The Duke's profile portrait, still inspired by ancient medals, stands out strongly against the dark background. The precision with which the facial features and the details of the dress are rendered show that the artist has carefully looked at models from beyond the Alps.

The theme of the Lamentation, which represents the pain on the lifeless body of Christ after the deposition from the cross, is frequently repeated by Lanino and is also present in the cartoons and drawings used by his workshop. The tragic nature of the event is suggested without patheticism, but with sincere affliction. The soft colors and the chiaroscuro nuance, more controlled than in the previous works, show the painter's full maturity.

The Madonna and Child are depicted inside a marble aedicule built on models taken from Donatello and Mantegna: the architecture is decorated with cupids, candelabra, vases and other ornaments in polychrome marble and bronze. The whole is inspired by ancient architecture and sculptures, known to the painter also thanks to the specimens collected in the lively Paduan workshop of Squarcione, where Lo Schiavone completed his pupil in the fifties of the fifteenth century. Poised on the parapet, in the foreground, a plate full of fruits (pears, apples and lemons) represents one of the most beautiful details of all Schiavone's work and a magnificent piece of still life ante litteram, which recalls the fruits scattered in abundance in the garland in the center of the arch, still reminiscent of classic models. The panel, a masterpiece of subtlety, brilliance and finesse worthy of a miniature, was acquired by the Sabauda Gallery in 1879 through a purchase from Count Benucci of Senigallia. Signed in the lower center "opus sclavoni dalmatici squarzoni S".

The painting represents the children of the English sovereigns Charles I of England and Henrietta Maria of France and was sent as a gift in 1635 to the Dukes of Savoy Vittorio Amedeo I and Cristina of France, to offer them an intense portrait of their three grandchildren. Little Mary, just four years old, takes center stage, while Carlo, the eldest son, turns his gaze to the viewer stroking the head of his dog, a beautiful setter spaniel, and three-year-old Giacomo Duke of York holds in his hands an apple, probably a symbol of fertility. The folds of the carpet, probably due to the continuous movements of the small models, betray their impatience to the long poses in front of the painter. The painter's ability appears extraordinary in rendering the physiognomies and precious clothing, the refinement of the laces and the iridescent reflections of the fabrics, which connotes him as the most important portraitist of the seventeenth century at the European courts and aristocratic families.

Mary, pensive, holds baby Jesus in her lap, robust and erect like a little Hercules. Below, next to them, John the Baptist, just a little older than Jesus, scrutinizes his cousin spellbound, letting his milk teeth leak out. Around, like an architecture of bodies, are Saint Catherine of Alexandria and four other unidentified saints. The story of this panel seems to begin in June 1480: Bona di Savoia, widow of the Duke of Milan Galeazzo Maria Sforza since 1476, turns to Federico Gonzaga, Marquis of Mantua, in the hope that Mantegna, whose fame was at that time without equals, can translate into works of art certain drawings that you undertake to send him. Gonzaga diplomatically denies, but declares himself ready to let her have another table, most likely this one. The Duchess would then take her with her, once she returned to the Savoy land, to Fossano. Evidence of the presence of this painting in Piedmont already in the first decade of the 16th century is given by an altarpiece by an unknown Franco-Piedmontese artist, now preserved in Vienna, which copies the composition and enlarges it.

The subject of the painting is taken from the Book of Tobias, in the Old Testament. The young Tobiolo is sent by his poor and blind father to recover some money in a distant place. Accompanying him, in addition to the faithful dog, is the incognito archangel Raphael, a real guardian angel. Behind his advice the big fish is killed that will provide the gall to cure Tobiolo's father from blindness. The theme was particularly dear to the Florentine merchants of the fifteenth century, who often sent their children when they were still teenagers on business trips to be understood also as initiation tests. The panel comes from Florence, where it was located in the church of Orsanmichele. It was painted around 1465-1470 by Piero del Pollaiolo, renowned painter brother of the more famous Antonio. On a river landscape that recedes as far as the eye can see, the imposing figures of the protagonists stand out in the foreground, elegant in their movements and even more in their clothing: the ancient one of the archangel, according to the richest fashion of the time that of Tobiolo. Pollaiolo stands out here for the energetic line of the design and for the ability to realistically render the materiality of the surfaces, from the precious fabrics to the marvelous wings that reveal the divine nature of Raffaele.

