Oil painting on canvas. French school of the 18th century. The mythological subject of the goddess Diana bathing was widely spread in 18th century painting and, particularly in the Flemish area, also in the previous century. It was proposed in different variations, with the goddess alone, or accompanied by nymphs, or with Actaeon; in this case the beautiful deity, recognizable by the quiver hanging from the tree branch and the hunting dog that accompanies her. she is about to bathe in a body of water while a mischievous faun spies on her behind her. The scantily clad female body occupies the entire scene, central and of a whiteness that stands out in the midst of the shadows of the leafy forest, with all the other figures and elements that surround it. The small painting was restored and relined at the beginning of the 20th century.

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.

Pencil, charcoal and white lead on paper. Signed (Amalia Bianchi?) and dated at the bottom right. Very effective is the use of different pigments that creates a play of chiaroscuri that underlines the figure. The portrait come in a 19th century wooden frame with leather leafy and floral inserts; it has missing parts and color drops.

Oil painting on canvas. On the back there is a scroll with an old attribution to Hubert Robert (1733 -1808), a French painter who traveled in Italy bringing back various picturesque views and glimpses, populated by architectural ruins. In this work, the glimpse of a hilly countryside is set in a village with farmhouses and a fountain in the centre, in the midst of which however there are also classical architectural ruins: in the center three columns of a temple, further on the left the ruins of an amphitheater. Several popular figurines wander among the structures. Restored and relined, the painting is presented in a frame.

Cherubs playing with cards

Oil on canvas. The depicted scene is set in a closed environment with a wide window which provides a glimpse of landscape. Three cherubs are sitting on benches and they are playing with cards, trying to build a castle. The painting has been restored. 18th century.

Oil painting on canvas. Italian school of the eighteenth century. In the portrait of this gentleman, the dressing gown made of an elegant floral fabric stands out in particular, in shades of brick red that recall the color of the wig. The severity of the pose and the austere gaze of the character almost contrast with the almost frivolous elegance of his clothing. The painting, restored and relined, is presented in a frame from the early 1900s.

Oil painting on canvas. Northern European school of the 18th century. The allegorical scene presents a scantily clad woman sitting on a man's lap, near a table set with a jug, a chalice, a snuffbox and a lit cigar. The two characters are in an attitude of playful complicity, both intent on smoking a long pipe. The background offers a leafy landscape. The figures and objects refer to the material and carnal pleasures of life, smoking, drinking, female company; the rosy and plump characters also recall the pleasure of good food. These subjects were recurrent in Flemish or more generally Nordic painting, which proposed them in an ironic and alluring way. The painting, restored and relined, is presented in a period frame.

Oil painting on canvas. The two still lifes propose compositions of objects placed on wooden tables covered with damask fabrics and surmounted by draped curtains. Among the objects depicted in both scenes there are musical scores, in one case also a flute, and glasses of particular shapes, filled with wine, flanked by embossed metal jugs. Some books, a pomegranate and a crystal vase with flowers in a painting also appear; a plate of cherries with a ceramic cup, a lemon and a branch of raspberries in the other canvas. The two works are presented in gilded frames from the early 1900s.

Female Face 2001

Oil painting on canvas. Dated and signed on the back. Born in Seregno, Danilo Martinis was trained with Osvaldo Minotti. Painter and designer, he has furnished prestigious residences all over the world, his works are particularly appreciated in the United Arab Emirates and in Russia. He loves to express his thoughts through graphic-figurative images rendered through geometric effects and chromatic games, using mainly female figures as interpreters. In this work he proposes a close-up of a female face, enhancing its expressiveness through the play of colors in the ranges of yellow.

Oil on paper applied to canvas. The four works propose pastoral subjects, animated by shepherds with their herds and their faithful dogs, sometimes at rest on the side of the road, in two scenes also flanked by fruit sellers. The works are inspired (as well as by the citation on the back of one of them) by the production of Francesco Londonio, the Milanese artist of the 18th century who made a name for himself for his rural and pastoral scenes, in a repertoire of tasty snapshots of peasant life. The four paintings are presented in contemporary gilded frames, with small defects.

Oil painting on canvas. The painting offers a half-length portrait of a young man who, in deshabillé, is lighting his pipe by drawing fire with a stick from the candle placed in front of him, on the table where a sword is also placed: perhaps it is a young knight in a moment of rest. It is precisely the candle, the only source of light in the scene, which suggests that the artist looked to the production of Georges De La Tour (1593 -1652), the French painter of the Caravaggio style who established himself for his "nocturnal" scenes, characterized by figures, usually low-ranking people rather than historical models or high-ranking figures, illuminated by the light of a candle, to create a special atmosphere of intimacy. The painting, restored and relined, is presented in a period frame.

Face of a Young Commoner

Oil painting on canvas. Signed lower left. The artist Giovanni Madonini was a portrait painter but above all of popular characters, often depicted intent on small activities and with bright colors. Work presented in frame.

