Oil on copper. The Magdalene, wrapped in her long hair with which she covers her nakedness, turns her eyes to the sky where angels look out. Around her a barren landscape. The painting is presented in a frame from the 1900s.

Maria Dolente

Marble bas-relief. Engraved signature along the left margin. Born in Cannobbio (on Lake Maggiore), Giulio Branca was introduced to the art by the Cannobio sculptor Bergonzoli, and later attended G. Strazza's school of nude drawing and sculpture at the Brera Academy. Born in Cannobio on 13 December 1850 to Ludovico, he was introduced to art by the Cannobio sculptor Bergonzoli, and attended the school of the nude and G. Strazza's school of sculpture at the Brera Academy. He made about four hundred sculptures, including memorials, funerary monuments and portrait busts. Branca also took part, following a competition, in the completion of the high wall of the cathedral of Como, which had remained unfinished for centuries, sculpting several figures in white marble for the façade and the altar between 1897 and 1900. The work presented here is a bas-relief showing a half-bust of the grieving Madonna flanked by two pious women. It is presented in a coeval wooden frame from the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century.

Oil on slate. Painted on a thick slab of slate, the scene presents the dramatic moment in which Mary, surrounded by a group of pious women, weeps over the body of her Son taken down from the Cross: she abandons herself dramatically in the arms of the two women behind her, while at the her womb rests the inert body of the Son, on whose hand a third woman weeps; above, a group of angels who look out from the open skies, from which the divine Light springs, participate in the lamentation. Mary is the only figure who wears brightly colored clothes, which contrast with the waxy color of the body of Christ resting on her lap, while the other women wear clothes in dull colors, just as neutral are the bodies of the little angels. The figures are placed on a dark background, in which the opening of the sepulcher can hardly be seen: the chromatic effect is rendered thanks also to the pictorial base used, the slate, a stone also known as the "blackboard", as the most important slate quarries are located near the town of Lavagna in Liguria. The pictorial modality recalls the works of Pietro Mera known as the Flemish, a painter originally from Brussels who lived between the 16th and 17th centuries: active for a long time in Venice, working from 1570 to 1603 in the service of Cardinal d'Este, Mera made extensive use slate as a pictorial support for some of his works. The material with its characteristic dark color allowed the artist to create intense luministic contrasts and to emphasize the figures, depicted with a bright chromatic range and illuminated by brilliant touches of light. In good condition, the painting is presented in an antique frame.

Oil on canvas. Italian school of the seventeenth century. The scene of traditional Christian iconography is very lively and lively, very rich in figures, details and colors: in the center the three figures of the Magi, who pay homage to the Baby Jesus, moved to the left with the Holy Family, while at right there is all the rich suite of the three kings, with gifts. Restored and relined, the painting is presented in a period frame, with shortcomings.

St. Martino donating his cape

Pencil on paper. Signed at the bottom right. Drawing of a pavese painter whose production, after a short modernist period, was close to a traditional lombard post-impressionist at the turn of the two centuries. The main themes were views of Pavia and glimpses od Ticino represented with fast and vibrand brushings and with 19th century angles. He also received several public commissions for the decoration of numerous monuments and buildings of the city of Pavia, in which he frescoed historical and mythological scenes. The design here proposed tells the most well-known episode of the life of St Martin, the young soldier of the Roman imperial army who cut in two his cloak to make a gift to a poor beggar, and who later converted to Christianity. The design is presented in the frame.

Oil on canvas. Italian School. The scene, full of figures, depicts the Holy Family walking towards Egypt, guided by an Angel and assisted by other angels above. The figures are inserted in a typical Italian landscape, they are depicted in a very earthly dimension: the Child, even with a halo, sleeps peacefully in His Mother's hands; Mary, who is wearing an unusual pilgrim's hat, met her husband's Joseph gaze, who is reassuring her with a sweet gesture - he is putting a hand on her knee-, while he is talking with the Angel who is showing them the way. Relined, the painting has some paint losses that need restoration. It is in an adapted frame, from the late '800 - early '900.

Oil on canvas. Monograme at the bottom. On the back of the frame there is the name of the artist, an amatorial painter, with date, dedication to a friend and inspiration, a Madonna by Luca della Robbia. Fair conditions. It comes in a 19th century gilded frame.

