The portrait shows a three-quarter (turned to the left) half-length image of an elderly gray-haired man with a forked beard, a beret on his head and in clothes with a fur collar, leaning with his right hand on a stick. A gold medallion is visible on his chest, gold rings on his ring finger and in his ear (Fig. 1). The coloring is built on dark brown and green and on light pinkish-ocher and bluish tones. The work is written on a solid mahogany board with chamfers along the perimeter of the reverse side, with a thin white primer. In the infrared region of the spectrum, a free preparatory drawing is visible, which refines the form and partially does not coincide with its pictorial embodiment. The paint layer is thin, especially in the depiction of the face and hand; In the technique of portrait painting, there are signs of borrowing by the master of the 19th century of the techniques of the painting schools of Northern Europe of the 16th century. At the same time, the portrait has an authorial character, it lacks signs of copying, which allows us to attribute it to the artistic direction of "historicism", characteristic of the second half of the 19th century.
Dimensions
52.5 x 41.7
Acquired From:
Other
Hello Sergiy, Thank you very much for your appraisal inquiry! The presented object appears to be an unattributed 19th Century "European School" oil on panel portrait of an old man. It measures 52.5 x 41.7 cm. and is signed "Giovanni" in the bottom right corner. It does not seem to be a copy after an existing work. It appears to be in good condition and no severe damage is visible in the images provided. According to your description and based on my own visual review of the piece, "The portrait shows a three-quarter (turned to the left) half-length image of an elderly gray-haired man with a forked beard, a beret on his head and in clothes with a fur collar, leaning with his right hand on a stick." The market for such works, even one as well-executed as yours, is not particularly strong. Recently achieved auction results for similar paintings would indicate a current fair market value of approximately $500 to 700 USD, though retail and asking prices may vary and an attribution might increase the item's value. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask in the comments section below. Thanks again for your inquiry and have a great day! Kind regards, Lindsey
