PAINTINGS ONLINE | ANCIENT AND CONTEMPORARY ART GALLERY

Oil on canvas. This is a copy of a painting by Anthony Van Dick (1599 -1641), who created this subject in three versions during his stay in Italy – between 1621 and 1625, which were later widely copied. The composition of the two figures is faithful to the original, with the contrast of Mary's gaze, which turns sorrowfully towards the sky, thinking of the fate of her Son, against the determined and confident gaze of the Child, who turns away from the composition. The imposing column in the background is missing from the original, here monochrome. Restored and relined, the painting is presented in a period frame.

The Announcement

Oil on panel. The reference name is shown at the top left, with the surname changed to Mayer. This is a copy of the painting of the same name by Claus Meyer, which was auctioned in Germany in 2005. The German artist loved to reproduce genre scenes in Flemish style. In the work presented, set in a room of a bourgeois house, a man from behind is reading a letter to a group of other men, all notables or personalities of the place. The work is presented in a period frame.

Oil on polystyrene. On the back of one there is a label from the 1974 Milan exhibition, with the data of the work and the title "Spazio rosso". Roberto Ciaccio has had a deeply conceptual artistic path that has led him to results of pure abstraction. He has experimented with different materials and techniques, but above all his research has been in interdisciplinary terms, often dealing with philosophy, music, poetry, architecture). The two works are presented in a plexiglass case.

Auronzo di Cadore

Oil on canvas, 1954. Signed and dated lower right. Further signature and title on the back. In a contemporary gilded frame.

Oil on canvas. Christ, seated in prison, wearing a red cloak and a cane in his hands, also receives the crown of thorns, to complete the symbols of mockery of his declared royalty, the reason for his death sentence. The scene presents lively and well-defined figures; the central Christ, suffering and resigned in the expression of his face, is illuminated by the light that enters from the opening in the rock face, while the two soldiers surround him. The painting on the first canvas is inscribed in three twisted wooden elements, carved with leafy and gilded motifs.

Oil on the table. Northern European school of the 17th century. The scene depicts an episode in the life of Scipio narrated by Tito Livio and Valerio Massimo. Publius Cornelius Scipio, later known as Scipio the African, in 209 BC. during the Spanish campaign, after the capture of Cartagena he received as a personal gift a beautiful virgin, who was in the group of hostages. But he, listening to the pleas of his family, respected her by sending her back to her parents and fiancé, with the only recommendation that her betrothed work for peace between Rome and Carthage. In the representation Scipio is in the center, seated on his throne, and turns to the left, to the suppliant parents of the girl, while with a merciful gesture, he indicates to them to take back his daughter, standing on the right, flanked by her boyfriend. All around, soldiers and followers of the king. The scene is full of figures, bright and colorful, and underlines the positivity of the king, a central and powerful character, but capable of meekness and clemency. The restored painting has been reinforced on the back with wooden strips. It is presented in a stylish frame.

Oil on canvas. Northern European school, late 19th century. Unidentified signature (Marie Ross?) lower right. Wide view of a green countryside, crossed by a stream; in the background a farmhouse, towards which the female figure is heading on the path. Played on pastel shades of green and blue, the painting is bright and serene. It is presented in a contemporary frame, with small damages to be restored.

Oil on canvas, applied to panel. French School. Signed F. Barthélemy and dated 1876 lower left. The scene is in oriental taste and setting, and suggests the domestic and intellectual education of a young girl (the reference, albeit secular, to the Education of the Virgin is evident!): a young girl, standing at the center of the scene, while intent on embroidery, listens to the teaching of her mother, who is holding some written sheets in her hands; the elderly woman is dressed in oriental dress and reclining on a triclinium, while, behind her, a servant moves the curtain, revealing the background of an imposing classical temple. The scene is characterized by carefully crafted and richly detailed settings, such as the bunch of flowers on the embroidery table, the fabric covering the triclinium on which the mother is reclining; the intimate and domestic atmosphere is underlined by the earthy colours of the palace walls, on which the bright colours of the figures stand out, well lit by the light bursting from outside. 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 on canvas. Lombard school of the late 17th-early 18th century. The rich composition offers a large bouquet of colorful flowers in an embossed vase, next to a bowl full of porcini mushrooms and a bunch of grapes: with different intensities of color, the various naturalistic elements emerge from the completely dark background, creating effects of lights and shadows. Restored and relined, the painting is presented in an early 20th century frame.

