Paris

Saint Jerome in the desert Cercle of Lambert Van Noort (1520-1571, Antwerp) Antwerp School, mid-16th century Oil on oak panel. Dimensions: panel h. 69 cm (27.16 in), l. 52.5 cm (20.6...

Jacopo Zanguidi BERTOJA (1544-1574) Combat of five figures, bas-relief from the School of Athens after Raphael Ink on paper 43×34cm Interesting thing According to Professor David E...

Adriaen COLLAERT Anvers 1560-1618 Saint George. Eau forte. Bon état de conservation, papier empoussiéré, tâches éparses sans atteinte au sujet, trace d’ancien montage, quelques plis de manipulations, un ancien pli diagonal dans le coin supérieur droit visible au dos. Epreuve sur papier vergé filigrané (briquet 5737). Cette œuvre est gravée d’après un dessin de Ioannes Stradanus (1523-1605), et éditée par Philippe Galle le beau-père de l’artiste. L’épreuve nous présente Saint Georges tuant le dragon, au premier plan, saint Georges, armé d’une épée et monté sur un cheval cabré, attaque le dragon, le feu émane de la bouche...

This vigorous drawing has long been attributed to Polidoro da Caravaggio: The Abduction of the Sabine Women is one of the scenes that Polidoro depicted between 1525 and 1527 on the façade of the Milesi Palazzo in Rome. However, the proximity to another drawing inspired by this same façade, kept at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, and to other drawings inspired by Polidoro kept at the Musée du Louvre, leads us to propose an attribution to Biagio Pupini, a Bolognese artist whose life remains barely known, despite the abundant number of drawings attributed to him. 1. Biagio Pupini, a Bolognese artist in the light of the Roman Renaissance The early life of Biagio Pupini, an important figure of the first half of the Cinquecento in Bologna - Vasari mentions him several times - is still poorly known. Neither his date of birth (probably around 1490-1495) nor his training are known. He is said to have been a pupil of Francesco Francia (1450 - 1517) and his name appears for the first time in 1511 in a contract with the painter Bagnacavallo (c. 1484 - 1542) for the frescoes of a church in Faenza. He then collaborated with Girolamo da Carpi, at San Michele in Bosco and at the villa of Belriguardo. He must have gone to Rome for the first time with Bagnacavallo between 1511 and 1519. There he discovered the art of Raphael, with whom he might have worked, and that of Polidoro da Caravaggio. This first visit, and those that followed, were the occasion for an intense study of ancient and modern art, as illustrated by his abundant graphic production. Polidoro da Caravaggio had a particular influence on the technique adopted by Pupini. Executed on coloured paper, his drawings generally combine pen, brown ink and wash with abundant highlights of white gouache, as in the drawing presented here. 2. The Abduction of the Sabine Women Our drawing is an adaptation of a fresco painted between 1525 and 1527 by Polidoro da Caravaggio on the façade of the Milesi Palace in Rome. These painted façades were very famous from the moment they were painted and inspired many artists during their stay in Rome. These frescoes are now very deteriorated and difficult to see, as the palace is in a rather narrow street. The episode of the abduction of the Sabine women (which appears in the centre of the photo above) is a historical theme that goes back to the origins of Rome and is recounted both by Titus Livius (Ab Urbe condita I,13), by Ovid (Fasti III, 199-228) and by Plutarch (II, Romulus 14-19). After killing his twin brother Romus, Romulus populates the city of Rome by opening it up to refugees and brigands and finds himself with an excess of men. Because of their reputation, none of the inhabitants of the neighbouring cities want to give them their daughters in marriage. The Romans then decide to invite their Sabine neighbours to a great feast during which they slaughter the Sabines and kidnap their daughters. The engraving made by Giovanni Battista Gallestruzzi (1618 - 1677) around 1656-1658 gives us a good understanding of the Polidoro fresco, allowing us to see how Biagio Pupini reworked the scene to extract this dynamic group. With a remarkable economy of means, Biagio Pupini takes over the left-hand side of the fresco and depicts in a very dense space two main groups, each consisting of a Roman and a Sabine, completed by a group of three soldiers in the background (which seems to differ quite significantly from Polidoro's composition). The balance of the drawing is based on a very strongly structured composition. The drawing is organised around a median vertical axis, which runs along both the elbow of the kidnapped Sabine on the left and the foot of her captor, and the two main diagonals, reinforced by four secondary diagonals. This diamond-shaped structure creates an extremely dynamic space, in which centripetal movements (the legs of the Sabine on the right, the arm of the soldier on the back at the top right) and centrifugal movements (the arm of the kidnapper on the left and the legs of the Sabine he is carrying away, the arm of the Sabine on the right) oppose each other, giving the drawing the appearance of a whirlpool around a central point of support situated slightly to the left of the navel of the kidnapper on the right. 3. Polidoro da Caravaggio, and the decorations of Roman palaces Polidoro da Caravaggio was a paradoxical artist who entered Raphael's (1483 - 1520) workshop at a very young age, when he oversaw the Lodges in the Vatican. Most of his Roman work, which was the peak of his career, has disappeared, as he specialised in facade painting, and yet these paintings, which are eminently visible in urban spaces, have influenced generations of artists who copied them abundantly during their visits to Rome. Polidoro Caldara was born in Caravaggio around 1495-1500 (the birthplace of Michelangelo Merisi, known as Caravaggio, who was born there in 1571), some forty kilometres east of Milan. According to Vasari, he arrived as a mason on the Vatican's construction site and joined Raphael's workshop around 1517 (at the age of eighteen according to Vasari). This integration would have allowed Polidoro to work not only on the frescoes of the Lodges, but also on some of the frescoes of the Chambers, as well as on the flat of Cardinal Bibiena in the Vatican. After Raphael's death in 1520, Polidoro worked first with Perin del Vaga before joining forces with Maturino of Florence (1490 - 1528), whom he had also known in Raphael's workshop. Together they specialised in the painting of palace façades. They were to produce some forty façades decorated with grisaille paintings imitating antique bas-reliefs. The Sack of Rome in 1527, during which his friend Maturino was killed, led Polidoro to flee first to Naples (where he had already stayed in 1523), then to Messina. It was while he was preparing his return to the peninsula that he was murdered by one of his assistants, Tonno Calabrese, in 1543. In his Vite, Vasari celebrated Polidoro as the greatest façade decorator of his time, noting that "there is no flat, palace, garden or villa in Rome that does not contain a work by Polidoro". Polidoro's facade decorations, most of which have disappeared as they were displayed in the open air, constitute the most important lost chapter of Roman art of the Cinquecento. The few surviving drawings of the painter can, however, give an idea of the original appearance of his murals and show that he was an artist of remarkable and highly original genius. 4. The façade of the Milesi Palace Giovanni Antonio Milesi, who commissioned this palace, located not far from the Tiber, north of Piazza Navona, was a native of the Bergamo area, like Polidoro, with whom he maintained close friendly ties. Executed in the last years before the Sack of Rome, around 1526-1527, the decoration of Palazzo Milesi is considered Polidoro's greatest decorative success. An engraving by Ernesto Maccari made at the end of the nineteenth century allows us to understand the general balance of this façade, which was still well preserved at the time. The frescoes were not entirely monochrome, but alternated elements in chiaroscuro simulating marble bas-reliefs and those in ochre simulating bronze and gold vases...

