The Scribano

Oil on cardboard. Signed at the bottom right. Beautiful painting by the painter from Bergamo (Italy). Romualdo Locatelli studied at the Carrara Academy and then, driven by a strong passion for trips, he traveled a lot in Italy and abroad in Africa and Orient. During the World War II he moved to Manila in the Philippines, where he stayed until his death. His works belong to public and private collection all around the world, especially in Orient where he probably made his better works and is still known as the "famous Romualdo". His natal city Bergamo dedicated him many exhibition. The painting depicts an oriental subject, a character of the Oriental popular life typical of the places the artist visited. The face of the depicted person was cleaned because it had extremely pronounced facial features compared to the shade given by the hat. The features were inappropriate considering the man's race (before and after cleaning in the pictures). Presented in frame. 20th century.

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.

Departure for the war

China ink and watercolor on paper. Signed in the lower left corner. The scene depicts a Greek soldier, already dressed up for the war is saying goodbye to the desperate wife and son. Raffaele Postiglione used to paint historical and religious subjects. The painting is presented in coeval frame. 19th century.

Oil painting on canvas. Monogram AC unidentified lower left. The painting presents the biblical character King David, horned and in royal clothes, while he is intent on playing the harp, the instrument he uses to sing the praises of the Lord. His figure is placed on a cloud in the sky, but framed by a rich curtain. The painting has small holes and spots. It is presented in a mid-1900s frame.

Oil painting on canvas. Under the Cross which occupies the center of the scene, there are three saints: clearly recognizable San Sebastiano, tied to the tree and pierced by the arrows of his martyrdom; on the left San Rocco, dressed as a pilgrim, showing his thigh with the leprosy he contracted, and accompanied by the little dog who brings him the piece of bread; in the centre, on his knees, a saint in Franciscan habit. The work has small scattered holes. It is presented in a mid-1900s frame.

Oil painting on canvas. At the bottom left there are the two initials AC, perhaps followed by an illegible surname. The Saint, framed by a rich curtain, is identified as Cecilia by the presence of the organ, an instrument she played and which had her erected as patroness of music; she is richly dressed for her wealthy Roman status and holds the palm of martyrdom. The painting has small drops of color and stains. It is presented in a mid-1900s frame.

Oil on wooden board. Signed lower right. These are three small paintings proposing landscape glimpses, made in the naturalistic style typical of Lorenzo Gignous: the two lateral ones, measuring 24 x 30 cm, propose the most recurring subject in the Lombard artist's production, i.e. glimpses of Lake Maggiore, animated by fishing boats; in the center a smaller landscape (18 x 25 cm) with a group of trees in the countryside. The three small paintings are presented in a single coeval frame.

Concept of a Young Figure

Mixed technique on paper; drawing cut out and applied on cardboard. Signed lower right. It is a small study, probably to be included in a larger scene, of the figure of a child carrying a basket of vegetables on his head, still undefined but sketched with traces of green; the boy is dressed only in a short shirt. Neapolitan painter, but also museologist and teacher of figurative arts, Dalbono trained in the Neapolitan verismo movement which referred to the School of Resina. He loved the landscape, which he portrayed from life, preferring the hours of dawn with its play of light; but he also produced many genre scenes, with popular bourgeois subjects, animated by different figures and always with Naples as a background, its views and its landscapes, told with suffused atmospheres, full of poetry. The painting is presented in a period frame.

Forest landscape

Oil on cardboard. Signed lower right. After an initial period dedicated to music, Francesco Sartorelli chose the path of painting, forming himself as an autodidact. Landscape painter, initially of the traditional type, he then approached divisionist painting, finally arriving at defining his own style made up of fluid and loose brushstrokes. This glimpse of the woods is proposed in the latter style, with brushstrokes of color playing on autumnal hues, which spread fluidly and quickly. The work is presented in a gilded frame in style.

Mythology

Grass juice painting on velvet. The painting presents a mythological scene enclosed in an oval frame, around which are small fauns playing the flute and capitals with vases and floral decorations. The central scene, set in a garden, shows a queen lying voluptuously on a triclinium, surrounded by her handmaidens, while seated at her feet, a slave, recognisable by his ankle ring, speaks passionately to her. These could be the mythological characters of Onphale, queen of Lydia, and Heracles, who was her slave, as well as her lover, for three years, during which he performed various feats for her. This myth has been widely told and depicted in art throughout the centuries, albeit with different interpretations. The painting is in good condition, apart from a slight tear on the margin of the inner oval frame on the left. The work is presented framed.

An Officer's Portrait 1897

Oil on canvas. Signed, dated and with location Rome in the bottom right-hand corner. There is little biographical information on the painter Mario Spinetti, but various genre scenes and some portraits are known of his production. Presented here is a three-quarter-length portrait of an officer of the Royal Italian Army. The painting is presented in a gilded antique frame, which is in need of restoration due to multiple missing parts.

Oil on canvas. Lombard School. Portrait of a middle-aged austere and composed lady, The painting is in good conditions and comes in a coeval frame. that shows small drops of the gilding.

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.

Pastels on cardboard. Central European school of the late 1800s. Trace of signature lower left. The beautiful and elegant young woman is depicted with a melancholy expression, a slight heavy smile, her eyes downcast and pensive: the attitude, associated with the black she wears, suggests a woman in mourning. The painting is presented in a mid-1900s frame.

Oil on canvas. Lombard School. Portrait of a woman that highlights the lace of the dress and the crucifix around the neck. It is in good conditions and comes in a gilded coeval frame that shows small drops of color.

Paintings under glass, on a convex glass surface. The two oval paintings offer landscapes enlivened by figurines of people intent on various activities: in one the setting is in the mountains, with small chalets below by the stream and below rocky peaks; in the other instead at night, a placid river flows near wooded banks, illuminated by the full moon. The paintings are presented in contemporary gilded frames, to be restored due to deficiencies.

Pencil on paper. Good use of the hatching and chiaroscuro are shown in this portrait of a young woman. The portrait comes with a 19th century wooden frame that had beeen embellished with leafy and floral leather inserts; the frame has some color drops and some missing parts.

Oil on canvas. The painting celebrates the memory of a deceased person: it represents a tombstone with the name of the dead and the dates, laying on the bare ground in a desert landscape, faded with a sunset in the background, but surrounded by a garland of lively flowers. A white lily stands out from all, stretched out upwards, but with a broken stem, forcing the corolla to turn towards the ground: it is the "memento mori", the symbol of the transience of life. The beautiful painting is presented in a gilded coeval frame.

OIl on canvas. North Italy School. Small glimpse of a steam that flows between the houses; we can see two figures, one is a soldier that is passing under the bridge on his boat; the other man is crossing the bridge while pulling a dunkey that is pulling a cart. The painting needs to be restored because of several drops of color of which the biggest one is on the left side of the bridge. It comes in a gilded coeval frame.