The Piva&C gallery, a historical reality of the Milanese antiquarian scene, will be the protagonist of the second edition of Arte e Collezionismo in Rome, scheduled from September 18 to 23, with an itinerary entirely dedicated to the Italian seventeenth century. At booth number 45, visitors will be able to admire a selection of works that recount the richness, contradictions and expressive variety of a decisive century for the figurative arts.
For Arte e Collezionismo 2025, Piva&C’s proposal thus focuses on a century in which Italian creativity was able to combine monumentality, decorative pomp and the search for expressive depth. The exhibition route starts from theVenetian area, the beating heart of an art that in the 17th century knew how to blend tradition and international openings. Here are placed two monumental busts of Moors in polychrome marble, one male and one female, by Santi Casarini. The two sculptures, formerly belonging to the Roman library of Luchino Visconti, are striking for their material richness and expressive intensity, as well as for the prestige of their provenance.
Also emerging from Baroque Venice is the symbolic dialogue between Heraclitus and Democritus, carved in Carrara marble by Melchior Barthel (Dresden, 1625 - 1672) during his stay in the lagoon city. The two figures, recently exhibited in the exhibition The Faces of Wisdom in Trent, render with great dramatic force the contrast between the weeping and laughing of the two philosophers, embodying two opposite reactions to human destiny. Barthel’s sensitivity translates into intense and vibrant faces, capable of transcending simple depiction to become universal allegory.
To complete the Venetian section, Piva&C presents three oils on canvas by Joseph Heintz the Younger (Augsburg, 1600 - Venice, 1678). The paintings depict some of the most iconic moments of lagoon public life: the regatta on the Grand Canal, the procession of the Redeemer, and the parade of the new doge in St. Mark’s Square. The vividness of the details, the brightness of the colors and the energy of the compositions restore the ceremonial pomp of the Serenissima, in an interweaving of devotion, spectacle and political power.
The gallery’s proposed journey concludes in Rome with an example of sumptuous furniture: a console table in wood carved with scrolls and leaves, with a faux-marble lacquered top, attributed to the workshop of Filippo Passarini. The work testifies to the mastery of seventeenth-century Roman carvers, capable of combining structural elegance and decorative refinement. Crowning the display is a terracotta sculptural group depicting Prometheus Chained and the Eagle. The composition surprises with its wealth of realistic details and narrative power, capable of restoring the dramatic nature of the myth with immediacy.
The selection that Piva&C presents in Rome is not limited to offering an overview of the Italian seventeenth century, but aims to propose a journey through the different declinations of the art of the period. From Venetian Baroque suggestions to Roman decorative solutions, each piece tells a story of commissions, styles and meanings that still retain their relevance today.
Founded after World War II by Bepi Piva, a passionate collector of Veneto furniture, the gallery has been able to transform itself over the decades without ever abandoning its original vocation for absolute quality. Under Domenico Piva’s leadership, the proposal has expanded to include sculptures, porcelain and furniture of international scope, consolidating an identity that has always privileged excellence. Since 2021, the direction has been entrusted to Tomaso Piva, representative of the third generation, who maintains firm ties with tradition but at the same time looks with interest at works without limits of period or provenance. The gallery’s motto, “Only Masterpieces,” summarizes this philosophy, which aims to select unique pieces for originality, rarity and extraordinary preservation.
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| Piva&C gallery brings seventeenth-century Italian art to Rome for Art and Collectables |
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