BARTOLOMEO PASSAROTTI (Bologna 1529 - 1592) Study of two legs Pen and brown ink, over black chalk 34,5 x 21,5 cm Bears lower left the collector mark of Maurice Marignane (L. 1872) ...

Important bas-relief in carved wood with traces of gilt, in an architectural frame with two angels in the corners, representing Saint Rocco. Considered, among other things, the Patro...

Albrecht Dürer, Saint Eustace. Wood engraving, 1501. Signed with the monogram A.D (Albrecht Dürer) Why not having on a wall a Masterpiece which is also a part of History? Marie-Anto...

CANOPY BED IN HAMMERED AND GILDED WROUGHT IRON   ORIGIN: SPAIN PERIOD: 16TH CENTURY   Height: 270 cm Length: 152 cm Depth: 240 cm   (Base: H. 206 cm; W. 148 cm)   Hammered and gilded...

Lovely pair of heads of small cherubs carved in white Carrara marble. The chubby faces adorned with admirable hair with abundant tight and deep curls with a quiff on the forehead. Th...

Large wooden Madonna and Child, painted and carved in hollow at the back. The theme of the Virgin and Child is the most represented in all Christian art, whereas the infancy of Jesus...

Oil on copper representing the martyrdom of an unidentified saint (the angels passing over the scene) and bringing him the palm and the crown of martyrs, without any specific attribu...

Trinity in carved and polychromed wood, in the round, the back partially hollowed out. It is represented here as a "Throne of Grace". In this original formula, which probably origina...