Oil painting on canvas. The biblical episode depicted refers to the story of Daniel, the prophet in the court of King Darius the Mede who, for having prayed to his God, was condemned to be thrown into the lions' den. But God saved Daniel, sending an angel to close the jaws of the beasts, and the king pardoned Daniel by instead condemning those who had denounced him. The subject has been depicted several times in art, for the fascination linked to history but also for its exotic flavor due to the presence of wild beasts; in particular we remember the version by Rubens of 1615, where the prophet is depicted naked in the underground pit, while he prays ardently, surrounded by a crowd of ferocious lions. The work presented here instead proposes a version centered on the dialogue between the prophet and the angel, who face each other, standing out with the vivid colors of their robes against the dark background of a prison; there is only one lion, meekly crouching at the angel's feet, and therefore the spiritual and salvific dimension of the biblical event prevails. According to the famous art historian Maurizio Marini, a specialist in the painting of Caravaggio and Baroque art, who had had the opportunity to view the painting years ago, the work could be attributable to Antonio Maria Vassallo (1620 -1664) for the compositional and chromatic choices. The painting, restored and relined, is presented with a listello frame.

Oil painting on canvas. Southern Italian school of the 17th-18th centuries. The scene, full of characters, sees the figure of a leader standing at the centre, well defined in the details of the armour, the crest, as well as the anatomy: he is benevolently accompanying with the movement of his arms a kneeling man who, together to his companion, he is paying homage to an emperor, however indicating with his outstretched hand the group of six children, held back on the right by soldiers. The emperor has risen from the throne, on the left, and goes to meet the prostrate couple, but he too seems almost in an attitude of reverence towards the central leader. The scene seems to refer to a historical episode of clemency of a leader, who due to his age, features and type of armour, could be Alexander the Great, a character who, however, is difficult to match with the other figure crowned with laurel, who descends from the throne in the sumptuous palace . It is therefore not possible to specifically identify the episode (historical or legendary?) of reference. Furthermore, the compositional richness of the scene is appreciated, with numerous well-detailed figures and bright colors to underline its dynamism. The work, restored and relined, is presented in an antique frame.

Oil painting on canvas. Central Italian school of the late 1600s-early 18th century. The composition proposes a female bust in the centre, portrayed as if it were a sculptural effigy, for the monochrome that evokes marble; it is surrounded by a garland of colorful flowers, which stretch from twisted branches above, while a landscape fades in the background. This type of portrait came from a solution born in the Flemish environment and spread in Italy by Daniel Seghers. Restored and relined, the painting has slight drops of colour. It is presented in an antique frame.

Oil on canvas, applied on hardboard in the second half of the 1900s. The painting takes up the pictorial ways of the eighteenth century, with a decorative cut. In a peaceful landscape, with an architectural structure on the right and the green valley with the river opening on the left, two figures walk along the path, a woman with her bundle of clothes and the wayfarer with a saddlebag and a stick. The work is presented in a chronicle style.

Oil painting on canvas. This is a small copy of Titian's work of the same name, created around 1532 and today preserved in the Louvre Museum. Originally it was thought that the work portrayed Alfonso d'Avalos, marquis of Vasto, bidding farewell to his wife before going to fight the Turks. Instead, it is more likely a prototype of a matrimonial allegory that enjoyed widespread success in Venice. The spouses are represented in the guise of Mars (in armour) and Venus, and are accompanied by Cupid, protector deity of love, who holds a bundle of arrows, by Vesta, goddess of the domestic hearth, crowned with myrtle, symbol of marital fidelity , and by Hymenaeus, divinity of weddings who offers a basket of fruit and flowers. The woman holds a crystal ball, as if she wanted to peer into the future. The melancholic expressions of the protagonists have been read as a reference to the possible death or departure of one of the two spouses. The painting is presented in a contemporary frame.

Oil painting on canvas. The scene tells the biblical episode of the book of Exodus in which little Moses, whom his mother had entrusted to the river inside a basket to save him from the massacre of the Israeli male children (ordered by the Pharaoh of Egypt to prevent if the Israeli people became too numerous and could rebel against slavery), he is found by a handmaiden of Pharaoh's daughter, who decides to adopt him and saves him. The scene is set on the banks of a river but in a non-oriental landscape, with architectural structures on the right: numerous figures, depicting the princess' entourage, placed in the center together with the child in the basket. The restored canvas was applied on a modern stretcher. It is presented in chronicle of the 19th century.

Pulcinella Holidays 1981

Oil (mixed) on canvas. Signed and dated lower right. On the back another signature, the title, the technique, and an autographed dedication by the artist to a friend. Mario Cortiello, a Neapolitan painter who was a pupil of Gennaro Villani and later a friend and collaborator of Umberto Lilloni, participated with his own personal style in the renewal of Neapolitan painting, without straying from tradition. Endowed with fertile invention and remarkable representative capacity, he left behind a rich and varied production. Landscape or urban views are recurring in his production, populated by numerous figures, often, in the Neapolitan setting, by Pulcinella, depicted floating on dreamlike backgrounds, so much so that he is defined as the Neapolitan Chagall. In this work Cortiello represents the holidays of the Neapolitan mask as a playful moment in the company of the ever-present naked women. The work is presented in a frame.