BIAF 2026: Works by the Great Masters Return to the Market. The Report (with Prices)


Under the new direction of Bruno Botticelli and with changes among the antique dealers, the Florence International Antiques Biennale returns to Palazzo Corsini and is preparing to open its 2026 edition. It does so with new discoveries, restorations, and works that have resurfaced from private collections. Here is our report from the preview, featuring a selection of notable works and their prices.

The direction changes, the secretary changes, some of the antique dealers change, but the Florence International Antiques Biennale remains the same: Palazzo Corsini is still there, on the banks of the Arno, waiting for the dozens of antique dealers— the best in Italy, along with about a dozen international participants (for a total of roughly eighty booths this year), to host—over the course of two weeks—a sort of “worksite” for art history, where it’s customary to see works once thought lost reemerge, to see works reappear that have been kept for decades in inaccessible private collections, and to witness a showcase of paintings, sculptures, gems, jewelry, and objects of applied art on display for ten days for scholars, museum directors, and enthusiasts from around the world. Here it is—the temporary museum that takes shape every two years at Palazzo Corsini only to disperse again—now for the thirty-fourth time.

Under the leadership of the new secretary general, Bruno Botticelli—appointed last April to carry on the prestigious legacy of Fabrizio Moretti and Giovanni Pratesi—the 34th edition of the International Antiques Biennial reaffirms the fundamental values of antiquity: the uniqueness of the material, the authenticity of the creation, and its enduring nature. This year’s impression is that of a BIAF in transition: there has been a significant turnover, even though the foundation remains more than solid, with about half of the 2024 debutants having confirmed their participation, and with an exhibition that reaffirms its quality, and, moreover, it seems to give the impression of wanting to step even further beyond itself, opening up to the city and engaging with its history (inside Palazzo Corsini, this year—on a completely exceptional basis—the first design for the façade of San Lorenzo by Michelangelo Buonarroti is being presented, a precious autograph drawing housed in the Florentine institution and subjected to a rigorous diagnostic assessment and a complete restoration carried out by the Opificio delle Pietre Dure with full funding from the Fondazione CR Firenze), and reaffirming the centrality of a commercial offering of the highest caliber. It is a statement of approach: the BIAF is changing, but it remains true to what makes it recognizable.

Exhibits at BIAF 2026. Photo: BIAF
BIAF 2026 exhibition displays. Photo: BIAF
Exhibits at BIAF 2026. Photo: BIAF
BIAF 2026 exhibition displays. Photo: BIAF
Exhibits at BIAF 2026. Photo: BIAF
BIAF 2026 exhibition installations. Photo: BIAF
Exhibits at BIAF 2026. Photo: BIAF
BIAF 2026 exhibits. Photo: BIAF
Exhibits at BIAF 2026. Photo: BIAF
BIAF 2026 installations. Photo: BIAF
Exhibits at BIAF 2026. Photo: Finestre sull'Arte
BIAF 2026 Exhibits. Photo: Finestre sull’Arte
Exhibits at BIAF 2026. Photo: Finestre sull'Arte
BIAF 2026 Exhibits. Photo: Finestre sull’Arte
Exhibits at BIAF 2026. Photo: Finestre sull'Arte
BIAF 2026 Exhibits. Photo: Finestre sull’Arte
Exhibits at BIAF 2026. Photo: Finestre sull'Arte
BIAF 2026 Exhibits. Photo: Finestre sull’Arte
Exhibits at BIAF 2026. Photo: Finestre sull'Arte
BIAF 2026 installations. Photo: Finestre sull’Arte
Exhibits at BIAF 2026. Photo: Finestre sull'Arte
BIAF 2026 Exhibits. Photo: Finestre sull’Arte
Exhibits at BIAF 2026. Photo: Finestre sull'Arte
Exhibits at BIAF 2026. Photo: Finestre sull’Arte

Beginning the exploratory tour at the booths on the ground floor of Palazzo Corsini, the path through the galleries offers an uninterrupted sequence of works ranging from medieval painting to the great innovations of the 19th and 20th centuries. We begin at the Carlo Orsi Gallery booth, where a painting of exceptional interest to the history of Neoclassical art takes center stage: Antonio Canova’s *Penitent Magdalene*, offered at a price of 350,000 euros. This rare oil painting was likely executed by the master in Possagno during his stay in his hometown from 1798 to 1799, and was promptly documented by Giannantonio Falier and Melchiorre Missirini, who noted its location in Bassano within Count Roberti’s collection, prior to the recent monographic studies published by Mario Mascotto and Vittorio Sgarbi. A few steps further on, Galerie Canesso welcomes visitors with the majestic 13th-century painted Cross by Corso di Buono, a central figure in archaic Florentine painting, with an asking price of 1.2 million euros. The dramatic austerity of Christ on the cross contrasts with the sweeping, atmospheric scope of the large canvas presented a short distance away at the Hartford Fine Art – Lampronti Gallery booth: The Gulf of Pozzuoli: The Encounter Between the Bourbon Fleet and the Maltese Fleet, a masterpiece by Jakob Philipp Hackert (600,000 euros), which depicts the Phlegraean harbor and the royal vessels with exceptional clarity.

