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

The composition derives from the prototype devised by Jacopo Bassano (Bassano del Grappa c.1515 – Bassano del Grappa 1592).

Francesco Bassano the Younger, Jacopo’s eldest son, was a leading figure in the celebrated family workshop active between Bassano del Grappa and Venice in the second half of the sixteenth century. Together with his father and brothers, he developed a repertoire of pastoral and biblical subjects populated by numerous animals, rendered with careful naturalistic observation, which became one of the workshop’s most requested and repeated formulas.

The painting depicts Orpheus playing a bowed instrument in a wood, surrounded, as if enchanted by his music, by numerous domestic and wild animals: a stag, a donkey, an ox, goats, sheep, rabbits, an owl, and a monkey with an open book, alongside various poultry and birds among the branches. The analytical rendering of fur and feathers, together with the crowded, descriptive arrangement of the scene, is consistent with the idiom of Francesco Bassano the Younger or his close workshop, which specialised in this type of biblical or mythological composition populated with animals.

Condition report: Lined canvas. Good state of conservation of the pictorial surface, with signs of aging and wear.

Oil on canvas, in gilded and painted wooden frame.

Provenance: formerly collection of Edoardo Caracciolo Carafa, Naples.

Expert opinions: We wish to thank Prof. Riccardo Lattuada for having orally confirmed the attribution of the painting.

Fedele Fischetti ranks among the leading figures of Neapolitan painting in the second half of the eighteenth century. Trained at the Accademia del Disegno in Naples, he was shaped by the influence of Francesco Solimena and Corrado Giaquinto, and developed a style that blends Rococo elegance with a classicist luminosity. He worked for the most distinguished Neapolitan patrons and was also active as a decorative painter for the Bourbon court. The painting depicts an allegory of Music through three winged putti in a natural landscape. The central putto, crowned with laurel and holding a thyrsus, embodies the Apollonian figure presiding over the arts. To either side, two putti are engaged in reading musical scores: one holds open a book of manuscript music, the other a sheet on which the words “Pietà, pietà, Minerva” can be read, an aria with recitative composed by Giovanni Paisiello (1740-1816) for the opera “La modista raggiratrice”, performed in Naples in 1787. This detail provides a precise terminus post quem for the dating of the painting.

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

Cast and chiseled bronze sculptural group with a brown patina, set on a naturalistic terraced base and a molded plinth featuring a frieze of masks and leaf scrolls.

The group depicts the famous mythological episode of the Torment of Dirce, also known as the Farnese Bull: the brothers Zethus and Amphion, sons of Antiope, tie Dirce to the horns of a wild bull to avenge the wrongs suffered by their mother, while Antiope herself, spear in hand, watches the scene. The bronze composition is a scaled-down version of the famous ancient marble group discovered in the Baths of Caracalla in 1546, which belonged to the Farnese collection and is now housed in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples. The subject, among the most admired and reproduced on the Grand Tour, enjoyed great popularity in 19th-century Roman foundries, which produced numerous bronze reductions for collectors and travelers. The piece presented here stands out for the liveliness of its multi-figure composition, its accurate anatomical rendering, and its naturalistic base populated by animals, in keeping with the finest Roman bronze work of the period.

Condition report: Casting in good condition, with a uniform brown patina. Minimal signs of wear consistent with the period.

Trumeau a due corpi interamente in legno laccato e dipinto, di produzione romana del XVIII secolo. Il corpo inferiore presenta fronte dritto a tre cassetti con calatoia, che aperta rivela una serie di vani e cassettini; il corpo superiore è articolato da ante a doppia apertura. La decorazione pittorica, condotta a tempera su fondo verde-celadon con cornici e rilievi in giallo ocra, sviluppa un programma iconografico incentrato sull’Allegoria delle Arti: sulla calatoia è raffigurata una figura femminile allegorica reclinata, identificabile con la Pittura o la Scultura, affiancata da putti recanti gli strumenti delle arti; i pannelli delle ante superiori ospitano composizioni con putti intenti a esercitare le arti figurative, animate da medaglioni con iscrizioni in latino, ghirlande di fiori e frutta. Gli interni del corpo superiore sono decorati a imitazione di una carta da parati con motivi ornamentali stilizzati. Il mobile è completato da elementi in legno intagliato e dorato sui montanti e nella cimasa sagomata.

Condition report: Buono stato di conservazione generale, con usure e cadute di laccatura diffuse coerenti con l’età del manufatto. Le decorazioni pittoriche presentano abrasioni localizzate e tracce di vecchi restauri.

