On 25 and 26 November, Il Ponte’s Modern and Contemporary Art Auction returns with a catalogue that interweaves rediscoveries, previously unseen masterpieces, and works of exceptional provenance and quality.
An exclusive journey through the leading figures and movements of the 20th and 21st centuries, conceived with the same audacity as the “Rebellious Angel” - one of the auction’s top lots - symbol of an art unafraid to challenge conventions and to shake certainties with the force of its beauty.
The sale opens with the heart of early 20th-century Italian art, featuring a selection of works by Cagnaccio di San Pietro, including a precious group of works on paper - among them a study for his self-portrait - coming from an important private collection. These are unique testaments to a pictorial language that is rigorous yet sensual, bold yet refined.
A remarkable collection of works by Alberto Martini, coming directly from his heirs, follows. A brilliant precursor of Symbolism and Surrealism and a key figure in the transition between the two movements in Italy, Martini continues to astonish for his ability to anticipate trends that would shape 20th-century art. The selection includes outstanding drawings, ink works and oils that reflect the depth and innovation of his expressive language, confirming his central role in art history.
A highlight of the catalogue is an extraordinary rediscovery: a plaster sculpture by Arturo Martini of museum calibre, created between 1936 and 1937 and titled “The Prodigal Son and the Family” (lot 32, estimate €300,000–350,000). Exhibited at the 3rd Rome Quadrennial in 1939, the work is accompanied by an extensive and authoritative bibliography.
Lot 32
Arturo Martini "Il Figliol prodigo e la Famiglia" 1936-37, plaster with original wooden support, 184.5x216x55 cm.
Estimate € 300.000 - 350.000
The undisputed protagonist of the auction is a masterpiece by Amedeo Modigliani (lot 30, estimate €750,000–1,000,000): an oil on cardboard dated around 1915 depicting his muse and lover Beatrice Hastings - the English journalist, writer and poet celebrated for her radical and feminist political writings. The work comes from the collection of André Level, the renowned French businessman, art critic and patron who organised its sale at auction in Paris in 1927. Among the most notable chapters in its history is its acquisition in 1972 by Ernst and Hildy Beyeler, the distinguished dealers who went on to found one of the world’s most prestigious institutions of modern and contemporary art.
Lot 30
Amedeo Modigliani "Portrait de Beatrice Hastings" 1915 circa, oil on cardboard, 52.5x37.7 cm. Signed lower right.
Estimate € 750.000 - 1.000.000
The catalogue continues with other key figures essential to understanding the soul of early 20th-century Italian art: Giorgio de Chirico with the iconic “The Troubadour” from 1945 (lot 29, estimate €120,000–180,000); Mario Sironi with “The Sower” from 1931 (lot 31, estimate €50,000–70,000), reappearing on the market after more than thirty years; and Osvaldo Licini with “Rebellious Angel on Red Background” (lot 33, estimate €120,000–180,000), a museum-quality oil on canvas. The latter, exhibited in Dortmund in 1974 and chosen as the cover image for the catalogue, belongs to the celebrated and rare series of “Rebellious Angels”—figures suspended between heaven and earth, emblematic of the poetic and spiritual tension that runs through the artist’s entire oeuvre.
Lot 29
Giorgio de Chirico "Il trovatore" 1945, oil on canvas, 55x35 cm. Signed lower left. Signed and titled on the reverse.
Estimate € 120.000 - 180.000
Lot 31
Mario Sironi "Il seminatore" 1931, oil on canvas, 90x80 cm. Signed lower left.
Estimate € 50.000 - 70.000
Lotto 33
Osvaldo Licini "Angelo ribelle su fondo rosso" 1950, oil on wood, 60x70.5 cm.
Estimate € 120.000 - 180.000
The section devoted to Informal Art presents works of great visual intensity: two large-scale compositions—“The Great and the Small Things” by Gastone Novelli (lot 55, estimate €60,000–80,000) and “Greenwich Three” by Toti Scialoja (lot 41, estimate €12,000–18,000); “Evening in Imbersago” by Ennio Morlotti (lot 42, estimate €40,000–60,000), accompanied by a rich exhibition and bibliographic history; and finally “Croisillons (Carrés)” by Jean Fautrier (lot 44, estimate €80,000–120,000), a mixed-media work on paper laid on canvas from 1959.
