1690 - 1710 - XVII-XVIII

M. G. L. 406

Unità di misura: cm; Altezza: 95 ; Larghezza: 147

olio su tela

The painting depicts a vast, open space, characterised by intricate vegetation, rendered with vibrant brushstrokes and an extraordinarily modern touch. An atmosphere of a ‘romantic’ tone dominates, but mitigated by the classical balance that pervades the composition. The figurines that populate the landscape are outlined with rapid strokes and dense patches of colour. The painting can be attributed to the hand of the landscape painter Antonio Francesco Peruzzini, despite an inventory attribution that mentioned Magnasco's name, an attribution that is no longer tenable today. It remains evident that the author takes as his model the figures, variously posed, protagonists of the paintings by Lissandrino, who populate a landscape with a rendering clearly indebted to the manner of Salvator Rosa, particularly in the rendering of light through the thickening of pigment and the use of luminous filaments. Some critics do not discount the possibility that the author of the figures is indeed Magnasco, whose presence in Florence is reported from 1703 onwards, the year in which Peruzzini also arrived in the Tuscan capital; in the same years, the presence in the city of Marco and Sebastiano Ricci is also reported, with whom Peruzzini shares a particular chromatic intonation. These painters adhere to a very particular landscape strand, which is distinguished from the exquisitely classical more Carracci-like style by its picturesque and romantic intonation. Peruzzini makes this language his own by mitigating its drama and impetuosity, looking to Salvator Rosa's calmer version and partly picking up the legacy of the more classical Roman landscape painting. Critics do not agree on the dating of Luxoro's painting, oscillating between the last decade of the 17th century and the first decade of the following one, based on stylistic comparisons with paintings made in the same years, such as The Temptations of Saint Anthony Abbot in the Porro collection and the later Landscape with village and ruined tower made with Magnasco. The paintings of these years are united by the typical rendering of the clouds with fringed outlines and the scratched brushstroke that defines the depressions in the terrain by marking them. Added to this are the peculiar definition of the tree trunks, enlivened by small white touches in the sunlit areas, and certain constant elements in Peruzzini's landscapes, such as towers, ruined and dilapidated houses and villages lost in the distance. The painting depicts a vast rural landscape dominated by a cloudy sky. In the background is a farmhouse with a tower, while in the foreground, on the banks of a stream, are two shepherds with a flock of sheep and several female figures.

1701 - 1710 - XVIII

G.P.B.2533

Unità di misura: cm; Altezza: 92,5; Larghezza: 61; Profondità: 30

cassa in pero ebanizzato, tagliato, bronzo fuso, mostra in rame dipinto

Un'ostinata illusione: la misurazione del tempo e gli orologi Luxoro - Genova - 2004

The painted copper exhibition presents in the centre, surrounded by a piece of sky on which, at the corners, four disembodied heads with swollen cheeks symbolising the winds have been arranged, the dial with the Roman numerals on which a mythological scene has been painted, where Time is depicted pointing to a female figure who has just entered a small chamber, identifiable, due to the presence of a spear and armour, in the goddess Minerva, protector of the sciences and the arts, a young woman languidly seated on a throne, depicted holding some apples in her right hand, and therefore possibly recognisable as Venus. This composition, which could hypothetically symbolise the victory of wisdom over earthly beauty and love with the passage of time, reveals in the thoughtful and balanced posture of the figures, in the elegant progression of the clothing, in the way the faces and the male body are outlined, the presence of a hand belonging to an artist active in Rome, probably towards the end of the 1870s and the beginning of the ninth decade of the 18th century, within Carla Maratta's entourage and closely linked to her classical models, so much so that it cannot be ruled out that he may have trained at ului. From the Marattesque results, both the precious and bright chromatic range, embellished, in blue, yellow and white tones, by reflections that accompany the arrangement of the folds, suggesting them, and the strenuous chiaroscuro passages used to enhance the materiality of the fabrics, the lustre of the metals, the softness of the skin and the plasticity of the muscles. Night-day projection clock characterised by the monumental architectural form typical of the Roman environment: with a base articulated in protrusions and recesses, on which the rectangular display is set, simulating the pediment of a chapel, with side columns, a curved tympanum-shaped pediment and a tall central aedicule, which houses, concealed by a sliding wooden door, the device for projecting the hours onto the wall during the night. Two gilded bronze garlands, supported in the centre by a shield-shaped cartouche, are suspended from the side walls of the tympanum. It was probably decorated with other metal or semi-precious stone elements. The painted copper display houses the gilded metal dial for daytime hours with engraved Roman numerals. The clock projected the night-time hours using a device similar to a magic lantern, created specifically by Giuseppe Campani. Subsequently, when the clock arrived in Genoa, Ganzinotto modified the mechanism by adding an alarm.

