On May 28th and 29th, 2024, the highly anticipated appointment with Modern and Contemporary Art returns, featuring unpublished works and internationally renowned artists:
a unique opportunity for the most demanding collectors and art lovers to immerse themselves in another extraordinary journey through the great avant-gardes and the most significant artistic movements of the early 20th century and the post-war period.
Standing out in the catalogue is Angelo Morbelli's "Una partita a carte" from 1904 (€ 40,000 - 60,000), a superb testimony of Italian Divisionism with a rich exhibition history, including two significant solo exhibitions in Milan, one at the Famiglia Artistica in 1920 and the other at the Galleria Pesaro between 1929/30.
Works of museum quality characterize this dense journey through genres, as evident in the Futurist nucleus with Giacomo Balla's "Gatti Futuristi; Canaringatti; Futurtregatesco", a large oil painting from '22-'24, presented, among others, at the XCIV Exhibition at the "Società degli Amatori e Cultori di Belle Arti" in Rome (€ 250,000 - 300,000) and Gerardo Dottori's 1923 work "Forze Ascensionali", whose importance is attested by its circulation in numerous exhibitions, even in New York, Taipei, and Helsinki (€ 35,000 - 50,000).
In this section, the rare sketch by Luigi Russolo from 1910 dedicated to the study of the famous painting "Visioni simultanee (Studio per Ricordi di una notte)", already held in an important American collection, emerges; the sculpture by Mino Rosso "Architettura di una testa (Mussolini)" from '33, a perfect example of Futurist plastic synthesis; Fillia with an "Senza titolo" from 1928/29; Enrico Prampolini with the manifesto work "Arte costruttiva" from '20; and two works by Fortunato Depero focused on the theme of theater.
Lot 6
Angelo Morbelli,
"Una partita a carte" 1904,
conté, conté, pastel and oil on canvas applied to cardboard, cm 53,5x86,5.
Estimate € 40,000 - 60,000
Lot 16
Giacomo Balla,
"Gatti Futuristi; Canaringatti; Futurtregatesco" 1922-1924,
oil on canvas (on paper), cm 66x194.
Signed, titled Futurtregatesco and dated 1922 on the reverse. Casa Balla octagonal plate n. 221 on the reverse.
Estimate € 250,000 - 300,000
Lot 10
Gerardo Dottori,
"Forze Ascensionali" 1923,
tempera on wood, cm 84x60.
Signed and titled 1923 lower right.
Estimate € 35,000 - 50,000
Inspired by the theatrical universe but in a metaphysical key is the extraordinary "Combattimento di Puritani" from 1959/60 (€ 150,000 - 200,000) by Giorgio de Chirico, an artist whose presence in the catalogue is also enhanced by an unmistakable "Piazza d'Italia" from the late 1960s (€ 130,000 - 150,000).
Among the most beloved genres by artists over the centuries, that of "Natura morta" boasts two prominent presences: Giorgio Morandi with a drawing from '43 (€ 25,000 - 35,000) and Renato Guttuso with the paintings "Interno con damigiana" from '60 (€ 50,000 - 70,000) and "Natura morta con cestino e libri" from '59 (€ 15,000 - 20,000).
Lot 18
Giorgio de Chirico,
"Piazza d'Italia" fine anni '60,
oil on canvas, cm 40x50.
Signed lower left.
Estimate € 130,000 - 150,000
Lot 82
Giorgio Morandi,
"Natura morta" 1943,
pencil on paper, cm 24x32,5.
Signed and titled 1943 lower right.
Estimate € 25,000 - 35,000
Lot 85
Renato Guttuso,
"Interno con damigiana" 1960,
oil on canvas, cm 90x116.
Signed lower right.
Estimate € 50,000 - 70,000
From Italy to the world, the catalogue features a wide-ranging international excursion ranging from creations by masters such as Otto Dix, Sonia Delaunay, and Maurice De Vlaminck; continuing chronologically with other works of excellent provenance and difficult availability signed by Georges Noel and Emil Schumacher.
Also noteworthy are the canvas "Jar and Plate" by William Scott (€ 40,000 - 60,000) and the acrylic on paper by Hans Hartung (€ 25,000 - 35,000), both created in '71.
Special mention goes to the Americans Franz Kline with the ink on paper "Sketch for Riverbed" (€ 20,000 - 30,000), Sam Francis with the work "Untitled" from '77 (€ 10,000 - 15,000), the Italo-American Conrad Marca-Relli with the collage "J-S-7-74" from '74 (€ 15,000 - 18,000); and also Hans Hofmann and Norman Bluhm.
Lot 80
William Scott,
"Jar and Plate" 1971,
oil on canvas, cm 64x64,5.
Titled and dated 1971 on the reverse.
Estimate € 40,000 - 60,000
Lot 28
Hans Hartung,
"P1971-A44" 1971,
oil pastels on baryté cardboard, cm 74,8x104,8.
Signed and titled 71 lower right.
Estimate € 25,000 - 35,000
Lot 41
Franz Kline,
"Sketch for Riverbed",1961 circa,
ink on paper, cm 26,6x30.
