Fergola: Cava dei Tirreni

Salvatore Fergola – Grotta Bonea at Cava dei Tirreni

Salvatore Fergola (Naples 1799-1874)  Grotta Bonea at Cava dei Tirreni  Circa 1830  Oil on canvas, 20.2 × 16 cm  Signed on back of canvas, in pen: “Fergola”  Provenance: Rome, private collection      Among the canonical destinations of nineteenth century landscape painting in Naples, the cave Grotta Bonea is situated on the route that led to the famous and agreeable sanctuary of Avvocatella near Cava, and was considered a picturesque subject due to the presence of wild, rocky terrain, ancient ruins…

Gaetano De Simone – Portrait of the Astronomer Giuseppe Cassella

Gaetano de Simone Naples 1747–circa 1822  Portrait of the astronomer Giuseppe Cassella (Cusano Mutri 1755-Naples 1808)  1789  Oil on canvas, 66 × 52 cm  Signed and dated on the back of the frame, top: “Gaetano De Simone 1789 Napoli”; lower left: “Gaetano De Simoni”  Provenance: Italy, private collection    Gaetano De Simone was rediscovered only recently as a protagonist of aristocratic Neapolitan…

Jacob More – View of the lake Nemi

Jacob More (Edinburgh 1740-Rome 1793) View of Lake Nemi, known as Speculum Dianae in ancient times circa 1780 Oil on canvas, 70.5 Ă— 94.5 cm Old collection label on the frame: “N.5 Italian Landscape Jacob More” Provenance: Holland, private collection; Rome, private collection   “The finest painter of air since Claude” according to Joshua Reynolds,…

Alessandro Castelli – Garibaldi at Villa Doria-Pamphilj

Alessandro Castelli (Rome 1809-1902) Garibaldi camped with soldiers of the Italian Legion at Villa Doria Pamphilj, perhaps after the retreat of the French forces under General Oudinot on the night of 30 April 1849 1849 Oil on canvas, 47 Ă— 37 cm Signed bottom right: “Castelli” Old label on back of frame: “Garibaldi in 1849”…

Mario Mafai – Vase of dahlias with bunch of grapes

Mario Mafai (Rome 1902-1965) Vase of dahlias with bunch of grapes 1954 Oil on canvas, 66 x 50 cm Signed and dated bottom right: “Mafai 54” Provenance: Rome, private collection   The painting’s changed colours recall the constant expressive flair of the artist, protagonist with Scipione and his wife Antonietta Raphael of an eccentric line…

Sacchi: saint

Bortolo Sacchi – Selfportrait as a Saint

Bortolo Sacchi (Venice 1892- Bassano 1978) Self-Portrait as a Saint 1920 c. Tempera on cardboard, 69 x 51 cm On the back, in a scroll glued to the frame: “Nihil nisi divinum” Bibliography: Dal Canton, Stringa 2000, p. 87, no.17 Exhibition: Bortolo Sacchi 1892-1978, Bassano, Palazzo Bonaguro, September – November 2000 Provenance: Veneto, private collection…

callegari tasinato

Adolfo Callegari – Portrait of Gino Tasinato

Adolfo Callegari (Padua 1882-ArquĂ  Petrarca 1948) Portrait of Signor Tasinato (Portrait of Gino Tasinato), 1912 Oil on canvas, 76 x 60 cm On the back “O.F.B.F / estate 1912”, “esposto a Venezia a CĂ  Pesaro”, “dipinto di Adolfo Callegari ritratto del sig. Tasinato Gino all’epoca” (“O.F.B.F / summer 1912”, “exhibited in Venice at CĂ  Pesaro”, “painted by…

Gaspare Landi – Bianca Milesi

Gaspare Landi (Piacenza 1756-1830) Bianca Milesi 1811-1814 Oil on canvas, 61 x 48.5 cm On the back of the original canvas, apocryphal Appiani initials: “AA” Provenance: Rome, artist’s collection; Rome, Pietr’Antonio Landi, from 1830; Milan, private collection. Bibliography: Mellini 2000, pp. 74, 116, fig. 22; Mellini 2004, p. 45, 58. Identified from an archive photograph…

Gaetano Forte – Portrait of a Flute Player

Gaetano Forte (Salerno 1790 – Naples 1871) Portrait of a Flute Player 1813-1816 Oil on paper on canvas, 24 x 25.5 cm Inscriptions: on the frame, in pencil, “Cutolo” Provenance: Naples, private collection; Rome, private collection   The subject, portrayed three-quarters while playing the flute, is seen in an enclosed space with a grey background…