Lot 55
Gastone Novelli "Le grandi e le piccole cose" 1959-64, oil, pencil, and collage of canvas and paper on canvas, 190x300 cm. Signed and dated 59-64 lower right. Signed, dated, and titled “LE GRANDI E LE PICCOLE COSE” (The Big and Small Things) Novelli 59 on the reverse.
Estimate € 60.000 - 80.000
Lot 42
Ennio Morlotti "Sera a Imbersago" 1956, oil on canvas, 137x100 cm. Signed and dated 56 lower right.
Estimate € 40.000 - 60.000
Lot 44
Jean Fautrier "Croisillons (Carrés)" 1959, mixed media on paper applied to canvas, 46.5x55 cm. Signed and dated 59 at the four corners.
Estimate € 80.000 - 120.000
The catalogue also includes works by members of the CoBrA group, such as Karel Appel’s 1958 oil on canvas “Composition (Bataille d’animaux)” (lot 46, estimate €80,000–120,000), as well as previously unseen works from the Forma 1 group, including a large 2005 canvas by Carla Accardi (lot 54, estimate €60,000–80,000) and a 1960 composition by Antonio Sanfilippo (lot 49, estimate €25,000–35,000).
Lot 46
Karel Appel "Composition (Bataille d’animaux)" 1958, oil on canvas, 89x116 cm. Signed and dated 58 lower left.
Estimate € 80.000 - 120.000
Lot 54
Carla Accardi "Untitled" 2005, vinyl on canvas, 110x160 cm. Signed, titled, and dated 2005 on the reverse.
Estimate € 60.000 - 80.000
Particular attention is given to the Lombard abstract movement, with works by Mario Radice, Manlio Rho, and Aldo Galli, alongside notable examples such as a canvas by Atanasio Soldati (lot 61, estimate €8,000–12,000) and another by Carla Prina (lot 59, estimate €6,000–8,000).
Lot 61
Atanasio Soldati "Untitled", oil on canvas, 38.5x46.5 cm. Signed lower right.
Estimate € 8.000 - 12.000
Lot 59
Carla Prina "Miniature turque 4" 1982, oil on canvas, 81x60 cm. Signed and dated 82 lower right. Signed, titled and dated 82 on the reverse.
Estimate € 6.000 - 8.000
A special focus is also dedicated to Arte Povera and Conceptual Art, featuring Pier Paolo Calzolari, Mario Merz, Michelangelo Pistoletto and Alighiero Boetti. In the field of Pop Art, works by Mario Schifano stand out, including “Anemic Landscape” from 1965 (lot 98, estimate €40,000–60,000). In the context of Neorealism, a particularly significant historical inclusion is Renato Guttuso’s “Interior No. 3” (1961) (lot 35, estimate €40,000–60,000).
Lot 98
Mario Schifano "Paesaggio anemico" 1965, enamel and graphite on canvas, 100x80 cm. Signed and titled at the bottom.
Estimate € 40.000 - 60.000
Lot 35
Renato Guttuso "Interno n. 3" 1961, oil on canvas, 135x110 cm. Signed lower right. Signed, titled, and dated 61 on the reverse.
Estimate € 40.000 - 60.000
As per tradition, sculpture—one of the department’s hallmarks—occupies a prominent place, with works of striking visual impact by Carmelo Cappello, Giuseppe Uncini, Giò Pomodoro, Alik Cavaliere, Mario Ceroli, Igor Mitoraj, and, to conclude, a rare sculpture by Alberto Viani (lot 79, estimate €20,000–30,000) and a spiral tower over two metres tall by Arnaldo Pomodoro (lot 77, estimate €180,000–220,000).
Finally, with the aim of engaging new generations of collectors, on 26 November Il Ponte will present a sale entirely devoted to Prints and Multiples, featuring around eighty lots distinguished by their fascinating technical and chronological variety.
Lot 79
Alberto Viani "Nudo al sole" 1956, bronze, 130x75x100 cm. Signed. Several bronze versions are known, one of which was placed by Carlo Scarpa in the Olivetti store in Venice.
Estimate € 20.000 - 30.000
Arnaldo Pomodoro "Torre a spirale I" 1985, bronze, height 230 cm; diameter 50 cm. Signed, dated 85 and numbered 3/3. 3 copies + 1 artist's proof.
Estimate € 180.000 - 220.000