Antichita Castelbarco

Pierre Gobert (Fontainebleau 1662 - Paris 1744) Atelier of Pair of fine portraits Louis XV, King of France and his wife, Maria Leszczyńska oils on canvas (2), 41 x 32 cm., in frame ...

Girolamo Bonini, called Anconitano (Ancona, circa 1600 - Bologna 1680) Annunciation (or Madonna of the Beautiful Angel) Oil on canvas (115 x 91 cm. - Framed 134 x 108 cm.) Work accompanied by the expertise of Prof. Emilio Negro The work, undoubtedly commissioned as an object of private devotion, shows the Annunciation to the Virgin Mary, a Gospel episode here set on the two figures portrayed in the foreground, the Archangel Gabriel with outstretched wings, a portrait of supernatural beauty, and the Virgin; We see her here absorbed in reading a prayer book with her eyes turned humbly downwards as a sign of devotion, while a small cherub hands her white lilies, a symbol of purity and chastity.   In the upper part of the composition is the austere image of God the Father, with the dove radiating with light, emblem of the Holy Spirit, surrounded by a flock of angels fluttering in the clouds charged with intense glow and play of light, in full Baroque style. It should also be noted that the image of the Saviour's mother in a delicately pious attitude, with her yellow veil, her broad blue mantle and her usual modest red dress from which the edges of her white blouse protrude, is to be interpreted as a kind of tender allegory of sacred love. The painting in question is an interesting replica with variants of the composition commissioned from Francesco Albani for the Fioravanti chapel in the ancient church...

Still life with a crystal goblet and a painted ceramic jug Hubert van Ravesteyn (Dordrecht 1638-1683) workshop/cerchia Flemish painter, mid 17th century Oil on canvas 59 x 74 cm. -...

Luis de Morales, called 'El Divino' (Badajoz 1509 - 1586) workshop of La Pietà with Saint John Oil on panel (82 x 65 cm /In frame 109 x 92 cm) STATE OF CONSERVATION: The panel is in good condition, with restorations and cracks clearly visible from the pictures. Gilded and lacquered wooden frame, in good condition. We present this intense Pietà executed on wood panel, the work of a painter of the late Spanish Renaissance who drew on the celebrated iconographic model created by Luis de Morales, known as El Divino (Badajoz 1509-1586), a subject reproposed by the artist and then by his flourishing workshop in numerous versions. This is an extraordinary work, in which the author demonstrates incredible realism and emotional depth in his portrayal of the Madonna and Christ, accompanied by Saint John the Evangelist. In an extremely devout Spain, Luis de Morales counts himself as one of the painters most interested in the dramatic aspects of Christ's life, from his painful Passion journey to his death. This devotional subject, the Pieta, so frequent in Christian art, is renewed in Morales' art with enormous expressive force; it is not for nothing that the artist was nicknamed the Divine, and not only for the creation of a devotional iconography in line with the spirituality of the time, but also for the intrinsic intensity of his religious paintings. The depiction, to great dramatic effect, shows Christ, immediately after being deposed from the cross, gently welcomed into the arms of the Virgin. The intense maternal compassion is also evident in the expression on her face, which, always aware of her son's fate, exudes suffering, melancholy but also serene resignation. Christ, abandoned in his mother's embrace, shows an emaciated and sorrowful face, made even more ghostly by his half-open mouth. The tree of the cross looms over the figures, emphasised by an evocative dark, completely monochrome background, to which the three figures are contrasted with strong lighting. Evident in Morales' painting is the devotional slant typical of Counter-Reformation painting, accentuated by a style that recalls both Italian painting for its research and chiaroscuro effects, and Flemish and German painting for its strongly accentuated dramatic tones. The work shows a strong physical and psychological characterisation of the characters, rendered by the marked chiaroscuro effects and the plastic construction of the figures, also using a sfumato technique, which show the primary influence of Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael and Sebastiano del Piombo. On the other hand, his Flemish training is evident in the anatomical modelling and treatment of the folds of the Virgin's dress, which retain the sharpness of the Nordic painting tradition. We can mention, among the most beautiful versions similar to our composition: - Fig.1 Luis de Morales (c. 1520-1586), La Piedad, c. 1568, Óleo sobre tabla 72 x 50 cm.
Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao - Fig.2 Luis de Morales, La Piedad, c. 1560, Óleo sobre tabla 126 x 98 cm.
Real Academia de Bellas - Fig.3 Luis de Morales, La Piedad, 1565 - 1570, Oil on panel 42 x 30 cm.
Museo del Prado - Fig.4 Luis de Morales, Triptych of the Pietà St John and St Mary Magdalene...