Estimate € 20,000 - 30,000
Also of manifest quality, the section dedicated to the informal movement presents a rare "Paesaggio a Imbersago (L'Adda)" by Ennio Morlotti from '55, presented in numerous museum exhibitions dedicated to the artist (€ 30,000 - 40,000).
We also find a historic painting by Emilio Scanavino from the collection of the renowned fashion designer Krizia (€ 15,000 - 25,000) and an extraordinary work by Tancredi Parmeggiani (€ 50,000 - 70,000).
Completing the collection are other splendid works by Gastone Novelli, Emilio Vedova, and Mario Deluigi.
Lot 24
Ennio Morlotti,
"Paesaggio a Imbersago (L'Adda)" 1955,
oil on canvas, cm 61x84.
Signed and dated 55 on the reverse.
Estimate € 30,000 - 40,000
Lot 32
Emilio Scanavino,
"Dall'alto in basso" 1963,
oil on canvas, cm 195x195.
Signed lower right. Signed, titled and dated Calice 1963 on the reverse.
Estimate € 15,000 - 25,000
Lot 23
Tancredi,
"Senza titolo" 1959,
oil on canvas, cm 100x80.
Signed and dated 59 on the reverse.
Estimate € 50,000 - 70,000
Lot 52
Gastone Novelli,
"Une voix", 1960,
oil and mixed media on canvas, cm 50x60.
Signed lower right Signed, titled and dated 60 on the reverse.
Estimate € 20,000 - 30,000
The Roman experience of the famous "Scuola di Piazza del Popolo" is documented in the catalogue through a selection of prestigious works. Among these, the masterpiece "Lisca nera" by Tano Festa from '61 (€ 50,000 - 70,000) and the irreverent portrait of "Mao Tze Tung" by Sergio Lombardo from '64 (€ 30,000 - 50,000).
Additionally, contributions come from Mario Schifano with the work "Spazio" (€ 40,000 - 60,000) and Mario Ceroli with the beautiful wooden sculpture from the "Farfalla" series from '67, created during his stay in the United States and exhibited in the same year at the Bonino Gallery in New York (€ 8,000 - 12,000).
Lot 123
Tano Festa,
"Lisca nera" 1961,
industrial enamel and wood collage on board, cm 90,5x130.
Signed, titled and dated 61 at the reverse.
Estimate € 50,000 - 70,000
Lot 127
Mario Schifano,
"Spazio" 1965,
enamel, spray and graphite on canvas, cm 80x80.
Signed, titled and dated at the reverse.
Estimate € 40,000 - 60,000
Lot 121
Sergio Lombardo,
"Mao Tze Tung" 1964,
enamel on canvas, cm 120x120.
Signed, titled and dated 1964 on the reverse.
Estimate € 30,000 - 50,000
Also within the Roman context, a significant focus is dedicated to the Forma 1 group, from which emerge experiments on sicofoil by Carla Accardi titled "Marrone" from '72 (€ 45,000 - € 60,000), the large canvas "Rebus" by Giulio Turcato from 1987 (€ 25,000 - 35,000), Piero Dorazio with "Tisbe I" from '69 (€ 15,000 - 20,000), and Achille Perilli with "Emploi d'une copule negative" from '75 (€ 8,000 - 12,000).
It's worth mentioning the incredible group of seven paintings by Salvo and three works by Alighiero Boetti: the "Aerei" from 1983 (€ 80,000 - 120,000), the tapestry "Languidi sguardi assassini" from circa 1990 (€ 40,000 - 60,000), and the first specimen of the "Insicuro Noncurante" edition created between 1975/76 (€ 35,000 - 50,000).
Lot 124
Carla Accardi,
"Marrone" 1972,
enamel on sicofoil, cm 92,5x104,5.
Signed and titled 72 lower right.
Estimate € 45,000 - 60,000
Lot 125
Piero Dorazio,
"Tisbe I" 1969,
oil on canvas, cm 65x45.
Signed, titled and dated 1969 on the reverse.
Estimate € 15,000 - 20,000
Lot 131
Alighiero Boetti,
"Aerei" 1983,
ballpoint on paper laid down on canvas in three elements, cm 36,5x82,5 (total); 36,5x27,5 (each element).
Signed and dated 1983 on the reverse.
Estimate € 80,000 - 120,000
As tradition dictates, a significant space is reserved for sculpture, always the pride of the department, featuring equally museum-quality works by Luigi Ontani, Lynn Chadwick, Pablo Atchugarry, Giò Pomodoro, Carmelo Cappello, and splendid ceramics by Lucio Fontana and Fausto Melotti.
The auction continues on May 29th with the second session, which offers over 250 works by national and international artists.
Lot 128
Luigi Ontani,
"Cristoforo Colombo", 1998,
glazed polychrome ceramic, cm 90x37x28.
Signed under the base.
Estimate € 40,000 - 60,000
Lot 81
Lynn Chadwick,
"Winged Figures II", 1975,
partially polished bronze cm 47x43x38.
Imprinted with the artist's monogram and inscribed 688S 2/9.
Estimate € 30,000 - 35,000
Lot 84
Fausto Melotti,
"Kore", 1954,
glazed ceramic h cm 102.
Signed inside the ceramic.
Estimate € 40,000 - 60,000