Italy, Florence Walnut wood Good state of preservation Former Collection Bresset     The "credenza" is a typical piece of furniture from Italy. It evolved during the 15th century from an earlier form, a table with shelves for decorative purposes, which played a role in the ceremonial settings of refined environments. Transformed into a low cabinet with two doors...

ORIGIN : ITALY, VENICE PERIOD : 16th CENTURY   Height: 103 cm Length: 174 cm Depth 45 cm   Walnut Usual restoration     The low sideboard with several doors became more common in the...

Holy family with an angel, workshop Pieter Coecke Van Aelst (Alost, 1502 - Bruxelles, 1550) Faithful to the traditions of the late Gothic and early Renaissance, our painting depicts ...

Virgin and Child Workshop of Pieter Coecke Van Aelst (Aelst, 1502- Brussels, 1550) 16th century Oil on oak panel Dimensions: panel: h. 71.5cm, W. 48.5 cm (28.15 in x 19.09 in) Later ...

Oil on poplar panel portraying the Holy Family. Tuscany or Umbria, circa 1500-1520. The Holy Family is the name given to the family formed by Jesus of Nazareth...

A late 16th century Renaissance richly carved walnut center table France, The Loire Valley area Dimensions: h. 33.46 in., w. 59.45 in., d. 36.22 in. Our remarquable table is a fabu...

EXCEPTIONAL RENAISSANCE TWO-BODY CABINET OF BELLIFONTAINE INSPIRATION ORIGIN: FRANCE, BURGUNDY PERIOD: SECOND RENAISSANCE, AROUND 1560-1570 Hei...

A 16th Century French Renaissance Cavred Walnut Buffet Loire Valley Dimensions: H. 1m62; L. 1m02; P. 0.52m. (63.78 in. x 40.16 in x 20....

The trapezoidal armchair is a typically French creation from the second half of the sixteenth century. Although the nineteenth century gave it the name of "caquetoire", it was descri...

Oakwood Original lock and key   This beautiful and robust chest stands on square feet ending in flattened buns. The base presents plain mouldings. The facade is divided in four panel...

Madonna and Child with Saint John the Baptist and angels Circle of Joos Van Cleve (1485 – 1541) 16th century Antwerp school Oil on oak panel Dimensions: h. 32 cm (13 in.), w. 28.5 cm...

SMALL TUSCANY TABLE FROM THE RENAISSANCE PERIOD ORIGIN : FLORENCE, ITALY PERIOD : 16th CENTURY Height: 69,4 cm Length: 59,4 cm Depth: 51 cm ...

Peut-être 15e-17e s. objet de fouille du Niger (Afrique), belle engobe en argile rouge avec bandes incisées, col haut se terminant par une lèvre évasée, bel exemplaire. Bel objet décoratif...

RARE RENAISSANCE CAQUETOIRES FROM THE FONTAINEBLEAU SCHOOL WITH A PERSPECTIVE MOTIF THAT COULD FORM A PAIR ORIGIN : FRANCE, VAL DE LOIRE or ILE DE FRANCE PERIOD : 16th CENTURY Heig...

SAINT CATHERINE OF ALEXANDRIA ORIGIN : SWABIA, ULM REGION PERIOD : ca. 1510-1520 Height : 118 cm Length : 39 cm Depth : 17 cm Limewood...

WALNUT SHUTTER TABLE ORIGIN: VAL-DE-LOIRE, FRANCE PERIOD: HENRI II PERIOD, CIRCA 1550 Height: 74 cm Width: 74 cm Diameter: 92 cm Walnut wood Made of a beautiful walnut, this ro...

RARE RENAISSANCE FLORENTINE WALNUT CABINET WITH CERTOSINA DECORATION ORIGIN: FLORENCE, ITALY PERIOD: END OF 15th CENTURY – BEGINNING OF 16th CENTURY Height: 129 cm Length: 107 cm...

Rest of the Holy Family during the Flight into Egypt Workshop of Pieter Coecke Van Aelst (1502-1550) 16th century Flemish school Oil on oak panel, Dimensions : panel: h. 34.25 in., ...

IMPORTANT ITALIAN RENAISSANCE GARDENER ORIGIN: NORTHERN ITALY PERIOD: 16th CENTURY Height: 52 cm Length: 130 cm Depth: 53 cm Verona marble Taking the form of an antique sarcopha...

