The auction dedicated to 19th and 20th-century Paintings and Sculptures, held on 24 June 2025, achieved € 800,000 in sales, with a 72% sell-through rate and a 145% increase on starting prices.
This highlights the resilience of the relevant market, which, however, remains highly selective and discerning. There is a clear inclination towards the more modern movements of the 19th century, particularly towards artists who dared to innovate or reinterpreted the past in a contemporary way.
The top lot of the session was Regata sul Canal Grande by Luigi Querena (lot 83, € 128,000), a true historical discovery and a significant testimony of the most refined Venetian vedutism of the 19th century.
Lot 83
Luigi Querena (Venezia 1824 - 1887) "Regata sul Canal Grande", oil on canvas (cm 131x189).
Sold € 128,000
Also highly regarded was the group of Italians active in Paris, artists who brought their poetic vision across the Alps to immerse it in French modernity, drawing from it new stylistic ideas and inspirations: Ragazza con cane by Giovanni Boldini (lot 76, € 57,600), the intimate domestic scene À la toilette by Federico Zandomeneghi (lot 79, € 33,280), and the delicate atmospheric miniature Impressione del Vesuvio by Giuseppe De Nittis (lot 71, € 33,280).
Lot 76
Giovanni Boldini (Ferrara 1842 - Parigi 1931) "Ragazza con cane", oil on panel (cm 22x16).
Sold € 57,600
Lot 79
Federico Zandomeneghi (Venezia 1841 - Parigi 1917) "A la toilette", oil on canvas (cm 54x45).
Sold € 33,280
Lot 71
Giuseppe De Nittis (Barletta 1846 - Saint Germain en Laye 1884) "Impressione del Vesuvio", oil on panel (cm 9x12).
Sold € 33,280
The section dedicated to Central European painting stood out with Pergola by Nikola Tanev (1930, lot 91, € 33,280) and Underbrush with Butterflies by Olga Wisinger-Florian (lot 80, € 25,600).
Lot 91
Nikola Tanev (Svishtov 1890 - 1962) "Pergolato" 1930, oil on free canvas (cm 65x80).
Sold € 33,280
Lot 80
Olga Wisinger-Florian (Vienna 1844 - Grafenegg 1926) "Sottobosco con farfalle", oil on canvas (cm 62,5x49).
Sold € 25,600
There was steady appreciation for many Italian masters in whose work one can sense the tradition of the 19th century, but already an unmistakable momentum towards the 20th century, such as Giuseppe Biasi da Teulada (lot 85, € 16,640), Vincenzo Gemito with his poignant Self-Portrait from 1913 (lot 16, € 16,640), and Tito Lessi with Una partita a biliardo (lot 72, € 15,360).
Overall, the sale sends a clear message: the market is keenly interested in this segment when it anticipates the great avant-gardes of the last century, foreseeing the tastes of a new era, and when the quality and historical significance of the works engage in a close dialogue.
Lot 85
Giuseppe Biasi da Teulada ( Sassari 1885 - Andorno Micca (BI) 1945 ), “Canefora di Teulada", oil on canvas (cm 100x100).
Sold € 16,640
Lot 16
Vincenzo Gemito (Napoli 1852 - 1929) "Self-portrait" 1913, mixed technique on paper (cm 55x48).
Sold € 16,640
Lot 72
Tito Lessi (Firenze 1858 - 1917) "Una partita a biliardo", oil on panel (cm 36,5x46).
Sold € 15,360