Antique Painting Mythological Subject Oil on Canvas XVII Century

Oil on canvas. The sacred representation, rich in figures, is placed outside a ruined architectural structure that houses the donkey and the ox, in a countryside landscape with mountain slopes in the distance. The Holy Family, at the center of the scene, receives the visit of the three Magi from the East, recognizable by their sumptuous clothes: the first kneeling before the Child, with the crown resting on the ground as a sign of humble homage; the second behind him on the right, is taking the urn with the gift he brings from the hands of the servant; the third, just dismounted from his horse, even further back, waits sitting on the edge of the well. All around, multiple figures of the kings' entourage are depicted, together with groups of shepherds who climb up the ruins to watch the scene. Above, the two angels with the writing Gloria hover, while above the hut the comet shines. The chorality of the scene immediately stands out, where no one stands out or excels, but all the characters have their role that revolves around the figure of Baby Jesus. The canvas was restored (small patch on the back) and remounted on a stretcher in the mid-1900s, as well as placed in a frame from the same period.

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. 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. 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.

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.

Oil on canvas. Northern Italian school of the 17th-18th century. In a large, rather barren hilly landscape, which widens and fades to the right, there is a high rock, shaped like an arch, under which there is Saint Jerome penitent, depicted in the act of prayer and adoration of the Cross. In accordance with the canons of 17th-18th century painting, the figure of the Saint, adapted to the iconography in his clothes and attitude, is however inserted in an unsuitable landscape, close to that of the painter who drew on the landscape reality known to him. . The painting, restored and relined, is presented in a period frame.

Oil on canvas. Roman school of the 17th century. The bloody episode of the sacrifice of Iphigenia, also told in the Iliad, originates from the wrath of Artemis, goddess of the hunt, who, offended by Agamemnon for his boasting as a hunter, prevents the Greek fleet from sailing towards Troy; the soothsayer Calchas then prophesies that the wrath of the goddess can only be appeased by sacrificing the youngest daughter of King Agamemnon himself, Iphigenia, and so it happens. In the centre of the scene the girl is depicted prostrate at the foot of the sacrificial altar, while she is being prepared by the priests according to the rituals; in the left corner we can glimpse her father Agamemnon (with the crown abandoned at his feet) with her mother Clytemnestra who, in despair, do not dare to look. Above, the goddess Artemis watches the scene, recognizable by the moon on her hair, the bow she holds in her hand and a deer, her symbolic animal, at the foot of the canopy: according to a less violent version of the myth, at the moment of the sacrifice Iphigenia is replaced by Artemis with a doe, as the presence of the animal in this representation might indicate. The work presented here derives from the painting by Pietro Testa, published between 1640 and 1642 (now at the Galleria Spada in Rome) and from his engravings: the entire composition of the figures is taken from it, although modified in the clothes, colors and various details. Restored and relined, the painting is presented in an early 20th-century frame, contemporary with the restoration.

Oil on canvas. The portrait of a gentleman is accompanied by the inscription at the top left "Paulus Castellanus Sanator". 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 term Sanator identifies the man as a healer, the family doctor. The painting is presented in an antique frame.

Oil on canvas. The large scene, set in a hilly countryside, with a village and ruins in the background on the left, is completely occupied by the compact group of numerous living figures: the shepherd's family is seated in the center, watching his companion who is holding the swaddled baby in her arms; all around, the animals, from the faithful sheepdog to the animals of the flock, sheep, goats and cows, also resting. The great naturalism of the animal figures stands out, which harks back in pictorial style to the works of the school of Philipp Peter Roos, known as Rosa da Tivoli (1657-1706), the German painter considered one of the best animal painters active in Italy in the 17th century, characterized by the peculiar ability to evoke the fleece and the looks of the animals. The work, restored and relined, is presented in a gilded frame in style.

Oil painting on canvas. The large scene depicts Mary, already Assumption into heaven and supported on the clouds by little angels, receiving the Crown from the Holy Trinity. This coronation expresses the apotheosis of Mary, who by becoming "Queen of Heaven" becomes the intermediary between the earth, Humanity, and Heaven, the Divinity: what is not given to man to see becomes possible through Mary who in this glorification is more than ever the tenacious thread that binds us to the Almighty, the true "gate of heaven", as it is defined by the Fathers of the Church. Restored and relined, the painting is presented in an early 20th century frame.

Oil painting on canvas. Venetian school of the late 18th century. The large painting tells the evangelical episode of the meeting between Saint Elizabeth, pregnant with John the Baptist, and Mary, waiting for Jesus, but inserted in a larger choral scene: it is placed on a large staircase, probably that of the temple in where Zechariah, Elizabeth's husband, was a priest, and a crowd of figures, and is animated by a crowd of figures, among which several women with children and families stand out. Detail in the foreground on the left is the figure with a little boy attached to his legs, who looks towards the viewer, indicating with a broad gesture of his arm the central event, the meeting between the two holy women. The colors stand out, which according to the Venetian pictorial tradition, are founding elements of the scenes, which underline the figures and fade into the different three-dimensional planes. Relined and restored, the canvas has a slight crack on the left. It is presented in a gilded frame from the late 19th century.