An ornamental stone bas-relief culminating with a child's head emerges from the dark background of the canvas. The central medallion is empty, but in other compositions by the same artist it welcomes a sacred or mythological scene. A rich garland of flowers and fruit embellishes the sculpture: in the lower part the roses are intertwined with peonies, bluebells, carnations and wildflowers with the solitary presence of a cornflower; in the upper part there is a lush variety of grape clusters, corn cobs, apricots, plums, figs, a pumpkin, a branch of cherries and, above, two red chillies that stand out for their chromatic intensity. Colorful butterflies animate the scene, alighting here and there. Flowers and fruits are painted with extraordinary adherence to life, but the whole composition appears to be strongly studied and not naturalistic, perhaps linked to symbolic meanings. The painting, previously attributed to Verbruggen the Younger, is currently assigned, based on the characteristics of the signature, to his father, an artist specialized in the execution of opulent floral still lifes that enjoyed great success in the second half of the seventeenth century. The work entered the collections of the art gallery in 1871 following a purchase from the architect Ferdinando Reycend (Turin 1810 - 1879). Signed lower center «CASPER. P. VERBRVGGHEN. F. "

It comes from the collection of Riccardo Gualino, but in the eighteenth century it belonged to the collection of Girolamo Crispi, archbishop of Ferrara. It is also known as the Madonna of the cherries, due to the two branches depicted above, hanging from the arch. Cherries (according to legend, the fruit originating from the city of Kerasus in the Black Sea, where the battle of the Romans against Mithridates took place in 71 BC, and from here brought home by General Lucullus with the Latin name of "cerasea") take on with the Christianity has a strong symbolic meaning, as the color of their juice refers to the blood shed by Christ on the cross for human redemption. In addition to the Eucharistic connotation, in relation to the Marian subject, there is also an evident reference to maternal love and the instinct of resigned protection towards the Child by the Virgin aware of the ineluctable destiny. Some elements of the work such as the perspective view from below of the architectural aedicule, the expressiveness of the faces, the elongated shapes, the thin and tapered fingers of the Madonna, the sinuous headdress and the tortuous course of the hem of her mantle still in late Gothic style are characteristic motifs of the study that Leonello d'Este had built in the delight of Belfiore around the middle of the fifteenth century. The work can be traced back to the extraordinary cultural climate that developed in Ferrara starting from these years, finding significant stylistic comparisons with the youthful activity of Ercole de 'Roberti and with the fresco decoration of the cycle of the Months in Palazzo Schifanoia, in particular with the master active in the month of August who has proposed to identify with Gherardo di Andrea Fiorini of Vicenza, from whom Ercole was in the workshop. Inscription on the reverse "Opera / by Cosmo Turi others ... / called Gosmè / famous painter Ferrar ... / 15th century" Zoom inZoom inZoom outZoom outGo homeGo homeToggle full pageToggle full page

The depiction of Tobiolo with the Archangel Raphael, particularly fortunate in 15th-century Florence, is here completed with the archangels Michael and Gabriel, recognizable respectively by the armor with the sword and the lily of the Annunciation. Half of the background is occupied by the landscape, softened by the warm light that pervades the entire work. Observing the feminine aspect of the four characters on the way, and in particular the graceful cadence of the step of Raphael and Gabriel or the sinuosity of their clothes, it is difficult not to think of certain famous figures by Botticelli. For this reason the author of the painting, when his identity was still being discussed, began to be known as "Friend of Sandro", while later it became clear that he was the newcomer Filippino Lippi (1457-1504). After the death of his father Filippo, a great Florentine painter of the mid-fifteenth century, Filippino artistically grew up alongside Botticelli. Despite the dependence on the most well-known colleague, in this youthful framework we already notice a marked interest in the landscape and a coloristic ability that will be found even when Filippino will by now become one of the most original artists active in the passage from '400 to' 500 .

