Favorite Italian Pictures in February Fine and Decorative Art Sale
You can always count on Cowan's offering some nice Italian paintings in every Fine Art auction. I'm including a few of my favorites from the February 20th sale here...
A vast array of Italian artist worked prolifically in turn-of-the-century Italy, usually depicting genre, landscape or city view subjects. After all, it's what tourists making the "Grand Tour" wanted. Generally the artists had little formal training or exhibition history. They usually signed their name and city of origin, such as "Roma" or "Firenze".
The first is a fine North African genre scene by Ciro Mazini, beautifully framed:
This Southwestern Italian landscape by Michele Federico is a nice example of a the AMalfi Coast, a favorite subject of artists around Naples. It was discovered in a thrift store, filthy from nicotine, and cleaned up beautifully:
Finally, here is an early 19th century street view by M. Mauton, obscure artist who may have meant for this work to be published in a book, given the lower border with title and signature and the precise execution, usually an indication that the piece was meant for an engraver to complete a print version to be published:
More to come before the sale on other highlights!
Graydon Sikes