RARE RENAISSANCE TABLE WITH FIXED TOP ORIGIN: FRANCE PERIOD : SECOND HALF OF THE 16th CENTURY, c. 1560-1580 Height: 87 cm Length: 158 cm Width: 78 cm Walnut wood Good condition...

RENAISSANCE CHAYÈRE WITH PERSPECTIVE MOTIF ORIGIN: FRANCE, LYON ÉPOQUE: FIRST HALF OF THE XVI CENTURY Height: 166cm Width: 74cm Depth: 47cm Walnut wood From: Château de Quintin’...

IMPORTANT POLYCHROME LOW-RELIEF DEPICTING CHRIST IN THE MOUNT OF OLIVES ORIGIN: SOUTH GERMANY or ALSACE PERIOD: ca. 1500-1510 Height : 78 cm Length : 57 cm Depth : 8 cm Limewood ...

FLORENTINE CREDENZA WITH CORNER COLUMNS ORIGIN : TOSCANY, ITALY PERIOD : LATE 16th CENTURY Height: 84 cm Width: 101 cm Depth: 48 cm Walnut wood Although the first Italian cre...

IMPORTANT WOOD SCULPTURE REPRESENTING SAINT BARBARA ORIGIN : NORTHERN FRANCE OR FLANDERS PERIOD : 16th CENTURY Height: 103 cm Length: 40 cm Depth: 30 cm Oak wood Good condition Saint Barbara was the daughter of Dioscorus who imprisonned her in a tower to prevent her from being corrupted by Christianity. Despite this, she was taught and baptisted by a local priest. According to legend, she proved her faith by carving a third window into the tower, symbolic of the Trinity. Once her father learned this, he threatened her with his sword. She managed to escape and hide, not before being revealed by a sheperd. She was thrown in jail and tortured, refusing to denounce her faith. Her father forced her up to the mountain’s summit and decapitated her, afterwhich God struck him down by lightning. Saint Barbara`s following was popularized in the Occident in the 13th century because of the Golden Legend...

RARE RENAISSANCE CABINET WITH FEATHER QUILL AND FENESTRATION DECORATION ORIGIN: FRANCE PERIOD: EARLY 16th CENTURY DIMENSIONS : Height : 178 cm Length : 145 cm Depth : 58 cm Walnu...

SAINT JOHN OF CALVARY ORIGIN : SOUTH GERMANY PERIOD : 16th CENTURY Height: 104 cm Width: 42 cm Depth: 29 cm This Saint John belonged to a Crucifixion group depicting three figur...

Venus and Mars surprised by Vulcan, circa 1580, circle of Jacob de Backer ( Antwerp, 1545 - 1585) The subject of our work is derived from Ovid's metamo...

Johan SADELER (d’après) Maarten de VOS (d’après) Bruxelles 1550- 1600 Venise ; Anvers 1532- 1603 Le chant de Salomon. Eau forte. Bon état de conservation, ancienne marque de pli ver...

Hieronymus WIERIX Anvers 1533-1619 Piéta. 1582. Eau forte. Bon état de conservation, quelques rousseurs en marge du sujet, une rousseur sur l’aile de l’ange a droite au fond, petites...

Hieronymus WIERIX Anvers 1533-1619 Le Christ, bon berger. Eau forte. Bon état de conservation, quelques tâches éparses, légers plis de manipulations, ancienne marque de pli horizonta...

Antonius WIERIX Anvers 1555-1604 [Saint suaire de Sainte Catherine]. 1585. Eau forte. Bon état de conservation, légers plis de manipulations, petites tâches éparses sans atteinte au sujet, trace d’ancien montage. Epreuve sur papier vergé filigrané (Briquet 12337), d’après Martin de Vos (1532-1603) et publiée par Vrints en 1585. Cette œuvre, nous présente sainte Catherine au centre a genou exposant son suaire, entouré de deux anges...

WOODEN CHEST CARVED WITH TWO CRENELLATED TOWERS ORIGIN: SOUTH WEST OF FRANCE PERIOD: 16th CENTURY Height: 64,5 cm Length: 124 cm Depth: 53 cm Chestnut wood Good condi...

The story of the Magi comes from the Gospel of Matthew, which indicates that the Magi from the East, having followed a star, came to Bethlehem to adore the newborn King of the Jews, and offered him gold, myrrh and incense. In the West, the number of wise men, after many variations, was established at three. Symbols were quickly associated with them, and they ended up, in the 15th century, personifying the three continents known in the Middle Ages (Asia, Africa, Europe) after having represented, from the 12th century, the three ages...

