Oil on canvas, 20" by 27 1/2" and 25" by 32 1/2" in gold frame, the subject a glass vase on a tabletop, the vase and surrounding area filled with various flowers including asters and roses of various colors, as well as unidentified blue flowers in background. The work is signed at lower right "G Cocco" (GIUSEPPE COCCO 1879-1963), a listed painter from Naples, Italy. Cocco's signature can occasionally be hard to decipher and as a result he is less known than he should be...

Oil on canvas laid on a card, unstretched, signed at lower right corner "C Vianello". The subject is an older lady seated in a darkened interior, obviously deep in thought. The work measures 13" by 10 1/4". It is sorely in need of some restoration, as it was laid long ago on a card which is now bent and cracked. The surface though stable is dry, and there is soiling and no varnish present...

An unframed circa late 1600's or early 1700's oil on wood panel painting of old ruins in a poetic Italianate landscape that includes a distant bridge over a river, more ruins, and several tiny foreground figures with their animals. The 9 3/4" by 12 5/8" oak panel shows great age; it is ever so slightly bowed. I do not see a signature although there may have been one at one time at lower left, where others have rubbed perhaps with saliva, to try to bring up a signature...

A very decorative, fan-shaped painting on canvas of winged putti, in Old Master style, 27" by 45" as framed, bearing a signature at lower left center, appearing as "Maffei A.". The work likely dates to about 1970, and is likely the work of a quality workshop producing decorative pieces for visitors to Italy. The style is convincingly 18th century, the workmanship impressive. The frame has gold leaf on the decorative portions...

An oil on canvas painting, 36 1/4" by 26", (44 1/2" by 34" framed), relined circa mid 20th century, no apparent signature present, nor attribution available. The weave of the canvas suggests a work pre-dating the 19th century. The painting is reminiscent of Italian Renaissance imagery and strongly suggestive of Italian origin.. I acquired the work at an estate sale held at the Los Angeles home of E! Entertainment, Comcast CEO, and most recently NBC Broadcasting Chairman, Ted Harbert...

A really nicely painted oil on canvas landscape of a whitewashed, red-roofed farmhouse, a lane leading up to it, a dog, several tiny figures and a large feathery tree completing the scene, 13" by 16 3/4" (18 1/2" by 22 1/4" as framed), signed at lower right "G Zannoni" and dated below that with what appears as an 1860's date (partly under the frame, hard to see). The work may look slightly primitive close up but when viewed from normal viewing distance it all comes together as intended...

Old master painting, the subject soldiers in an extensive landscape battle scene, some mounted, 16" by 24 3/4", unframed, on old canvas, relined long ago, not signed, but on the stretcher is written in old hand "Borgognone". JACQUES COURTOIS, 1621-1676, was well known for his skill painting battle scenes. As a result of his fame, centuries later, it is tempting apparently to attribute all unsigned battle paintings to his hand, or his studio, or circle...

Set of THREE Italian circa 1946 paintings on canvas, in decorative gold matching frames, unsigned, each 9" by 11 1/4" as framed, the subject familiar scenes of Venice, executed in the classical eighteenth century style of Canaletto or Guardi. These works were commonly produced for the tourist trade by talented artists. This set evidently dates to the immediate post-war period, as one bears a date stamp on reverse, 3 Ottobre 1946 and a "Made in Italy" circular sticker...

Oil on canvas of a divan in an interior, unframed, 27 1/2" by 31 1/2", signed at lower right by listed Italian 20th century artist FRANCESCO (also known as Franco) PRAYER (1924-). The work is titled on the stretcher in Italian "Il divano a righi". Prayer's paintings are quite modernistic, with favorite subjects still life near open windows, interiors, or modernist landscape. They appear at auction in Italy...

A detailed oil on canvas scene titled on reverse label "Venice at the Canale Grande", unframed, 15" by 30", signed at lower left by turn of the century Italian artist ENRICO FOSSATI. The painting shows a less famous view of the canal and adjacent houses and people going about their business. There are at least thirteen figures in scene, some tiny; a pigeon or two and a few tiny chickens; a bridge; about ten boats of various sizes; clothes hanging out to dry; charming architectural details...

Oil on thin board painting of a canal with figures, boats and adjacent sun-drenched buildings, possibly Venice, unsigned, measuring 6 7/8" by 11 1/2" (13 1/2" by 18" in attractive old frame)...

This was once a beautiful late 1950's period example of Italian abstract art, executed by the listed artist, from Venice, Italy, GIOVANNI GIULIANI (1893-1965). Unfortunately due to careless storage by one or many owners (it was exposed to moisture), combined with the artist's choice of materials, it is now a restorer's special, worthy of conservation. I have received a quote of $400 to have it relined so that it can safely travel. The basic concept of the artist remains; most of the damage is...

Signed at lower left "Albert L. Fischer", this is an unframed, sizable oil on canvas (46" by 27"), the scene almost mural-like: an apparently Italian lake (see the gondolier at right), framed by blooming wisteria dripping off a trellis at top and climbing a lattice at bottom, several boats plying the calm lake waters. I don't see a listing for the artist. The work was sold by an interior design firm here in Los Angeles, which no doubt incorporated this unusual painting into an interesting set...

Oil on canvas laid on masonite, 20" by 30", unframed, signed at lower right by Italian artist R. J. Bertini, and dated 1902 (possibly 1912). The scene is an interior with a large hearth in the background, four men appearing as cavaliers or musketeers around a table, engaged in an animated conversation with an old woman, as a young shy woman looks on from the left corner. The painting is charming and classical, executed by a trained hand who quite surprisingly does not appear to be a listed art...

Oil on canvas, 12" by 16", (19 1/2" by 23 1/2"), the scene a white stuccoed house among flowering vines and subtropical vegetation on a sunny Mediterranean coastline, as one would expect to find in Italy, the work signed at lower right with a signature appearing to be "C. Rontini" or similar. The work is purely decorative and likely dates to the 1960's or 1970's. There is dry paint in the sky area, with a fine craquelure pattern. Otherwise the painting

Oil on canvas,unframed, 18" by 22", signed at lower right by listed French- Italian modern and contemporary artist NINO GIUFFRIDA (1924-), the subject a pair of harlequins, one dressed in blue, the other in red, in a dreamy landscape with houses, trees, and a small beach on the sea, a point of land and trees on the far horizon. Giuffrida painted a wide range of subject matter, often in a distinctive whimsical style; these subjects include portraits (in the 1950's he painted the likes of Gina Lo...

Oil on canvas painting of a fetching young woman resting next to what appears to be a drum, 21" by 12" (24" by 14" in wood frame), signed at lower right and again on the reverse (both name and "Firenze"--Florence---) by Italian artist CIPRIANO CEI (1864-1922). The subject looks coyly at the viewer, as she takes a break in her day. An interesting wall of advertising posts at upper left adds interest. Cei was born near Venice and died in Rome. A pupil of Luigi Norfini, he came to be known for ...

Oil on board, 18" by 30" (23" by 35" as framed), the scene at dockside in Venice, Italy, gondolas at the ready and figures walking the dock, sun-washed buildings in the background. The painting is signed, though awkwardly, at lower left "Arthur V. Diehl", leading me to think originally that this was by that noted American impressionist painter who died in 1929 (Diehl had created throughout his lifetime, from memory, mostly, Venice scenes, even though he had only visited there as a young man). ...