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 × 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,…

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-Arquà 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 Cà Pesaro”, “dipinto di Adolfo Callegari ritratto del sig. Tasinato Gino all’epoca” (“O.F.B.F / summer 1912”, “exhibited in Venice at Cà 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…

Salvator Rosa – Screaming Skull

Salvator Rosa Naples 1615-Rome 1673   Screaming Skull 1640 – 1645 ca.   Oil on canvas, 24 x 19.3 cm     This small canvas portrays a skull in the act of screaming (or snearing), with its mouth open wide and tufts of grey hair attached to the head. Rendered with rapid strokes of thick…