This vigorous drawing is clearly inspired by the numerous compositions on the Ecce Homo theme which were produced by Titian and his workshop at the painter's maturity. However, the number of characters and their expressionist treatment, the many variations to Titian's paintings reveal a drawing made by an original artist, perhaps of foreign origin, belonging to the peripheral circle of the "Titian solar system”, as described by the art historian Enrico Maria del Pozzolo. 1. Titian, the leading artist of 16th century Venetian painting and his botteghe Tiziano Vecelli (or Vecellio), known as Titian, was born between 1489 and 1490 in Pieve di Cadore in the Veneto region of Italy into a wealthy family of soldiers and lawyers. At the age of 15, he joined the studio of Giovanni Bellini, where he became friend with Giorgione, ten years his senior. Giorgione introduced him to a new pictorial style in which forms are defined by colour and pictorial substance, freeing himself from the meticulous underlying drawings characteristic of Bellini's painting. Titian became the official painter of the Republic of Venice upon Bellini's death in 1516. In 1518, the completion of his Assumption for the church of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari in Venice established his reputation as the leading painter of the Venetian school: throughout his career, Titian had a considerable impact on other artists of his time, whether they were direct collaborators, occasional contributors, or other artists under his influence. Considered one of the greatest portraitists of his time, his fame spread throughout Europe and he became the official painter of the greatest European families: the Gonzagas, the Farneses (Alessandro Farnese, of whom he executed several portraits, was elected pope in 1534 under the name of Paul III), the Habsburgs (he went to Augsburg in 1548 to paint the portrait of Charles V and King Philip II of Spain, his successor, later became the artist's main patron). As Titian almost reached the age of 90 years, he saw during his lifetime the death of many of his loved ones (his wife Cecilia, his brother Francesco and his son Orazio). A pathetic feeling appears in his late artworks, such as his famous Pieta, his last work intended to decorate his tomb which remained unfinished. Titian's success was also based on the establishment of a large and versatile workshop, which, alongside the traditional assistance in the production of certain paintings, ensured the publication of numerous woodcuts, allowing the master's works to be widely distributed. Long ignored by art historians, the individual stories of these various collaborators, the organisation of this workshop and the interactions of the collaborators with the master are at the heart of contemporary studies on the artist. 2. A complex composition with expressionist overtones Executed with great virtuosity in black chalk, the composition of our drawing is complex, even slightly confused and probably reflects several phases of execution, if not several hands. The scene is organised around the characters of Christ and an executioner wearing a Phrygian cap. Christ is presented at mid-body, slightly at an angle, his torso bare, his shoulders draped in a cloak, his hands clasped together and probably bound. His head, as if weighed down by the crown of thorns, is slightly bent forward. The eyes and mouth are hollowed out by the black chalk to better express his sorrow. The man wearing a Phrygian cap holds a whip in his right hand, while his left hand, barely outlined, seems to be pulling aside Christ's tunic as if he were about to scourge him. Two other men, who may have been added at a later stage, occupy the space between the executioner and Christ. One is depicted in profile, while the one behind Christ appears to be wearing a military helmet. In an indistinct gesture, his left arm is raised as if to strike Christ. Slightly behind Jesus on his left side, appears a bearded old man wearing a turban. With his left arm raised, he holds out the palm of his hand in a gesture of amazement. His face is finely executed and contrasts with the hand depicted in a rather crude manner. This character may also have been added at a later stage, as he does not fit in perfectly behind the group formed by Jesus and his executioner. This frieze is completed in the left foreground by two additional figures depicted in three-quarter view. Soberly sketched but with great fluidity, only their heads emerge, as if Christ and his executioners were situated on a pedestal above a large crowd. Finally, on the right-hand side of the composition, a second helmeted soldier is depicted. His musculature can be seen under his armour while he stares intently at Christ. He is smaller than the other figures, even though he appears in the front row, revealing a certain clumsiness on the part of the artist. 3. Ecce Homo, one of Titian’s favourite subjects in his twilight years In 1543, Titian tackled the theme of the Ecce Homo in a masterly composition now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. Christ is presented by Pilate, dressed in an antique costume, at the top of a staircase, in a large, highly architectural setting animated by a crowd of characters. The title of the painting refers to a passage from the Gospel of St John (19, 1-5): “Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe and went up to him again and again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” And they slapped him in the face. Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews gathered there, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.” When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!” From the 1540s onwards, Titian and his workshop repeatedly depicted the Christ of Sorrows for their principal patrons. In these paintings, Titian returned to the half-body format that he had practically abandoned since 1520 and refocused the composition (compared to the large 1543 Ecce Homo) on the figure of Christ, who is depicted alone or accompanied by a few figures. With his eyes lowered and his head slightly bowed, Titian's Christ seems calmly resigned to his fate. Powerless and submissive, he arouses deep pathos from the viewer. The tondo in the Louvre Museum shows Christ in a position very similar to that of our drawing, a position that will be found in most of Titian's Ecce Homo. To his right stands a helmeted soldier who seems to be baring his shoulder and to his left a servant of Pilate wearing a Phrygian cap. These two figures are reminiscent of the soldier in the lower right corner and the executioner in the left most part of our drawing. Various versions were executed by Titian and his workshop until the late 1560s, and the version that seems closest to the right-hand side of our drawing is the one in the Prado Museum. Although of uneven quality, it is interesting to note the gesture of Pilate's hand, holding out the palm of his left hand towards the viewer, as if to distance himself from the decision that the crowd will make. Recent X-rays of the painting have shown that the executioner on the right, depicted from behind, was originally depicted in profile (as in our drawing), and that the other two figures (Pilate on the left of Christ and a servant wearing a Phrygian cap on his right) were added later. The painting was then organised around the diagonal that crosses the canvas from left to right, emphasised by the light coming from the window, and centred on the exchange of glances between Christ and the executioner on his left. The profile of the old man in the foreground on the left could be inspired by that of the elderly Titian as it appears repeatedly in the painter's late artworks, such as the Madonna of Mercy in the Palatine Gallery. 4. A deeply original drawing, at the risk of confusion We saw in the last paragraph the various borrowings from Titian's depictions of the Ecce Homo that can be found in this drawing: the position of Christ, the presence of executioners wearing Phrygian caps and of helmeted soldiers, one of whom is looking at Christ in a position that evokes the repentance visible with X-ray in the Madrid painting...