A two-body trumeau entirely in lacquered and painted wood, of Roman manufacture, 18th century. The lower body features a straight front with three drawers and a fall-front writing surface, which opens to reveal a series of compartments and small drawers; the upper body is fitted with double-opening doors. The pictorial decoration, executed in tempera on a celadon-green ground with ochre-yellow frames and relief elements, develops an iconographic programme centred on the Allegory of the Arts: the fall-front depicts a reclining female allegorical figure — identifiable as Painting or Sculpture — flanked by putti bearing the instruments of the arts; the panels of the upper doors feature compositions with putti engaged in the figurative arts, animated by medallions with Latin inscriptions, floral and fruit garlands. The interior of the upper body is decorated in imitation of an ornamental wallpaper. The piece is completed by carved and gilded wood elements on the stiles and the shaped pediment.

Condition report: Good overall state of conservation, with wear and lacquer losses consistent with the age of the piece. The painted decorations present localised abrasions and traces of old restorations.

Oil on canvas, in carved and gilded wooden frame.

Antonio Stom, a Venetian painter active in the first half of the eighteenth century, is among the leading exponents of the architectural capriccio and animated landscape in the Veneto. His training reflects the influence of Luca Carlevarijs and anticipates, in certain respects, the great season of the Venetian veduta. The painting presents a composition built around classical ruins, Corinthian columns, arches and fantastical architecture that merge with recognisable elements of the Paduan landscape: the silhouette of the Basilica of Santa Giustina emerges clearly in the background, set within a panorama of towers, domes and architectural screens receding toward the horizon. To the left, a Corinthian column articulates the pictorial space and introduces a chiaroscuro tension that contrasts with the luminous open sky to the right, where an obelisk marks the edge of the composition. In the foreground, a group of figures in colourful costume animate the scene with natural ease: a flute player seated among the ruins and wayfarers with walking staves find a precise parallel in Canaletto’s Paduan capriccios, where similar figures populate views constructed on the interplay between real architecture and fantastical invention. The silvery palette, dominated by blues, cold greens and atmospheric whites, and the fluid handling of the paint surface, together with stylistic comparisons with documented works by the artist, firmly attribute the canvas to Antonio Stom.

Condition report: Lined canvas. Good state of conservation of the pictorial surface.

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

Expert opinions: Dr. Federica Spadotto (critical essay enclosed).

Pietro Paltronieri, known as il Mirandolese, was among the leading exponents of early eighteenth century Bolognese quadratura painting. Trained in the workshop of Giovan Francesco Cassana, he moved on to Bologna and Rome, where he deepened his study of ancient ruins and vedute in keeping with the traditional formation of eighteenth century artists. He was among the painters engaged by the impresario Owen MacSwiny for the celebrated Tombeaux des Princes cycle (1722-1726), alongside Canaletto, Sebastiano Ricci, Marco Ricci and Giovan Battista Pittoni. The present capriccio fully reflects this mature manner, blending Roman perspectival rigour, evident in the ruined colonnades and arches, with fluid Venetian brushwork. The distant cascade recalls the lesson of Claude Lorrain, while the animated foreground staffage, of bambocciante inspiration, introduces a note of everyday life into the scene. The perspectival construction, built as a funnel toward the blue-tinged mountainous background, is a compositional solution recurrent in the master’s finest production.

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

Oil on canvas, in carved and gilded wooden frame.

Giuseppe Zais ranks among the most celebrated landscape painters of the eighteenth-century Venetian school, known for his bucolic scenes populated by stylised figures of shepherds, flocks, and washerwomen set within an idyllic rural landscape inspired by the Veneto countryside. He trained in Venice, where he studied the works of Marco Ricci, from whom he drew clear inspiration, and was a contemporary of Francesco Zuccarelli, from whom he derived the grace that distinguishes his most refined works. Zais’s style set itself apart through a depiction of the arcadian landscape more authentically rural than that of his contemporaries: his compositions, though rooted in the rococò tradition, are imbued with a different sense of realism, achieved through the use of deeper, earthier tonalities and a rich, impasted application of paint. The painting, firmly attributed to the hand of Giuseppe Zais, depicts a broad river landscape animated by a group of figures in the foreground — a man, two women and a dog — alongside a small herd of cattle. In the middle ground, a ruined arched bridge crosses the river beside a rural building, while the scene closes to the right with dense, windswept foliage and a few figures resting on the hillside. The whole is executed with the vibrant brushwork and warm, earthy palette characteristic of the artist’s mature period.

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

Oil on canvas, in carved and gilded wooden frame.

Expert opinions: Prof. Ugo Ruggeri, Venice (critical essay enclosed).

