpretative freedom, often irreverent or ironic, towards the figures of the friars; he was able to take up the play of chiaroscuro, lights and shadows, which flow from a monochrome in the shades of browns, still creating a work of excellent pictorial quality. Restored and relined, the painting is presented in a gilded frame from the early 1900s.

Jacob Receives Joseph's Bloody Tunic

Oil painting on canvas. Venetian school of the eighteenth century. The painting depicts the biblical episode taken from the book of Genesis, in which Joseph\'s brothers, jealous of their father Jacob\'s predilection for him, sell him a slave to merchants who go to Egypt and declare to their father that he is dead: they wear on trial the tunic soiled with the blood of an animal, that special tunic that Jacob had made specially weave for his beloved son. In this representation, in which the vivid colors underline the drama, the intense movement of the old patriarch stands out, who, disfigured in pain in the face, tries to keep that stained fabric away from himself, moving his whole body to the left and extending his arm. not to allow her to approach him, almost an attempt to deny the evidence. On the right, the group of three brothers, close together in an accomplice attitude, who tell and point to each other the paternal drama. Restored and relined, the painting is presented in a re-adapted antique frame.

Rest on the Flight into Egypt

Oil painting on canvas. XVIII -XIX century. The sacred theme in this scene takes on a familiar connotation, full of very earthly tenderness and intimacy: in an almost exotic context, which evokes an oasis in the desert for palm trees and a spring of water in a barren and hilly landscape. bare, Joseph and Mary sit to rest during their flight to Egypt, to escape the persecution of Herod; the mother tenderly holds baby Jesus on her knees, looks at him tenderly and swaddles him, while Joseph observes them pleased and relaxed. The whole scene is characterized by the dominance of brown-ocher colors, from which only Maria's dress differs, in her traditional blue and red colors; in the background, a clear sky in the colors of a dawn that has just dawned, with shades of pink. The canvas was applied on a new frame from the mid-1900s and placed in a frame from the same period, which has some shortcomings.

St. Francis in Ecstasy comforted by an Angel

Oil painting on canvas. Italian school of the seventeenth century. The scene is clearly divided into two parts, occupied by the two very different figures in colors and movement: on the left side appears the saint, suffering and suffering, leaning against the trunk of a tree and embracing the Cross, with whom he comes into very physical contact. tightly covering the head of Christ with his head, to express the concept of the Imitatio Christi; dark is the habit, dark is the tree trunk, his figure dull, signs of passion and suffering. Above right an angel, who plays the violin, wrapped in colored clothes and surrounded by light, graceful that almost seems to dance in the air. This iconography of the saint refers to an episode narrated in the Fioretti by San Bonaventura: the saint, very weak from abstinence and the inner battles he fought, prayed to God to grant him a part of that eternal bliss he longed for; then an angel appeared to him who, playing the violin, comforted his soul and alleviated all bodily pain. The painting, retaurato and relined, is in good condition.

Oil on canvas. Center-Italian School. The Saitn from Assisi is represented while contemplating the Crucifix as he was traditionally portraited, itinerant in the Umbrian countryside. The painting had already been restored but need to be clean. Displayed in an ancient frame.