Fabric embroidery. The fragment belonges to a bigger scene of John Baptist's birth with his father Zaccaria sitting in the corner while writing his name and her mother Elizabeth supervises from the bad the care given to his son by the servants. The fabric has holes and signe of wear. Revival Frame.

Sant'ambrogio

Original oil painting on cardboard for the preparation of the stained glass window of the church of Viggiù (Varese), for which the master Aligi Sassu made many works. This painting comes with expertise on picture signed by Alessandro Grassi, master glassmaker who collaborated with many Italian and foreign architects and artists and realized the final work in collaboration with the artist. The painting depicts St. Ambrose - patron Saint of Milan - in the act of denying the entry into the church to the emperor Theodosius I, who was guilty of many crimes even though he was a Christian. In frame. 20th century.

Textile Reproduction

Textile reproduction in silk, in two tones Made from a design by T. Strazza, as shown below on the left. The faithful reproduction of Leonardo's painting is part of a flourishing Lombard manufacturing production, which re-proposed the masterpiece in different formats. The work is exposed in a contemporary wooden frame.

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.

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.

Tempera on wood. The large icon is divided into multiple scenes that trace the life of Jesus, starting at the top left with the depiction of the Trinity in the episode of Shechem (Old Testament), to arrive in the center at the Resurrection and Ascension of Christ. The board has some cracks in the wood and small drops in color.

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.

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.

Episodes from the Life of John the Baptist

Five drawings mixed technique on paper, depicting scenes from the life of St. John the Baptist, as recounted in the Gospels (The Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth, the birth, the Baptism of Jesus, beheading, Salome presents the severed head to Herod). The back label specifies that the designs are copied from the cycle of the Chapel of St. John the Baptist in the famous Basilica of San Lorenzo in Genoa. In the 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.

Lamentation over the dead Christ 1585

Woodcut on paper. In the lower left there is an inscription that mentions: "Raff. From Regg invented Andrea Andreani mant. Carver; to the ill.mo and ecc.mo sig Don Giovanni Medici. 1585". It is therefore a woodcut made from a design by Raffaello da Reggio by the Mantuan engraver Andrea Andreani whose works achieved great success for the remarkable quality of execution and style. The woodcut was applied on a sheet of paper, it has lacks and breaks and needs restoration. Style frame.

Stories of Jesus and Mary

Tempera on wood. In the twelve panels that surround the central scene, which depicts the Resurrection and the Ascension of Christ, episodes from the life of Mary and Jesus are depicted. The scenes are accompanied by writing in Cyrillic. The table has diffuse but small drops in color some lack.

Joseph Thrown In The Well By His Brothers

Oil on canvas. The painting, traditionally referred to as from the private chapel of the Bossi-Zampolli villa, also known as Castello di Azzate, is close to the work of Giovanni Battista Ronchelli, who painted a series of frescoes in 1777 during its restoration that lasted from 1771 to 1779, wanted by the Conti Bassi family, the new owners. Born in a noble and rich family of the town of Castello Cabiaglio, near Varese, Giovanni Battista decided to devote himself to painting at 18 years old: between 1738 and 1740 he returned to his home town, and then moved to Varese to join the atelier of Pietro Antonio Magatti. His activity and his fame have always remained confined to his region, in the Italian North West and the Ticino area, where he worked decorating the interiors of numerous churches and palaces. His pieces had mostly mythical or holy themes, with many biblical episodes. A rare exception is the cycle of paintings of rural and maritime life scenes which decorate the hall of the same Bossi-Zampolli villa in Azzate, the only ones that bear the signature of the master from Cabiaglio, whose atelier is also credited for the rich decorations of every other inner room of the Castle. Moreover, most of the furniture and the paintings of the Azzate castle have been sold in a Porro auction in 2004. His pieces, like our painting, are characterized by a compositional lightness and the simplification of characters and their faces, as influenced by the masters from Rome and Varese, in particular by Magatti. In this piece, the scene tells an episode from the Old Testament about the life of Joseph, son of Jacob: his brothers, jealous of their father's favor for him, they hide him in a well to fake his death and then sell him as a slave to some merchants, who will take him to Egypt. The painting is in its original canvas and frame, with a paper support on the back. Needs restoration for some paint losses.