Antonacci Lapiccirella brings 19th- and 20th-century excellence to Palazzo Barberini

At the second edition of "Art and Collecting," the national antiques fair held in the evocative halls of Palazzo Barberini in Rome from September 18th to 23rd, the Antonacci Lapiccirella Fine Art Gallery presents a precious selection of masterpieces spanning the transformations of art between the 19th and 20th centuries. Confirming its international vocation and appreciation for rarities, the gallery's stand—number five of the show—presents a mini-exhibition showcasing the full richness of European and Italian artistic production through works by great masters, selected to lend historical and visual depth to the Roman event.

The exhibition curated by Antonacci Lapiccirella revolves around four paintings of great interest, including two portraits and two landscapes. These works are emblematic of a century and a half of research, alternating classical rigor with the freedom of the avant-garde. The gallery celebrates tradition and modernity, demonstrating how the transition between the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries represented one of the most fertile periods in European painting, especially due to the richness of its influences and its striving for innovation.

The first protagonist is Philip de László, a Hungarian artist who, between the late nineteenth and first half of the twentieth century, immortalized the European elite with highly elegant portraits. The work exhibited at the fair, Portrait of Germaine Gien, marks a departure from traditional, solemn portraits: here, the young French woman, twenty-six at the time, is depicted with an emancipated expression, her hair slicked back and crimson lips, dressed in a garçonne style that reflects the revolution in women's clothing of the 1920s. The spontaneity of the execution and the dynamism of the brushstrokes reveal a less official and more intimate side of the artist, in tune with the ferment of modernity sweeping through society at the time.

Of monumental stature is the Portrait of August Grahl by Vincenzo Camuccini, the most important Italian neoclassicist of the early nineteenth century. In this canvas, Camuccini draws on the severe models of the French, particularly Jacques-Louis David; the gaze, however, is far from the celebratory rhetoric with which the artist immortalized emperors and dignitaries, and instead becomes psychological, introspective. Grahl's face is immersed in thought, the surrounding space erased, as if to enhance the concentration and intellectual tension of the Romantic portrait. This reinterpretation of the portraiture genre demonstrates Camuccini's ability to transcend fashions and remain connected to the man's profound feelings.

In the landscape section, Antonacci Lapiccirella presents an extraordinarily poetic Roman view by Jean-Achille Benouville. The subject is the Villa Medici, surrounded by maritime pines beneath the dome of St. Peter's. Benouville, a master of French landscape painting, combines academic precision and lyricism, masterfully playing with the Mediterranean light. The painting offers not only a realistic representation, but also a visual hymn, a living reminder of Rome's cultural grandeur. The landscape thus becomes a metaphor for the soul suspended between history and nature, and the canvas enhances the sense of permanence and transformation.

The selection closes with the landscape Autumn by Alessandro Poma, a Piedmontese artist known for his rapid and vibrant life painting. The view of Villa Borghese captures the fleeting moment of the evolving Roman landscape; the rapid brushstrokes convey the liveliness of the atmosphere, like the breath of a creative wind sweeping across the scene. Poma translates the sense of nature in motion and the changing seasons with intense colors and a freshness that invites reflection on the relationship between painting and reality.

The gallery's participation in the Roman event is part of a consolidated tradition that has seen it participate in the most prestigious international fairs: from the Salon du Dessin in Paris to Masterpiece in London, from the Biennale des Antiquaires in Paris to TEFAF Maastricht and TEFAF New York, and even the Palazzo Corsini Biennale in Florence. Founded in 2012 through the merger of two historic family galleries, Antonacci Lapiccirella Fine Art has built a strong identity in the modern art scene, with a collection that ranges from Neoclassicism, Magic Realism, Symbolism, open-air landscapes, and the great Italian and Nordic schools.

The quality of the works on display and their historical value are confirmed by acquisitions by numerous international museums, including the National Gallery in Washington, the Getty Museum in Los Angeles, the Galleria d'Arte Moderna di Palazzo Pitti, the Museo di Capodimonte, the Museo di Praga, the Hamburger Kunsthalle, the Musée d'Orsay, the Galleria degli Uffizi, the Toledo Museum of Art, and many others. The repertoire presented by Antonacci Lapiccirella influences international collecting and museography, establishing a cultural bridge between Italian institutions and the European and American markets.

In Rome, visitors to Palazzo Barberini will be able to admire works that embody the history of European painting between the 19th and 20th centuries, immersing themselves in the dialogue between schools, styles, and personalities. The careful selection of artists and the depth of the works demonstrate the gallery's desire to stimulate visitors' curiosity and offer insights into critical and historical analysis. The value of the collection is matched by the event's educational and informative purpose, making each work not only an object to be admired but also a tool for understanding the dynamics of art through the ages.

Antonacci Lapiccirella thus presents itself as an essential reference point for antique dealers and collectors, the custodian of a rich and vibrant memory, always oriented towards new research and acquisitions. Its presence at "Art and Collecting" is not only a celebration of a history, but also the promise of future encounters with the general public and new generations of art lovers.