Set of four Italian walnut Savonarola armchairs ORIGIN : FLORENCE, ITALY PERIOD : LATE 15TH CENTURY - EARLY 16TH CENTURY Measures: height : 102 cm 40.15 inches, height : 93 cm 36.61 inches length : 68 cm 26.77 inches, length : 68 cm 26.77 inches depth : 55 cm 21.65 inches, depth : 50 cm 19.68 inches Walnut Very good condition This movable Italian seat from the late 15th century descents from the roman curule seat. It took the name of sedia Savonarola...

This recently rediscovered portrait of Santi di Tito depicts a Florentine senator, with a letter in his hand indicating that the painting was executed in 1574 when the sitter was 66 years old. On the basis of these clues, it is tempting to view it as a portrait of Bartolomeo Panciatichi, who was painted some thirty years before by Bronzino (1503 - 1572). While the treatment of the hands recalls the Florentine tradition of Mannerist portraits, the comparison with Bronzino's portrait illustrates Santi di Tito's search for greater realism, despite the stereotyped composition. 1. Santi di Tito, Counter-Reformation painter and portraitist Santi di Tito was the great painter of the Florentine Counter-Reformation. He proposed a new artistic language that broke away from Mannerism. Little is known about his training in Florence (perhaps alongside Bronzino or Baccio Bandinelli), but this period of training enabled him to join the Company of Saint Luke, the guild of Florentine painters, in 1554. Between 1560 and 1564, Santi di Tito spent time in Rome, where he frequented the workshop of Taddeo Zuccari. This stay had a fundamental influence on his work, thanks to the discovery of the late work of Raphael, but also his encounters with the painters Francesco Salviati and Federico Barocci. Around 1565, Santi di Tito returned to Florence, where he remained until the end of his life, dividing his talents between the creation of important religious paintings and countless portraits. He became one of the city's leading painters, distinguishing himself, in particular, in the creation of large religious compositions in which the spirit of the Counter-Reformation was reflected. In 1568, Santi di Tito became a member of the Confraternity of Saint Thomas Aquinas...

SMALL RENAISSANCE CABINET ORIGIN: PROVENCE PERIOD: END OF THE 16th CENTURY Height: 175cm Length: 102cm Depth: 50cm Blond walnut This small cabin...

Beautiful Renaissance walnut armchair. Origin: Italy. Period: 16th Century. Dimensions: height: 110 cm. length: 66 cm. depth: 50 cm. Material: walnut wood. leather t...