The work depicts the prodigal son kneeling on the stairs of his father's house asking forgiveness for the dissipation of the money he received as a gift. The canvas best represents the painter's early maturity. Guercino implements a synthesis between the compositional realism of Ludovico Carracci, the colorism of Ippolito Scarsella and the architectural inventions of Venetian ancestry. A certain knowledge of Caravaggio's painting can be seen both in the representation of the figure of the prodigal son and in the depiction of the servant behind the elderly father. In the first case, the reference seems to be the characters in the Madonna dei Pellegrini, a work by Merisi from 1604-1606 in S. Agostino in Rome. In the second case, however, the servant's dress refers to many characters painted by the master: for example, the boy in the Good Fortune of 1596-97, preserved in the Louvre. Guercino made The Prodigal Son in 1617 in Bologna for Archbishop Ludovisi. The good relations between Cardinal Maurizio and Ludovisi, even before he became pope in 1621, but since he was extraordinary nuncio to Savoy in 1616 to resolve the disputes between Carlo Emanuele I and Philip of Spain, regarding the dispute over the lands of Monferrato , may have been the link for the arrival of the canvas in Turin. This appears in fact in the inventory of the Savoyard collections since 1631.

The identity of the woman depicted in this masterpiece by the Florentine painter, once considered Eleonora di Toledo, consort of Cosimo I de 'Medici, has been questioned on several occasions, starting from the comparison with the various portraits of the Grand Duchess who Bronzino himself performed, with the usual rigor, according to a precise protocol. This gentlewoman who sits comfortably in an armchair, flaunts her red brocade and silk velvet jacket, over a yellow robe, also made of silk, and stares at the visitor, as she stared at the author of the painting; he also left very evident rings, bracelets, necklace and a circle of pearls, and a long belt-jewel, studded with precious stones. Behind it there is also a beautiful curtain with semitransparent bands. The lady, who shows so much well-being with such ease is, in all probability, Cassandra Cavalcanti, wife of a very wealthy Florentine banker, Pier Antonio Bandini, whose portrait is kept at the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa. Their effigies are mentioned by Giorgio Vasari among Bronzino's works.

This Madonna painted by Beato Angelico looks like an oriental princess, seated on a red cushion embroidered with gold; covered by a blue cloak, lined with green and edged in gold, with soft and elegant folds, with a delicate gesture she holds the baby Jesus, who seems to be made of porcelain as much as she is, combed with curls in the fashion of the fifteenth century dandy. In this painting, which is the reworked central panel of a polyptych, Angelico blends two traditional but different ways of portraying the Virgin: the humility of Mary, seated on the ground, and her royalty, usually represented by a throne, in this case amplified by the architecture of a room that looks like an ancient temple, sumptuously furnished, illuminated from the front by gold - used in profusion, punched and graffitied -, in the background by natural light, which smears in through a window on the left. Here more than anywhere else, Angelico, who was a Dominican friar, his real name was Giovanni da Fiesole, tries to mediate between the most fashionable painting, which made extensive use of gold and ornamentation, and the luminous and perspective novelties of the Renaissance. .

The canvas is the fragment of an altarpiece. The iconography is still identifiable with the Trinity, however, rethought by Tintoretto in an original and personal way. God the Father with open arms with a gesture of pity and acceptance at the same time overlooks the cross with the dead Christ, made in a very short perspective. Between the two is placed the dove of the Holy Spirit. On the sides two angels watch over the crucifix. Lower down, partially cut, two winged cherubs pray with joined hands. In the background, slightly sketched heads of cherubs can be seen. The intense colors of the characters' garments, to suggest their silky texture, are enhanced by a skilful use of chiaroscuro and tonal painting. A diffused yellow-amber light illuminates the portion of the scene, highlighting the shadows on the faces and bodies, thus underlining the tragic nature of the event. This portion of the painting has fortunately escaped a disastrous fire. It comes from the Venetian church of San Girolamo, which burned down in 1705. It therefore seems likely that the Genoese Gerolamo Ignazio Durazzo bought it following those dramatic circumstances. According to recent documentary reports, it seems that the painting was placed on the altar dedicated to Sant’Adriano, built in 1560 on behalf of Piero Alessandro Lippomano, former client of the painter. In addition to the Trinitarian group, the altarpiece consisted of the presence of Saints Hadrian, Francis and Augustine at the foot of the cross. Its dating is around 1561-62. The work was purchased by Carlo Felice di Savoia in 1824.