Oil on canvas. Flemish school of the 18th century. Lively and animated scene, depicting a popular festival in the village: a group of men and women in front of the village inn, recognizable by the sign, dance accompanied by musicians on the left, while the people around observe, drink, chat. Restored and relined, the painting is presented in a gilded frame in period.

Hospitalization of the Trident 1916

Oil on cardboard. Signed lower right. On the back there is the name with the title, which locates the small glimpse in Macedonia in 1916, during the First World War. Alfonso Corradi, born in Emilia but trained and then lived in Milan, was a student of ornaments at the Brera Academy and for some years he also devoted himself to scenography. He specialized in landscape and embarked on an exhibition career concentrated above all in Milan. The subject proposed here, although of a landscape nature, is part of a rare production of a series of small pictures, almost sketches, which leads back to the First World War, in particular to the military expedition of an Italian body to Macedonia in 1916, sent by the government to the aim to counter the Austro-Hungarian and Bulgarian forces during the First World War and to control that territory. Moreover, there is no documentation of the painter's direct participation in this war campaign. The painting is framed.

Oil on canvas. French school of the 18th century. The scene depicts the moment in which an elegant young woman arrives at the site of an outdoor party: she is getting off her country carriage, pulled by dogs, gallantly helped by a young gentleman. Around her are the maid, still on the carriage, holding the parasol, the other girls in her entourage and the innkeeper who welcome the lady, and are preparing to set up the banquet with the food contained in the basket. The bright colors of the characters enliven the rural setting, while the white dress of the protagonist stands out and illuminates the scene. The painting, in the first canvas, shows traces of restoration and small losses of color. It is presented in an early 1900s frame.

Oil on canvas. In the beautiful composition you can see, resting on an inlaid wooden sideboard, a basket full of cherries, some of which are scattered on the top, and a plate full of red currants, mixed with leaves and a few cherry blossoms. A goldfinch rests on the handle of the basket; to frame the composition, on the right a large bouquet of multicolored flowers in a vase, on the left a red curtain. The bright colors of the fruits, the flowers and the curtain stand out, while the support cabinet blends into the dark background, as does the little bird, distinguishable from the dark background only by the white plumage on the wings and the red outline of the eyes. The work is part of the large 17th century Emilian production of this highly decorative type of subject. The painting, restored and relined, has a marked crack and drops of color along the edges.

Oil on canvas. Lombard school of the late 17th-early 18th century. The rich composition offers a large bouquet of colorful flowers in an embossed vase, next to two large pumpkins and mixed fruit (grapes and peaches): with different intensities of color, the various naturalistic elements emerge from the completely dark background, creating effects of lights and shadows. Restored and relined, the painting is presented in an early 20th century frame.

Still Life

Oil on canvas. Signed top right. The painter of Calabrian origins Enotrio Pugliese, known as Enotrio, preferred to paint subjects linked to his homeland, Calabria, in landscapes but also in still lifes of popular objects, of simple everyday life, such as the composition presented here. The painting is presented in a frame.

Composition, 2004

Mixed media on canvas, applied to cardboard. Signature, title and date of the work on the back. After an initial period in figurative style, the Milanese painter Mario Arlati soon finds a new dimension, which will become characteristic of all his work. In Ibiza, in fact, where he often lives since the 70s, he discovers and makes his own the informal material of the Spanish school which, fused with the wild dimension of the island, gives life to works of great consistency in which the artist literally moves the material: lacerations, scratches, stratifications, colors, but also energy, gesture, emotions, poetry. Arlati's material is a representation of his intimate soul, made of feelings, emotions and evocations of the landscape. The work is mounted in a plexiglass case

Crayons on paper. In the lower right, inconsistent signature and date 1930. In an orderly countryside, a cottage stands on the left with clothes hanging in the sun on outdoor lines; on the right, a man on crutches walks along the road, while another lights a cigarette on the bank above. In the center, a light pole divides the scene in two. The work is presented in a period frame.

Oil on canvas. It is the portrait of a man in armor, accompanied by the writing at the top right "Paulus Maria Castellanus LT Gare". The word Castellanus could be the surname, very common and identifying the inhabitant of a castle, not necessarily the lord but a member of the family. The painting is presented in an ancient frame.