IMPORTANT FRENCH RENAISSANCE CHEST ORIGIN : BURGUNDY, FRANCE PERIOD : 16th CENTURY, 2nd FRENCH RENAISSANCE Height: 85cm Length: 170cm Depth: 68cm Oak wood Good condition Original lock Chest is an essential item of Medieval and Renaissance furniture. With its handles it was conceived to be easily moved from one house to another. It would hold linens, dishes or jewellery. Chest was also the ideal wedding present and would enclose the bride’s trousseau. In the middle of the 16th century chests are decisively transformed, their conception now favouring architecture, sculpture and images. This oak wood chest shows impressive proportions with a solid frame. Large mullions are assembled with mortise and tenon joints also securing three carved panels. The facade lower part comprises a high plinth hiding the base of the jambs and acting as feet. It is carved with a frieze of canal motifs topped with palm leaves. The carved decor spreads over the facade of the chest and underlines its structure. On the mullions appears a vegetal decor including roses and palm leaves executed with rigorous symmetry. They frame three rectangular panels. The central one is enriched with two female sphinxes back to back. They wear helmets and spread their wings while their body is partially hidden by long leaves. In the centre a female mask is positioned over draperies. The two lateral panels show a similar but not identical decor. Indeed we can notice a few variations in the motifs. The left hand side panel is adorned with a cut-out leather upon which is depicted two extraordinary ram heads. Their bodies are intertwined with the leather and vegetal motifs in elegant scrolls. A large chou bourguignon stands between both heads. The panel is centred with another ram’s head carved in high relief. On the right hand side panel the composition is alike. The chou bourguignon has been replaced with a shell and the lower part of the panel is adorned with two large fully bloomed flowers. The chest is topped with a frieze of geometrical motifs including scrolls, ovals and rectangles. On the sides, the surface is divided in two moulded rectangular spaces adorned with frame-like scrolls, rectangular cartouches and palm leaves. The chest closes with a massive original lid that can be locked with a key. The important and abundant sculpted decor of this chest allows us to locate its conception in the Burgundy region, France. The regular composition is allied to a remarkable imaginative freedom in the execution of the figures. The very rich iconography draws from the art of Fontainebleau as well as Italian art. The Italian Wars have indeed favoured artistic exchanges and influences between France and the peninsula. The craze for Italian art, particularly during the reign of King François I...

IMPORTANT TRAVEL CHEST WITH A DOMED TOP ORIGIN : SPAIN PERIOD : 16th CENTURY Height : 72 cm Length : 125 cm Depth : 56 cm Walnut Boarded and Studded Good Condition ...

RARE ITALIAN RENAISSANCE PERSPECTIVES SIDEBOARD WITH FAN-SHAPED PEDESTAL ORIGIN: TUSCANY, FLORENCE PERIOD: 16th CENTURY Height : 143.5 cm Length : 133 cm Depth : 54 cm Li...

Renaissance Armoirette frontage ORIGINE: FRANCE EPOQUE : 16th CENTURY Measures: height : 90 cm length : 65 cm depth : 10 cm Walnut The armoirette is used to store valu...

Small renaissance cabinet ORIGIN : FRANCE PERIOD : END OF THE 16th CENTURY Measures: height: 167 cm length: 123 cm depth: 58 cm This small two-part unit with harmonious proportions opens with four front leaves and two belt drawers. It rests on a molded base. The uprights and the central frame of the lower body are adorned with long stylized palmettes. They frame the four leaves on which unfolds a vegetal decoration made of stems and leaves sculpted in symmetry around two mascarons topped with feathers...

Small two-body buffet decorated with bird feathers ORIGIN : FRANCE PERIOD : 16th CENTURY Measures: height: 170 cm length: 106 cm depth: 51 cm Walnut wood This cha...

RARE PAIR OF FIREDOGS ORIGIN : FRANCE PERIOD : 16th CENTURY, HENRI II Measures: height: 78 cm 30 ¾ in width : 24 cm depth : 61 cm Origina...

Large Saint Sebastian finely carved in alabaster. The saint is attached to a column surmounted by a capital, beautiful soft features and superb hair wi...

German school from XVIth century Saint Acharius et saint Camomus, circa 1500 Oil on panel Unsigned On wooden panel size 85 x 54 cm (c. 33 x 21 in) Provenance : Private collection, ...

