Across Myths, Allegories and Religious Themes

We are delighted to present a selection of works that touch on a variety of subjects, but which can be defined by the theme of the sacred and the profane.

The allegories of Justice and Peace are represented both by a terracotta bozzetto by Canova’s favourite pupil, Rinaldo Rinaldi (1793-1873) and by two figures in bronze by Francesco Righetti (1748-1819), from models by the Genoese sculptor Francesco Maria Ravaschio (1743-1820). In both these cases the sculptors make use of iconographical attributes to identify their personifications, Rinaldi being the more didactic whilst Ravaschio eschews the usual sword and scales to represent Justice preferring to make use of the Lictors’ fasces. Sculpture, therefore, plays a dominant role in our presentation and this is further illustrated by another piece worthy of mention, the marble Genius of the Hunt by the Milanese sculptor Pompeo Marchesi (1790-1858), probably commissioned by the Russian noblewoman Julija Samojlova who had a grand passion for hunting art.

Nevertheless, we also have guest appearances by some paintings, such as our Jupiter and Semele, work of one of the most famous names in Bologna in the late 18th century, Gaetano Gandolfi (1734 – 1803). This small canvas, with its fluid but compact brushstrokes, captures the culminating moment in the mythological tale, when Jupiter, astride an eagle, appears before his lover Semele wielding in his hand the thunderbolt which will kill her.

We move away from mythological works with an early 17th century Italo-Flemish Cristo Vivo bronze, with gilt bronze crown of thorns and perizoma, probably intended for private devotion. The fineness of its chiselling and the richness of its colour would be worthy of the most sumptuous of goldsmiths’ production, whilst its expressive strength and pathos invite meditation and prayer. The marble figure of a Bishop Saint Triumphing over the Devil, by Antonio Raggi (1624-1686), has a provenance which includes the highly acclaimed art historian and collector Maurizio Fagiolo d’Arco (Rome 1939-2002). One of the chief experts of the Baroque period and the author of important texts on Giovan Lorenzo Bernini, Fagiolo d’Arco was a notable early 20th century historian and connoisseur of Italian figurative arts who, in 1999, gifted his collection of Baroque art to the Museum of Palazzo Chigi in Ariccia. However, the present sculpture was not part of this donation, but remained instead in his study.

A selection of works will be presented at the London Art Week Winter 2019.

BIAF XXXI edition - the great Fair of Italian Art

Florence, Palazzo Corsini - September 21st  -29th  / Preview September 20th, 2019

Stand 44

Exhibition: The Renaissance Casket from Newbattle Abey

We are delighted to be presenting, in conjunction with Georg Laue, Kunstkammer Ltd, The Renaissance Casket from Newbattle Abbey. Dated 1565, this rare gem of Renaissance furniture forms part of a small group of about a dozen pieces of cabinet work decorated with high quality marquetry depicting geometrical solids and is the only example of its kind remaining in Britain.

The art historian Andrea Bacchi eloquently outlines in this catalogue the unique and important provenance of the Apollo by Antonio Minello – a wonderful example of the Paduan Reinassance – on the occasion of its return onto the art market after a fifty-year absence.

The artist was a favourite of the humanist Marcantonio Michiel; Minello’s sculptures after the antique were the perfect example of the world of splendour and erudite refinement that distinguished both the courts of the Este and the Gonzaga at the beginning of the 16th Century. Excellent in the quality of its execution, Minello’s marble relief, also enjoys a history that is worth rediscovering. Having passed through the hands of the most prestigious art patrons of baroque Rome, at the end the 19th Century it became one of the highlights in count Stroganoff’s collection. It later enriched the important collection of Camillo Castiglioni in Trieste. The latter’s bankrupcy meant that the Apollo then passed into the hands of Giuseppe Sangiorgi, the owner of the most important art gallery in Rome at beginning of the 20th Century.