1750 - 1800 - XVIII

M.G.L. 1506

Unità di misura: UNR; Misure mancanti: MNR

Maiolica decorata “a terzo fuoco”

In the panorama of eighteenth-century Ligurian majolica, the figure of the ceramicist Giacomo Boselli from Savona stands out. He was responsible for a profound renewal of the local production, from a technical point of view, as well as in terms of artistic and cultural reference models. As matter of fact, he succeeded in incorporating first the rocaille taste, then that of the subsequent Louis XVI style and then on to an early adoption of the nascent Neoclassicism that was spreading in Europe towards the end of the century. Attentive to the international scene, he faced ever-increasing competition from French and then English earthenware manufacturers, he also introduced important innovations to traditional techniques, for example by applying the "third fire" procedure to his majolica. A third firing at a lower temperature that allowed the fixing of bright colours, much admired in the eighteenth century, such as purplish red, emerald green and gold. This jug, with its elegant Rococo shape, is a typical example of the best "third fire" production of the Boselli workshop, which interprets with sobriety the influences coming from the contemporary Marseille majolica.

1750 - 1790 - XVIII

M.G.L. 963, M.G.L. 1055

Unità di misura: UNR; Misure mancanti: MNR

legno

The two Moorish slaves from the procession of the Magi, are the work of Pasquale Navone (1746-1791), presented here in a scenographic setting created in 2011, they stand out both as exceptional figures in terms of quality and rarity among the more than 350 figures which make up Matteo Luxoro’s favourite collection. Here the figures are presented in their role as “participants” rather than as static wooden sculptures forming a scene, returning them to the role for which their creator intended them. The use of articulated mannequin figures, with glass eyes, fabric clothing (more rarely with artificial hair wigs), arranged in elaborate scenes, alongside entirely sculpted and polychrome figures transformed the nativity display into an ephemeral presentation that was somewhere between a tableau vivant and a theatrical representation. Each figure was dressed according to the character, to emphasize their role and create "communication" between the various protagonists - commoners, shepherds, nobles and the entourage of the Magi – all in ecstatic admiration of the mystery of the Nativity.

1750 - 1750 - XVIII

M.G.L. 555

Unità di misura: cm; Altezza: 116; Larghezza: 128; Profondità: 67

legno impiallacciato

This precious example of eighteenth-century Ligurian furniture is characterized by the quality of its veneers made with exotic woods, which create a delicate luminous effects, forming phytomorphic motifs typical of local cabinet-making, such as the famous "four-leaf clover". Inspired by French models, this chest of drawers stands out for the sobriety with which the shapes of the rocaille style are interpreted, in line with the then current Ligurian taste. The bronze decoration, which is original, emphasizes the curvilinear form of the piece which is part of a matching group of fine eighteenth-century furnishings collected by the Luxoro family, probably originally coming from residences of the Ligurian nobility. Chest of drawers with a wavy profile and vertical curves. When opened, the flap reveals a series of small drawers and compartments arranged on two levels, also featuring curves. A small mirror is fixed in a central position between the compartments. The fine veneer forms a series of scrolls that emphasise the shape of the piece, while the front is embellished with a multi-lobed element, locally known as a “quadrifoglio” (four-leaf clover). The vents and handles are in gilded cast bronze.