Francesco Vanni is one of the last representatives of the long Sienese pictorial tradition. In this masterly composition in pen and ink wash, he presents the Virgin of the Rosary, holding the Child Jesus on her lap, surrounded on her right by Saint Dominic and on her left by Saint Catherine of Siena. The presence of these two emblematic saints of the Dominican order is a reminder of the devotion of this order to the Rosary. 1. Francesco Vanni, a Sienese painter of the Counter-Reformation Francesco Vanni was the most important Sienese painter of the late sixteenth century and a key Italian Counter-Reformation painter. He developed a very specific style, inspired not by Florentine models but rather by the Roman, Bolognese and Marche schools, and in particular by the work of his contemporary Federico Barocci (Urbino 1535 - 1612), despite the two artists never meeting. Francesco Vanni was born in Siena around 1563-1564. His father died in 1567 and his mother remarried Arcangelo Salimbeni (1536 - 1579), then one of Siena’s leading painters. His half-brother Ventura Salembini (1568 - 1613) also became a well-known painter. He continued his apprenticeship in Bologna and Rome, where he joined the painter Giovanni de Vecchi’s (1536 - 1614) studio, where he was greatly influenced, like other Tuscan painters of the time, by the art of Federico Barocci. He devoted himself mainly to religious painting, following the canons of the Counter-Reformation. Travelling between Siena, Rome, Bologna and Parma, in 1604, he settled in Siena, where he ended his life. Vanni was also an important member of the Confraternity of the Sacro Chiodo, renowned for its demanding religious practices. His legacy also includes some important engraved work. 2. Description of the artwork The Virgin is depicted enthroned in majesty, slightly taller than the other figures that she dominates from her pedestal. Her wide robe with marked folds evokes Renaissance statuary. She is crowned by two angels in the sky. These two angels are a reminder of the custom of adding angels to crown 13th century icons which was frequent at Vanni’s time. The Child Jesus is standing on the Virgin’s right knee. With her left hand she holds out a rosary to Catherine of Siena, identifiable by a branch of lily in her hand. In a symmetrical gesture, the Child Jesus also holds out a rosary to St Dominic. Two of St Dominic’s attributes are to be found at the foot of the Virgin: a book and a branch of lilies. Vanni gives particularly delicate treatment to St. Dominic's long and slender hands. The two outstretched rosaries form the link between the heavenly register of the Virgin and the Child Jesus and the earthly register of the two Dominicans who are not crowned with a halo. This and the fact they are followed by a large crowd, indicates that they are both represented as part of the multitude of the living called to pray to the Rosary. According to the classical iconographic tradition, it would be plausible to consider that the figure looking at the viewer on the extreme left of the drawing could be a self-portrait of the painter. Francesco Vanni's face is known to us from a self-portrait kept in the Pinacoteca Nazionale in Siena. The squaring of the drawing suggests that it was used for a larger-scale altarpiece, probably for a church dedicated to St Dominic or for a Dominican convent. As of today, we have not identified the painting for which this drawing served as a preparatory modello. The Madonna of the Rosary in the Cathedral of Pitigliano (painted by Francesco Vanni in 1609) differs quite significantly from our drawing by the addition of Pope Pius V, and the inclusion of St. Dominic and St. Catherine in the celestial register. We believe that our drawing predates this painting because of its more symmetrical composition, and less Baroque influence. The presence of Saint Catherine of Siena, particularly venerated in his native town, to which Francesco Vanni returned frequently from 1590 onwards, leads us to propose a date of around 1590 - 1600 for this drawing. 3. The Rosary and the Dominican Order In order to clarify the iconographic meaning of this artwork, it is worth recalling the role of Saint Dominic in the spread of the Rosary prayer. Dominic Nuñez de Guzman was born around 1170 in Caleruega (near Burgos) in Spain and died in 1221 in Bologna, Italy. He was the founder of the order of friar preachers, commonly known as the Dominicans. He was canonised by the Church in 1234 and has since been celebrated under the name of Saint Dominic. After three days of prayer in the forest of Bouconne, near Toulouse, Dominic is said to have received the Rosary as a means of converting the Cathar population. The Dominicans subsequently made a special effort to promote this form of meditative prayer. Pope Pius V, a Dominican, included the feast of the Rosary (on October 7th) in the liturgical calendar in 1571. Rosary prayer has evolved over the centuries and traditionally consists of the recitation of three rosaries (four since St John Paul II). Each rosary consists of five tens of "Hail Mary...