Painting The Suicide of Lucretia

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.

Oil painting on canvas. Signed lower left. Inside a rural kitchen, a peasant family allows themselves a moment of celebration: the father plays the mandolin, listened to by the little girl who seems to want to dance, assisted by her mother, and by the other women of the house, smiling as they carry out their domestic tasks. The production of the Neapolitan painter Giuseppe Giardiello always looked to the folklore of Neapolitan rural and peasant life, painting, with intimate and delicate tones, both scenes of domestic life and landscape views animated by figures. The work is presented in a contemporary frame.

Oil on the table. The picturesque landscape has a wide path in the foreground on the right which winds between fronds and green meadows, where flocks graze; a small family of peasants passes along the path, all engaged in the transport of goods: even the girl carries a large bundle on her head, while the mother carries the basket with her newborn son in the same way! In the background, the plain extends wide to fade towards the distant hills and into the clear and rarefied sky, which gives off an almost pink light. The fir table of the painting has undergone restoration and parqueting. The work is presented in a mid-1900s frame.

The Showdown

Oil painting on canvas. French school of the 19th century. In the tasty scene, a satirical episode linked to the French revolution is presented: on a carriage that bears on the door the three lilies of France with the initials LR, referring to the royal dynasty (Louis roi?), some people seem to want to leave hastily, while an innkeeper holding the bill tries to get paid, however held back by a guard. At the top left, the sign of the tavern reads "L'agneau a moderé", or "The lamb has moderated", an ironic expression meaning that until then it was tolerated (the regime) thanks to the sacrifice of someone, but the moment of reckoning has now come. Restored and relined, the painting is presented in a period frame.

Composed of woodblocked sheets, sewn together and partly colored, with matching figures and texts. The group consists of 23 booklets, of which two in three copies and one in four copies; another couple has the same cover but different contents. The booklets can be considered as "manga" of the nineteenth century: the word "manga" still today can designate many different productions, such as single cartoons, scattered drawings, more elaborate illustrations, comic strips, comic books, as well as animated drawings. Therefore, starting from the assumption that there is no "manga form" but different ways of conceiving objects and graphic forms all denominated with this word, the term manga can be attested in literary and essayistic use in Japan as early as the eighteenth century to indicate, as mentioned above, drawings and sketches. But it is from the first half of the nineteenth century that Katsushika Hokusai's 15 volumes of illustrations, studies, graphic entertainment and detailed bichromatic prints became established, thanks to the progressive publication, starting from 1814. If, on the other hand, we want to give the word the more specific meaning of “stories drawn in sequence”, then the debut must be placed in the second half of the nineteenth century, similarly to what happened in Europe and the United States for comics. The booklets are in good condition.

Oil painting on canvas. North European school of the 19th century. The romantic taste pervades this nocturnal landscape, illuminated by the light of the full moon, barely veiled by scattered thin clouds; on the country path, which runs alongside the torrential course of a river, two figures of wayfarers can be glimpsed, a child holding a woman's hand. The painting is presented in a gilded frame from the end of the 19th century.

Oil painting on canvas. The Saint, in the foreground, is depicted on his knees, adoring the Crucifix which he holds with one hand, while the other points downwards at the skull, the traditional "Memento mori". The figure is placed inside a cave, from whose opening you can glimpse an arid and barren landscape; the light enters from a hole in the rock and radiates linearly on the Cross to reach the face of the Saint. Restored and relined, the painting is presented in a 19th century wooden frame.

Oil painting on canvas. Italian school of the 18th century. The painting depicts the death of Saint Joseph which, according to the apocryphal gospels, occurred assisted by Mary and Jesus: the dying man lies in fact in his bed of agony, supported affectionately by his putative son Jesus and his wife Mary, while several angels assist, both at the foot of the bed, or from above where the heavens already open to welcome the soul of the saint. Joseph's is considered the most desirable and peaceful form of death, of old age, in one's bed and surrounded by one's loved ones, and for this reason the Saint is considered the patron saint of the dying and of sweet death. Restored and relined, the painting is presented with a frame.

Oil painting on canvas. Italian school of the 17th century. The Saint is depicted inside his study, intent on reading and studying the sacred texts, but in penitential garb, i.e. clad only in a red cloth draped around his naked body. The painting, relined, has a significant crack; It is placed in a contemporary gilded wooden frame.

Oil painting on canvas. Northern European school of the 18th century. Caratacus was a Celtic king of the Catuvellauni tribe of Britons and leader of the anti-Roman resistance and famous as a freedom fighter. For eight years he resisted the Roman invasion of Britain starting in 43 AD. For eight years he was the most wanted man in the Roman Empire, hunted relentlessly, from fight to fight, from fortress to fortress, in the mountains of Wales, until he was not betrayed and handed over to the Romans in 51 AD by Cartimandua, queen of the Yorkshire Brigands, to whom he had turned for help. Defeated, he was brought in chains to Rome with his entire family: brought before the emperor, the British king spoke with such wisdom and pride (with the speech reported by Tacitus in his Annales) that Claudius, struck by his words, granted the grace to him, his wife and brothers, allowing them to spend the rest of their days in Rome. The painting presents the moment of Caratacus' peroration, at the center of the scene in chains, fervently pleading his case before the emperor: he is sitting on his throne, flanked by his wife and surrounded by senators and soldiers. The painting, restored and relined at the end of the 19th century, has slight damage.

Oil on canvas. 17th century Tuscan school. According to Christian tradition, Saint Veronica was the 'pious woman' who, seeing the passion of Jesus carrying the cross and his face smeared with sweat and blood, wiped it with a linen cloth, on which the imprint of Jesus' face would remain. This veil, also known as the Holy Shroud, thus became the iconographic sign of the saint. Veronica also appears in the centre of the painting, while two angels on the sides hold the linen on which Christ's face is imprinted, crowned with thorns; below it, a chalice symbolically collects the divine blood, while above the saint's theta the Holy Spirit hovers. Restored and re-framed, the painting is presented in a stylish frame.

Oil painting on canvas. The composition features a hanging hare in the centre, flanked by some quails and a pigeon; on the right side, a wicker basket containing chestnuts and pine branches; on the left side a bunch of asparagus and a vase of colorful flowers, whose bright and lively colors create a chromatic contrast with the other elements, all in brown and gray tones. Restored and relined, the painting is presented in a repurposed 19th century frame.