18th Century, Italian Polychrome Tempera on Paper Chinoiserie Painting

18th century, Italian oil on canvas painting with landscape with ruins Measures: only the canvas cm W 97.5 x H 108; with the frame cm W 103.5 x H 114 x D 5 The fine oil on canv...

Francesco Simonini (Parma, 16 June 1686 - Parma, 1766) “The rest of the soldiers” and “The march of soldiers” oil on canvas The very fine paintings, attributable to the painte...

Antonio Calza (Italy, Verona, 1653-18th April 1725) "Battle between Christian and Turkish cavalry with castle" The painting depicts a bloody battle between Christian and Turkish cavalry. Characterized by dynamism, intensity of color and light, the main scene occupies the lower horizontal section of the canvas, optically interrupted by the black fumes of the shots from which emerge, on the left, the towers of a fortress. On the right, in the distance you can see the combat in progress in the countryside, beyond which you can see the pale presence of hills that create a fifth, marking the horizon. To frame the scene contributes to the left, against light and in the foreground, a portion of the wall. The painter, however, introduces a horse on the ground, of which we see only the back, a ruse to involve the observer making him become active and participate in the scene. In the foreground, lifeless bodies, wounded horses and, scattered on the ground, weapons and a drum enhance the drama of the clash. The excitement and expressive force, the intense chromatic range attentive to the conditions of light and the fine brushstrokes, decisive and dramatic, suggests the attribution to Antonio Calza, one of the most important painters of battles of the seventeenth century, excellent student and continuator of the greatest interpreter of the genre, Jacques Courtois called il Borgognone (Saint-Hyppolite 1621 - Rome 1676). Il Borgognone, although not having had a real school or direct students, places itself as a primary reference point by the Italian and foreign "battaglisti". The genre of battle painting found great success in the collections of the Italian and European nobility of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The battles of the Italian Renaissance, in which the scene converged towards a precise protagonist, evolve towards a type of combat "without hero". The bloody realism of the details and the dynamic development of the narrative confuse the figure of the protagonist, when present, to give importance to the swirl of horses and armed fighters, among which, moreover, does not emerge a winner. The certain documents relating to the life and movements of Antonio Calza are scarce; it was equally difficult to reconstruct, from the critics, a catalogue of autograph works. Through paintings in private collections, in museums and paintings passed on the antiques market it has been possible to identify a copious corpus of works that can be traced back to his hand. The work of art historians, together with that of antique dealers, in conferring proper attributions in order to best outline the figure of Calza, continues but studies are still in progress. In this sense, the work of Giancarlo Sestieri should certainly be noted, who investigated the artistic production of the battaglisti and Calza, thus allowing the comparison of the numerous photographic works reported, to identify and recognize the stylistic qualities that distinguish the corpus of paintings assigned to him today. Antonio Calza was born in 1653 in Italy, in Verona and in 1664 he entered the school of Carlo Cignani in Bologna, dedicating himself to painting battles and landscapes. He then perfected in Rome, where he knew the works of the then undisputed head of the sector, Jacques Courtois called the Burgundian. In 1675 he returned to Verona and married an 88-year-old widow who, dying, left him a rich inheritance. Much appreciated by the nobility and the bourgeoisie, he received numerous commissions. Bartolomeo Dal Pozzo (Le Vite de' pittori, de gli scultori et architetti veronesi, 1718) praises "three great paintings of battles...

18th century, Italian painting depicting landscape with watermill and characters Oil on canvas; Measurements: frame cm L 103.5 x H 127 x P 5; painting L 93 x H 117.5 The painting...

XX century, Pair of Italian Oil Paintings with Chinoiserie Landscapes Provenance: Pietro Accorsi collection, Turin (Italy) This delightful pair ...

Francesco Lavagna (Italy -Naples 1684-1724) "Still life with flowers and watermelon and hermas with garden in the background" The painting, beautifully made and in good condition, d...

Antique Italian painting from the late 18th century. Tempera on paper fixed on canvas with frame (see photo) depicting landscape with figures, animals and architecture of good pictor...

XVIII century Rural scenes (4) Tempera on paper, 20 x 31 cm With 18th century Venetian mirrored frame, 31 x 39 cm.

XVIII century Views of Rome (9) Tempera on paper, 9 x 14 cm; with frame 34 x 40 cm During the seventeenth century the fashion of the Grand Tour spread among the aristocracy, a ...

Antique Italian painting from the 18th century. Tempera artwork on canvas depicting a view with architecture, mask and lateral cornucopias of good pictorial quality. Painting of grea...

Antique Italian painting from the 18th century. Tempera artwork on canvas depicting a view with architecture, mask and lateral cornucopias of good pictorial quality. Painting of grea...

Lovely 18th century Italian painted panel featuring chinoiserie images. Vibrant colors of blue, pink, green and gold. Such an interesting piece ...