Oil on Canvas Religious Subject Italy XVII Century

Oil on canvas. The two paintings, certainly similar in terms of subject type and pictorial methods, offer two landscape glimpses typical of the 17th and 18th Nordic production. They feature large countryside spaces near watercourses and inhabited by farmhouses. There are figures of peasants and commoners focusing on their work. The blue mountains in the background, preceded by gentle hills and surrmounted by a blue sky with white clouds. They had been previously relined and restored and they both show color spots and opacity. They feature a contemporary frame.

A Sacrifice to Venus

Watercolor on paper. At the bottom left the name Giuseppe Cades, Although on the back, in addition to the attribution, the title "The oath of the Vestal Virgin". A girl is offering garlands of flowers to the statue of the goddess Venus, traditionally painted in a discrete way. She's holding the veil with one hand to cover the loins. The other hand covers the breast and the head with the hair gathered and adorned with flowers. Behind the girl, a young woman watches the scene, while a third peers from behind the column of the temple: therefore it seems to be a scene of supplication to the goddess, asking her to favor the love of two young men: according to both Greek and Roman tradition, the young before the wedding woman devoted themselves to this goddess, which was considered as the protector of marriage and conjugal fidelity. The work seems to be very close to the production of Giuseppe Cades, who in the 1780s and 1790s became one of the best known and appreciated personality in the Roman artistic world. He was a draftsman and an engraver too. The work is framed

Oil on canvas. The face of the Virgin reminds of the style of representation of Giovanni Battista Salvi, also known as Sassoferrato (1609-1685), whose style was often revived in 18th and 19th century. There is a cartouche on the back of the painting with the inventory number (N. 193) and the name of the collector Giuseppe Bertarelli (1804-1875), merchant and philanthropist from Milan, known for his important art donations to the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana. The painting is in its first canvas; needs restorations for small paint losses and two small holes. It is presented in a coeval frame.

Sant'Antonio Abate e San Paolo l'Eremita

Oil on canvas. It is a large Nordic landscape, dominated by rocky peaks on the left and a lake with a central island on the right; in the foreground some figures that tell the legend of San Paolo Eremita, on the left, and Sant'Antonio abate, on the right with a centaur. The Golden Legend of Jacopo da Varagine tells that Saint Anthony the Abbot visited Paul the hermit, who for forty years had lived in solitude fed by a crow who brought him bread every day. Sant'Antonio asked for news from a centaur, who also in this scene shows him the way to follow with his arm. The restored and relined work is presented in a period frame.

Oil on canvas. Center-Italian School. Typical dynamic scene of baroque taste focused on the figures of the Virgin Mary and the Child surounded by other adoring figures: on the right there is Saint Joseph , on the left two shepherds and on top an array of angels incensing, The painting, already restored, shows small drops of color. Displayed in frame.

Oil on canvas. Italian School. Still life with fruit (watermelon, pears, peaches and pomegranates) and vegetables (pumpkin, califlowers) standing on a surface; on the right there is the ladder of a hemhouse with an hem inside. The painting needs to be cleaned and restore because of some drops of color. Revival frame.

Oil on canvas. Flemish School. Magdalene is represented with her iconographical symbols: in the desert, half-dressed and with her hair down, with the book of Holy Scriptures and in an attitude of ecstasy; next to her there is a skull, symbol of " momento mori", that recalls to the transience of life. Restored and displayed in a frame made with readjusted old woods.

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.

Oil on canvas. Northern Italian school of the seventeenth century. The young man is portrayed posing with books by his side and in his hand, indicating his propensity for study; the heraldic coat of arms of the noble family to which the young man belongs is depicted on the top right. Restored and relined, the painting is presented in a period frame.

The Birth Of Venus

Pen and brown ink drawing on paper. Writing on the back from the early '900 that describes the drawing as preparatory for decors and glass windows. There is also a paper label from a historic private collection. It is one of the first preparatory sketches for the scene of "The Birth of Venus", of which we know later sketches, expanded and enriched with more details. The sketch is presented in a XIX century frame.

Oil on canvas. Bloody scene depicting a puma assaulting two watchdogs. The dogs are free from their chains, but they are succumbing to the puma. Restored and relined, it requires cleaning. Revival gilded frame. 18th century.

Oil painting on canvas. Northern Italian school of the 18th century. A peculiarity of this scene is the presentation of the characters concentrated in the lower part of the canvas, while in the upper one dominates on the left the great architectural structure, which is meant to be the cave, but which is a tall and imposing wooden structure, flanked on the right by the darkness of the night, interrupted by the gap of light opened in the heavens, from which the angels come out. The characters are willing to converge, along an oblique line ascending to the left, in the direction of the Holy Family, in particular towards Mary and the Child, who are on the same diagonal as the celestial beam of light. On the right of the Holy Family, the Magi, with their retinue of servants and animals, behind which opens a landscape that evokes the distant lands from which they come. The painting is also animated by the play of colors and lights, with alternating lights and shadows, bright colors and dark backgrounds. Restored and relined, the painting is presented in a beautiful gilded frame from the end of the 19th century.