ARCADIA AUCTION HOUSE, ART IN ART IN ITALY (AND BEYOND)
Rome 24 October 2016Rome, Naples, Syracuse.
The auction house Arcadia wanted, this time, to weave a eulogy of Italy in its most intimate classicism with the auction scheduled for Monday 24 October at the now customary venue of Palazzo Celsi, in Rome.
This is the fourth round of the young Roman auction house, following the very successful exhibitions of antique and contemporary paintings and objects, jewellery, watches and works by street artists. The definition 'antiques and paintings auction' seems at least reductive in relation to the thematic and stylistic variety that characterises the upcoming event. The landscape views depicting the aforementioned local realities, of which Hellenism and monumentality are the most emphasised aspects, make Arcadia a reliable representative of the concept of 'art within art'.
The numerous views of Paestum, including two refined watercolours by Paolo Barbazza, 'The Gulf of Naples' by Raimondo Scoppa and the twenty etchings of the ruins of Syracuse are only a few examples of what has just been mentioned. Much more than a few examples, however, is the mountain landscape by Cesare Maggi, a Roman painter who lived at the turn of the 19th and 20th century.
Among the various artists, the landscape with figures by Antonio Fontanesi, a frequent and welcome guest at the Arcadia auction house, also stands out: his landscape with figures signed and dated 'A.Fontanesi (1)863' comes from the rich Branchard collection. In addition to the aforementioned artists, Antonio Lappoli, a 16th century Tuscan painter, whose 'Dead Christ Supported by St. Joseph of Arimathea' bears obvious reminiscences of the work of Parmigianino, Perin del Vaga and Pontormo, his master, also entered the world of Arcadia. However, the figurative arts do not end with painting. Bronze, ivory, coral and porcelain of exquisite workmanship will be on display from 19 to 23 October. The nine Chinese coral 'guanyin' and polychrome enamel porcelain vases are the most striking manifestation of how sensitive the Arcadia auction house is to (also) oriental taste.
Strolling through the frescoed rooms of the Palazzo Celsi, one's attention cannot but fall on the Charles X clock from 1830: a majestic clock (80x68x28 cm) in yellow Siena marble, over which watches the bronze (gilded and burnished) of Achilles, handsome and suffering, engaged in extracting the arrow from his heel. It is no coincidence that the work comes directly from the London rooms of the century-old Sotheby's auction house. To conclude, the two oils on palette, one signed by Hans Zatzka, the other depicting the city of Naples. Art within art, indeed.
In Lots 89 and 101 respectively, both arise from the combination of creativity-competence that characterises all the Objects in the auction 330 lots in all.
One round.
In between, so much beauty.
Matteo Tagliatesta
Auction of Antiques and Paintings,
Lunedì 24 Ottobre 2016, ore 15:00
Exhibition until Sunday 23 October,
dalle 10 alle 20