On 14 September 1224, after forty days of fasting, Francis of Assisi received the stigmata from Christ on Mount Verna, who appeared to him in the form of a crucified seraph. His companion, Brother Leo, is asleep. There is an autographed replica of this table preserved in the Philadelphia museum. It is likely that the two paintings correspond to those that a Bruges merchant of Genoese origin, Anselm Adornes, bequeathed to his two daughters, both nuns, in 1470. The invention of the landscape, a microcosm populated by small figures, is extraordinarily fascinating. performed with the tip of a brush, with pilgrims on foot and on horseback, on their way to a fortified city by a lake, to be interpreted as an imaginative version of Jerusalem, on which opens a blue sky, mottled with clouds and furrowed by flying birds .

A painting with this subject by Jan Brueghel de Velor and Pieter Paulus Rubens was offered by Jan Brueghel the Younger to the art dealer Cristo Immerseel in 1631 without success. Jan II himself made two copies and the present could be one of them. Probably purchased by Vittorio Amedeo I and arrived in Turin by 1635, the work is characterized by a great iconographic richness: in an interior open on the back with a three-arched loggia, the various elements that recall the concept of vanitas as jewels are added. , books, musical instruments, board games. In the foreground, a cupid holds an image of Christ almost as a warning with respect to the transience of earthly things, while just behind a female figure, not identifiable with certainty but interpreted as Psyche or as an Allegory of Painting, with another putto who is making soap bubbles, raise a lit torch. And the clock relentlessly marks the time that passes.

Slowly the eyes get used to the darkness and the details of the painting emerge: the embers of a now extinguished fire, a pitcher and a poker, while herring hung to dry from above. Illuminated by the light are only the face and hands of the elderly gentleman. Original painting by Rembrandt and datable to 1629, the painter's virtuosity is exceptional, with a minimal almost monochrome palette of colors making the scene believable. The meaning of the work is discussed: some think it is a philosopher or a sleeping Tobias, or even the allegory of sloth or the portrait of the painter's father close to death. More recently it was discovered that the painting belonged to Jacques De Gheyn III, a wealthy art lover whom Rembrandt portrayed in 1632, who in 1641 left the painting to his nephew Johannes. In 1628 Constantijn Huygens, Dutch poet and diplomat, writes praising Rembrandt and De Gheyn himself, who is nevertheless indicated as the one who wastes his talents in idleness: one can think that the painting was commissioned to Rembrandt by Huygens as moral exhortation and intellectual joke to De Gheyn's address.

Gentileschi painted this Annunciation during his stay in Genoa and sent it to Turin in 1623. In Rome the artist had had the opportunity to weave Caravaggio's creative path: in this painting he proved it with a striking quote from the painter's Death of the Virgin Lombard today in the Louvre, the sumptuously draped red curtain. However the light is warm, daytime, the drama is muffled, as almost always in Gentileschi's paintings. The Pisan painter sent the altarpiece to Duke Carlo Emanuele I, enclosing a letter in which he recalled the other services rendered to the family, probably alluding to the youthful Madonna in Glory and the Holy Trinity, originally intended to decorate the church of Monte dei Cappuccini and now in the collections of the Civic Museum of Ancient Art of Turin; In that correspondence, reference is also made to a painting depicting Lot and his daughters, long remembered in the Savoy inventories and pointed out by visitors and connoisseurs as one of the pearls of the collection of the House of Savoy. In this gesture by Gentileschi, not only the awareness of the quality of his work is evident, but also the ambition to place himself at the exclusive service of a court, a role that would have guaranteed him an economic position and social confirmation. Even the choice of the subject is to be considered carefully studied, since the Savoy family boasted the chivalric order of the Annunziata. While accepting the gift, the duke did not take this opportunity, and Gentileschi's career was projected towards the North, first Paris, and finally London.