Francesco Albani (Bologna 1578 - 1660) Circle of Mars and Venus in the Forge of Vulcan (or Allegory of Fire) from Ovid, Metamorphoses, book IV The pendant of the present painting, ...

Francesco Albani (Bologna 1578 - 1660) Circle of The Triumph of the Galatea Nymph (or Allegory of Water) from Ovid, Metamorphoses, book XIII Oil on canvas (53 x 72 cm. - in frame 62 x 82 cm.) The proposed beautiful painting depicting The Triumph of the Nymph Galatea can be attributed to a master adhering to the stylistic and compositional models of the Bolognese Francesco Albani (Bologna 1578 - 1660), presumably active within his close circle. A disciple of Annibale Carracci, Albani is considered, together with Domenichino and Guido Reni, to be one of the leading exponents of Bolognese classicism, in great demand by the cultured patrons of the time. Thanks to a style characterised by compositions of an idyllic nature and therefore pleasing to the most intimate taste of the patrons, the greatest output of Albani's workshop is to be found in mythological paintings rather than those with a religious theme. The composition under examination draws inspiration, albeit with variants, from the Allegory of Fire/Allegory of Water, preserved in the Galleria Sabauda in Turin, part of a cycle of four tondi inspired by the Elements and executed by Francesco Albani between 1625 and 1628 for the superb collection of Cardinal Maurizio of Savoy (brother of Duke Victor Amadeus I), who had been fascinated by the Stories of Venus and Diana painted by Albani for Scipione Borghese before 1622. These compositions enjoyed enormous critical acclaim and were extraordinarily praised by European collectors for their aesthetic and decorative value, in which myth and nature find full landscape ideality. The painting shows, in particular, the Apotheosis of the nymph Galatea, an episode taken from ancient Latin...

Bernard Lucas Sanz (Germany, 1650 - Bergamo post 1710) Saint Alexander Oil on canvas (98 x 72 cm./ In frame 125 x 96 cm.) The painting, depicting Saint Alexander of Bergamo and data...

Guido Reni (1575 - 1642) workshop of Saint Michael Archangel Oil on canvas Dimensions (cm): 137 x 99 In antique frame 157 x 119 Provenance: Roman Collection We are sharing a work...

Pair of carved and gilded mirror cabinets 'in the manner of Sansovino' Venetian (or Tuscan) carver active in the 18th century Carved and gilded wood Total frame measurements: 86 x 6...

Giovanni Angelo Canini (Rome, 1608 - Rome, 1666) The Myth of Apollo and Daphne Oil on canvas (84 x 100 cm - Framed 106 x 125 cm.) The work is accompanied by expertise by Prof. Giancarlo Sestieri (Rome) '' I thank you for having brought this qualitative and interesting mythological scene to my attention (oil on canvas, 84 x 100 cm). It refers to an episode narrated by Ovid in his Metamorphoses, specifically the myth of Apollo and Daphne, one of the most famous unrequited loves in classical mythology, an episode taken from ancient Latin...

Giovanni Angelo Canini (Rome, 1608 - Rome, 1666) The Myth of Jupiter, Io and Juno Oil on canvas (84 x 100 cm - Framed 106 x 125 cm.) The work has the expertise of Prof. Giancarlo Sestieri (Rome) ''I thank you for submitting to my attention this qualitative and interesting mythological scene (oil on canvas, 84 x 100 cm.) that refers to an episode narrated by Ovid in his Metamorphoses, precisely the myth of Zeus and Io, one of the most fascinating unrequited loves in classical mythology, an episode taken from ancient Latin...

A fantasy Mediterranean seascape with harbour, moored ships and figures along the coast, and villages in the distance. Marten van Valckenborch (Belgium 1535 - Frankfurt 1612) circle...