Auction house Piguet presents a major online sale of Old Masters from three private collections

From March 6 to March 19, 2025, the auction house Piguet Hôtel des Ventes in Geneva will present a major online auction of Old Masters works from three prestigious private collections: that of an aristocratic Neapolitan family, the Givaudan - Tronchin collection, and that of a Geneva collector.

The former includes more than two hundred paintings collected over the course of the twentieth century that encompass a time span from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century, with a particular focus on the Neapolitan seventeenth century. Notable works include Paolo de Matteis ’s The Flight into Egypt(lot 2035) and works by Scipione Compagno, one of the most active exponents of small-figure painting in Naples during the first half of the seventeenth century (lots 2031, 2032, 2033), such as Moses and the Falling of the Manna(lot 2031). Paolo de Matteis, on the other hand, was an Italian painter who played a key role in the transition of Neapolitan art between the 17th and 18th centuries, contributing to the transition from Baroque to a more classical style. Trained in Naples under Luca Giordano, during his stay in Rome he was influenced by Carlo Maratta, who enriched his style with elements of classicism. In his work Escape to Egypt, de Matteis depicts the biblical episode in which the Holy Family flees the persecution of King Herod. In the center of the scene, the Virgin Mary holds the baby Jesus in her arms, uncovering her breasts, while Joseph holds two pieces of wood in his hand and points to two intertwined trees. This detail could allude to the unity of the tribes of Israel, where the union of two pieces of wood symbolizes the reunification of God’s people. On the left side of the painting appears the donkey, while on the right side two putti pick flowers. In the upper part of the composition, two angel heads surrounded by wings lend a heavenly aura to the scene. This work testifies to de Matteis’s ability to combine the Baroque dynamism he learned from Giordano with theclassical elegance he acquired in Rome. The balanced composition and vibrant color palette express this stylistic fusion, creating a scene that combines expressiveness and serenity.

There is no shortage of masterpieces by 18th-century artists in the collection, such as Placido Costanzi (lot 2034), among the most important exponents of 18th-century Roman painting, and Giacomo Guardi (lot 2037), son of the well-known Venetian vedutista Francesco Guardi. Also, works from the Roman school (lots 2040 and 2041), from the Venetian school, such as Capricci, six tempera paintings on canvas from the late 18th century(lot 2045), and Flemish paintings from the 17th century (lots 2042 and 2043).

The Givaudan - Tronchin collection includes works from the French, Flemish, and German schools, some of which appear on the market for the first time (lots 2015, 2016 and 2018 to 2022). François Tronchin was a distinguished collector in the eighteenth century and esteemed expert on painting and sold his first collection to Empress Catherine II of Russia in 1770. The auction house Piguet Hôtel des Ventes presents in this online auction a part of this prestigious art collection, which was later acquired in 1938 by Xavier Givaudan. Brothers Xavier and Léon Givaudan achieved success through a thriving industry producing synthetic perfumes, chemicals, and soaps. Xavier Givaudan settled in Geneva in 1917, where he bought a private villa. After renting it for several years, he purchased the Bessinge estate in 1938, a fifty-hectare property located on the site of what is now the Cologny golf course. Shortly after his death, his heirs sold the estate, but retained most of the collections, including the paintings included in this catalog. Coming from the Givaudan - Tronchin collection, for example, is the oil on canvas Architecture(lot 2021) made between about 1635 and 1640 by the Florentine by birth but Roman by his artistic roots Alessandro Salucci in collaboration with the Flemish painter Jan Miel. It was from the mid-1630s that Salucci collaborated with Miel on his fantastic architectures, to which he owes his fame.

Instead, a highlight of this online auction comes from the collection of a collector from Geneva, namely an extraordinary oil on canvas by Giovanni Paolo Pannini, Capriccio con rovine romane e la piramide Cestia(lot 2027), estimated between 21,000 and 32,000 euros. This masterpiece dated around 1730 testifies to Pannini’s mastery ofthe art of capriccio, combining imaginative architectural structures with animated figures that bring the composition to life. Pannini’s early creations are characterized by the intense use of color. One example is the vibrant pink of the dress of the woman in the foreground, typical of his palette in the 1820s. The shape of the vase depicted is partly reminiscent of the famous Borghese vase, although Pannini also found inspiration in the works of Giovanni Ghisolfi, a Milanese painter known for his architectural whimsy and whose influence is evident in the early, and sometimes later, stages of Pannini’s career. Of particular interest is the figure of the satyr chasing a nymph, an element absent from the original Borghese vase, but one that Pannini often included as a flat relief in his works of the 1730s. This detail is not derived from a specific Roman model, but represents a free interpretation by the artist, an expression of his creativity in defining ornamental details. Unusual are the two carved heads below that still suggest artistic improvisation. The group of young men intent on conversing with a soldier is a frequent theme in Pannini’s works and testifies to Ghisolfi’s influence. Unlike the mass-produced works of the 1740s, which were often characterized by precise but somewhat laborious replications, this work highlights a rapid and almost instinctive execution, which underscores the artist’s mastery and his ability to introduce creative variations on established themes.

The complete catalog can be found at www.piguet.com

Auction house Piguet presents a major online sale of Old Masters from three private collections

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