Oil on canvas, in a carved and gilded wooden frame.

Expert opinion: Prof. Dario Succi, Gorizia (critical essay enclosed).

Antonio Joli, born in Modena around 1700, trained under the perspective painter Raffaello Rinaldi before moving to Rome, where he absorbed the influence of Pannini. Active in Venice from 1732, he worked as a stage designer for the city’s principal theatres before pursuing a distinguished international career in London, at the Spanish court, and finally in Naples, where he was appointed chief set designer of the Real Teatro di San Carlo and established himself as a veduta painter for prestigious patrons.

The painting depicts an architectural capriccio with figures set against an open coastal landscape. The foreground is dominated by monumental ruins, a large urn on a pilaster supported by sphinxes, broken columns, fallen entablatures, arranged as a theatrical backdrop in the tradition of Pannini. The composition opens diagonally toward the middle ground, where the remains of a marble palace emerge, dissolving into the bluish luminosity of the bay with its fortress and sailing vessels. The figures, noblewomen strolling, a traveller with a dog, a guardian opening a gate, are placed with Joli’s characteristic narrative ease, binding the staffage to the architecture in a balance between reality and invention. The work belongs to the artist’s final period, showing close affinities with the scenographic paintings in the royal collections of Naples and Caserta, datable to around 1776.

Condition report: Relined canvas. Good state of conservation of the painted surface.

Oil on canvas, in a gilt wood frame.

The painting depicts a fantasy capriccio landscape in which a citadel perched on a rocky outcrop dominates the centre of the composition, reflected in a stretch of water animated by sailing vessels. On the left, an equestrian statue on a tall pedestal rises above a wooded promontory, while in the foreground figures of fishermen and a grey horse complete the scene with easy naturalism. The warm sunset light, shading from pink to blue across the sky, unifies the whole and lends the view a quietly melancholic, dreamlike quality. The characteristic vivacity of the staffage figures and the fluency of the atmospheric rendering point confidently to Giuseppe Bernardino Bison, one of the most original interpreters of Venetian vedutism in the late eighteenth century.

Condition report: Relined canvas. Good condition of the painted surface.

Oil on canvas, in a carved and gilded wooden frame.

Relined canvas. Good state of conservation of the painted surface.

The painting depicts an architectural capriccio with classical ruins: at the centre of the composition rises a fluted column surmounted by a heraldic lion, flanked on the left by a domed building and a campanile, on the right by a monumental plinth with a sphere. The foreground is animated by figures of common people, a horseman, and dogs, rendered with the fluent brushwork typical of the Venetian macchiette tradition. The luminous sky, crossed by clouds, lends the scene an atmosphere of sunlit vitality. The vivacity of the figures and the atmospheric rendering of the landscape suggest a possible attribution to Antonio Stom (Venice 1688 – Venice 1734), one of the most original interpreters of the Venetian architectural capriccio in the early 18th century.

Condition report: Relined canvas. Good state of conservation of the painted surface.

Oil on canvas, in a gilded wooden frame.

Bartolomeo Pedon, a Venetian painter active at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries, trained under Sebastiano Ricci and moved in the circles of the Northern landscape painters active in Venice, developing a particular sensitivity for natural landscapes animated by figures. His work is characterized by rocky and wooded settings, rendered with diffused light and melancholic atmospheres, in which human figures play a subtle yet effective narrative role.

The painting depicts a riverside landscape with imposing rock formations, a waterfall in the background, and, in the foreground, two fishermen busy hauling in their nets. In the background, a turreted village shrouded in mist can be glimpsed. The composition, the rendering of light in the sky, and the treatment of the rocks consistently reflect Pedon’s style, confirming the attribution.

Condition report: canvas relined. The painted surface is in good condition, with signs of aging and wear.

Oil on canvas, in carved and gilded wooden frame.

The painting depicts a group of popular figures resting along a country path, with ruins and rustic architecture in the middle ground and a hilltop village closing the view. In the foreground, two women with baskets engage in lively conversation, while a young man with a wide-brimmed hat lies on the ground and a child observes the scene. The composition, built on a palette of warm and luminous tones, reflects the eighteenth-century taste for the open-air genre scene, with lively attention to popular types and a naturalistic rendering of the landscape. The work is attributed to Jean Baptiste Caudot, a painter active in Nancy in the first half of the eighteenth century, on the basis of stylistic comparisons in the treatment of drapery, the physiognomic type of the figures, and the compositional structure.

Condition report: Relined canvas. Good state of conservation of the pictorial surface. Slight oxidation of the varnish.

Oil on canvas, unframed.

The composition follows the tradition of 17th-century battle painting, of which Jacques Courtois, known as “the Burgundian,” was one of the most recognizable exponents in Italy during the second half of the 17th century. The scene depicts a group of horsemen in the thick of battle, rendered with rapid brushstrokes and a color palette limited to shades of brown, gray, and white, enlivened by flashes of light emerging from the dark background. In the background, a second group of combatants can be glimpsed, bathed in a dusty light that suggests the depth of the battlefield. The compositional arrangement and handling of tonal contrasts are reminiscent of the Burgundian school, though it is not currently possible to propose a more specific attribution.