Giuseppe Zais ranks among the most celebrated landscape painters of the eighteenth-century Venetian school, known for his bucolic scenes populated by stylised figures of shepherds, flocks, and washerwomen set within an idyllic rural landscape inspired by the Veneto countryside. He trained in Venice, where he studied the works of Marco Ricci, from whom he drew clear inspiration, and was a contemporary of Francesco Zuccarelli, from whom he derived the grace that distinguishes his most refined works. Zais’s style set itself apart through a depiction of the arcadian landscape more authentically rural than that of his contemporaries: his compositions, though rooted in the rococò tradition, are imbued with a different sense of realism, achieved through the use of deeper, earthier tonalities and a rich, impasted application of paint. The painting is a high-quality work, executed by the Belluno-born master in the full maturity of his career. The protagonists of the scene are the figures at the centre, rendered with delicacy in a moment of peace and serenity by the stream: a mother with her child, come to draw water from the river, while behind them a spinning woman is approached by a young man lying on the grass. The entire scene is set within a landscape rendered with vibrant brushstrokes, loosely defined, that lend the whole an intimate and idealised quality.

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

Oil on canvas, in carved and gilded wooden frame.

Giuseppe Zais is among the most celebrated landscape painters of the eighteenth-century Venetian school, known for his bucolic scenes populated by stylised figures of shepherds and washerwomen set within idyllic rural landscapes. He trained in Venice, where he studied the works of Marco Ricci, from whom he drew clear inspiration for his handling of landscape and figures.

The present cavalry battle represents a rare unicum within the artist’s output, who seldom engaged with military subjects. The work reveals an unexpected command of the genre, with a dynamic composition and a darker, more dramatic palette than his customary pastoral scenes, recalling the tradition of battle painting of Flemish and Dutch derivation widespread in eighteenth-century Venice.

The painting depicts the scene in full swing, with an officer on a white horse at the centre dominating the fray, surrounded by infantry and horsemen in combat. In the background a fortress on a rocky spur rises against a stormy sky — a landscape passage that closely recalls the construction of the artist’s better-known works, revealing the same loose, textured brushwork.

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

Oil on canvas, in carved and gilded wooden frame.

Giuseppe Zais ranks among the most celebrated landscape painters of the eighteenth-century Venetian school, known for his bucolic scenes populated by stylised figures of shepherds, flocks, and washerwomen set within an idyllic rural landscape inspired by the Veneto countryside. He trained in Venice, where he studied the works of Marco Ricci, from whom he drew clear inspiration, and was a contemporary of Francesco Zuccarelli, from whom he derived the grace that distinguishes his most refined works.

Zais’s style set itself apart through a depiction of the arcadian landscape more authentically rural than that of his contemporaries: his compositions, though rooted in the rococò tradition, are imbued with a different sense of realism, achieved through the use of deeper, earthier tonalities and a rich, impasted application of paint. The painting, firmly attributed to the hand of Giuseppe Zais, depicts a group of travellers at rest: at the centre a man on horseback indicates the way to a companion, while to the left a groom holds a laden packhorse and to the right a woman on foot observes the scene. In the background, architectural ruins open to the left and a hilly landscape animated by further figures extends to the right, the whole rendered with the loose brushwork and warm, earthy palette characteristic of the artist’s mature period.

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

Oil on canvas, unframed.

Bibliography: G. M. Pilo, Giulio Carpioni, tutta la pittura, Alfieri Editore, 1961.

Giulio Carpioni ranks among the leading figures of seventeenth-century Venetian Baroque painting. He trained in Venice in the workshop of the Padovanino, where he absorbed the chromatic tradition of the great sixteenth-century masters. A subsequent stay in Rome brought him into contact with classicism, which left a lasting mark on his entire production. Settling in Vicenza, he became the preferred painter of a refined and demanding clientele, working both for the city’s churches and for the private devotion of Vicentine and Venetian patricians. His style is distinguished by the composure of his figures, a draughtsmanlike quality of classical descent, and a restrained yet luminous palette in which tonal values prevail over vivid colour. His compositions, always well-balanced, envelop figures in a rarefied atmosphere that sets Carpioni apart from the more exuberant painters of the Venetian Baroque.

The arched panel depicts the Madonna and Child at the upper centre, surrounded by Saints Joseph, Francis, Dominic and Anthony of Padua. The format and refinement of execution point to a work conceived for private devotion, a genre in which the master achieved results of particular quality. The composition weaves a dense network of references to his autograph production: the profile figure of Saint Joseph mirrors that of Saint Vitus in the altarpiece at the church of Santi Felice e Fortunato in Vicenza, while the posture of Saint Anthony and the kneeling Saint Joseph offering a flower correspond directly to analogous figures in the altarpiece formerly in Vicenza Cathedral, now at the Gallerie dell’Accademia in Venice. The intimate atmosphere, the ethereal rendering of the figures and the controlled palette firmly place the work within Carpioni’s full maturity.

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