Condition report: Lined canvas. The painted surface is in good condition, with traces of wear and minor color loss.

Oil on canvas, in a gilded wooden frame.

The painting depicts a convivial moment in a domestic interior: around a table laid with fruit and sweets sit two ladies and a gentleman in a red coat, while on the left a servant pours wine into the glass of the young woman in a light blue bodice. The scene is closed on the right by a curtain and a plate rack with dishes arranged on a blue cloth, while a leaded glass window lights the back wall. In the foreground, a small dog enlivens the composition.

The work belongs to the Venetian genre painting tradition which, following Pietro Longhi, recorded eighteenth-century daily life with a narrative and affable tone. Noteworthy are the lively palette, based on the reds, blues and ochres of the garments, and the descriptive attention paid to costumes and everyday objects.

Condition report: Relined canvas. Good state of preservation of the painted surface, with signs of ageing.

Oil on canvas, in a gilded wooden frame.

The painting depicts an elderly gentleman seated at a table with curved legs, intent on counting the coins taken from a small bag. Two young men witness the scene: on the left, one in a red coat and light blue waistcoat holds small money bags beside an open chest, while on the right the other, dressed in a pink coat and ochre waistcoat, accompanies the action with a gesture of his hand. The setting is defined by a curtain, a window on the back wall and an opening onto a balcony with a balustrade overlooking the sky. In the right foreground, a dog completes the composition.

The work belongs to the Venetian genre painting tradition which, following Pietro Longhi, recorded eighteenth-century daily life with a narrative tone. Noteworthy are the lively palette, based on the reds, blues and ochres of the garments, and the descriptive attention paid to costumes and furnishings.

Condition report: Relined canvas. Good state of preservation of the painted surface, with signs of ageing.

Oil on canvas, in a 19th-century carved and gilded wooden frame.

Signed lower right: “Eug. Delacroix.”

The painting depicts a pair of lions on a rocky outcrop, set against a vast mountainous landscape at sunset. The lion, crouching on the right, turns his head in profile with his jaws open and his tail raised, while the lioness, in the foreground and seen from behind, leans toward the valley as if on the lookout. The sky, streaked with bright red that fades into the blue and gray tones of the mountains, lends the composition a dramatic quality.

The work is part of the 19th-century trend of depicting big cats, a subject made famous in France by Romantic painting. The signature evokes the style of Eugène Delacroix, whose taste for textured brushstrokes, contrasts of light, and exotic settings is reflected in this painting.

Condition report: Original canvas. The painted surface is in good condition.

Tempera on paper, in an ebanized and painted wooden frame.

Signed lower right: “La Pira”.

Gioacchino La Pira was one of the most prominent figures in 19th-century Neapolitan gouache painting—a genre that emerged to meet the demand from travelers on the Grand Tour. Active in Naples between 1839 and 1875, he dedicated himself almost exclusively to views of the city and its surroundings. His precise technique and luminous color palette made him one of the most sought-after artists of his time.

The view opens onto the bay from a rocky vantage point in the foreground, where a wind-bent tree draws the eye toward the city, which stretches along the coastline, punctuated by domes and backed by a fortified hill. In the center, Mount Vesuvius stands out with a plume of smoke, while the expanse of water is enlivened by sailing vessels. On the right, three figures in traditional folk attire complete the scene. The rosy light of the sky and the delicate, translucent layers of tempera perfectly capture the atmosphere characteristic of the artist’s finest work.

Condition report: The paper support and the painted surface are in good condition.

Full-length figure in various marbles and semi-precious stones, housed in a display case.

The sculpture depicts a young man in traditional costume, captured in the act of holding a gilded metal samovar with both hands. The figure is entirely crafted from marbles and semi-precious stones of varying colors, skillfully assembled to render the different elements of his clothing and complexion: the face and hands in light-colored stone, the tunic and trousers in veined green marble, and the footwear in red stone. The work draws inspiration from the style of the famous semi-precious stone figures created by the House of Fabergé between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a genre that enjoyed great popularity in Russian stonework, featuring depictions of folk figures and traditional crafts, often embellished with gilded metal elements.

Condition report: Good condition, with slight signs of wear consistent with the work’s age.

Full-length figure in various marbles and semi-precious stones, housed in a display case.

The sculpture depicts an elderly man seated on a richly decorated throne, his hands folded in his lap, with a blanket draped over them. The figure is entirely crafted from marbles and semi-precious stones of varying colors, skillfully assembled to render the different elements of the clothing and skin tone: the face in light-colored stone, the robe in dark green marble, the collar in white stone, and the blanket on the legs in yellow-brown mottled stone. The throne, with its mixed-line profile, is made of reddish-brown mottled semi-precious stone, with agate armrests and a gilded metal front panel featuring decorative motifs; a small white stone set at the neck enhances the figure’s detail. The work is inspired by the style of the famous semi-precious stone figures created by the House of Fabergé between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a genre that enjoyed great popularity in Russian stonework, featuring depictions of everyday people and scenes from daily life.

Condition report: Good overall condition, with signs of aging, wear, and historical restorations; repairs are present at the base.