Next is the selection from the Frediano Farsetti Art Gallery, a historic Milan-based institution specializing in 20th-century masters, which features four key canvases in the creative trajectories of Severini, Savinio, and De Chirico. Gino Severini is represented by the important work on paper *Danseuse et violiniste*, offered at 580,000 euros, while Alberto Savinio is featured with a dreamlike painting *Untitled* ( 650,000 euros), and Giorgio de Chirico is represented by a masterpiece from the 1920s: *The Temple of Apollo*, an oil on panel signed and dated 1920 (750,000 euros). Florentine grand ducal sculpture and monumental neoclassicism, on the other hand, find their highest expression at Walter Padovani’s booth, which features one of the most important works at this BIAF: Lorenzo Merlini’s marble *Portrait of Cosimo III* in life-size (price upon inquiry). Merlini’s work, characterized by broad, broken drapery with angular folds reminiscent of Giovan Battista Foggini’s style, conveys a figure of extraordinary expressive vitality, despite the subject’s… institutional role. Alongside the Merlini piece, Padovani is exhibiting Lorenzo Bartolini’s marble statue depicting Charity ( price upon inquiry): this Bartolini marble, identifiable as the sculpture commissioned by the Balbi family of Genoa and completed in 1846 by the sculptor Vassaro on behalf of the master, joins the ranks of the famous model of *Charity as Educator* at Palazzo Pitti and the version for the Medici Villa at Poggio Imperiale, distinguished by the absence of the Gospel scroll in the child’s hands. And still on the subject of great Medici sculpture, don’t miss the *Maggio* (*Apollo*) by Antonio Novelli, offered by Botticelli Antichità ( price on inquiry), another of the most important works in this edition: carved from Apuan marble, it was studied by Francesco Caglioti. A little-known work, which has always been held in private hands in Florence, it has been the subject of a complex history of attribution (until the 1980s, it was even attributed to Michelangelo—a view shared by eminent scholars such as Alessandro Parronchi and Carlo Ludovico Ragghianti) and even iconographic controversy, and was eventually attributed to Novelli based on close figurative comparisons. Sources record the work as having come from Palazzo Tempi (now Bargagli Petrucci) in Piazza Santa Maria Sopr’Arno, and is associated with the cycle of eighteen statues representing the Months, the Seasons, Time, and Fortune, which Novelli worked on alongside other sculptors commissioned by Maria de’ Medici (the cycle would later remain unfinished).

The lively atmosphere of the ground-floor booths is also evident at the Antonacci Lapiccirella Fine Art booth, where the original plaster cast of *Ritmi*, modeled in 1914 by Attilio Selva (priced between 100,000 and 200,000 euros), and the painting by Giulio Aristide Sartorio titled *Avvenimento d’arte e di cultura*, offered at 150,000 euros: the latter is the rediscovery of part of a large decorative frieze painted in grisaille for the 1906 Sempione International Exposition, which Sartorio enhanced with brushstrokes of color in 1923 on the occasion of the Regia Nave Italia’s cruise to Latin America. Two other panels from the same frieze were acquired by the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, which contributed to the revival of Sartorio’s reputation among art critics.

Among the most intriguing items at this BIAF, it is impossible not to mention the story of the thirty-seven engraved gems that belonged to Prince Stanislaw Poniatowski, on sale at Alessandra Di Castro for 5,000 euros each: an episode that speaks not only to neoclassical collecting but also to the capacity of antiquity to be reinvented—almost fabricated—when it is missing. We must start from the premise that, for nearly a century, hundreds of collectors throughout Europe were convinced they owned engraved stones from Greek and Roman antiquity—but they were not. Behind those gems—some inscribed in Greek letters with the names of engravers mentioned by Pliny the Elder or Suetonius—was in fact that Polish prince so enamored of antiquity that he had it custom-made: Stanislaw Poniatowski, grandson of the last king of Poland, who between 1803 and 1822 commissioned hundreds of engravings in Rome from the finest “gem engravers” working at the time, leading people to believe they were authentic artifacts. Over 1,700 of those carvings bore forged signatures with names drawn from classical literature; sources identify Luigi Pichler and Giovanni Calandrelli as the primary creators. The prince, who died in Florence in 1833, did not intend to create forgeries in the strict sense: he wanted to live immersed in the dream of antiquity, as the scholar Francesco Leone recounts in his book dedicated to the collection. These are the gems that can be viewed and purchased these days at the Alessandra Di Castro Gallery’s booth—a chance to take home a piece of this history at a relatively modest price.

Antonio Canova, The Penitent Magdalene (1798–1799; oil on canvas, 105 x 81 cm). Submitted by: Carlo Orsi
Antonio Canova, Penitent Magdalene (1798–1799; oil on canvas, 105 x 81 cm). Offered by: Carlo Orsi
Corso di Buono, *Painted Cross* (late 13th century; tempera on wood, 158.5 x 151 cm). Submitted by: Galerie Canesso
Corso di Buono, Painted Cross ( late 13th century; tempera on panel, 158.5 x 151 cm). Offered by: Galerie Canesso
Jakob Philipp Hackert, The Gulf of Pozzuoli: The Encounter Between the Bourbon Fleet and the Maltese Fleet (tempera on canvas, 154 x 341 cm). Offered by Hartford Fine Art - Lampronti Gallery
Jakob Philipp Hackert, The Gulf of Pozzuoli with the Encounter Between the Bourbon Fleet and the Maltese Fleet (tempera on canvas, 154 x 341 cm). Proposed by Hartford Fine Art - Lampronti Gallery
Giorgio De Chirico, The Temple of Apollo (1920; oil on panel, 65.2 x 41.4 cm). Presented by: Frediano Farsetti Art Gallery
Giorgio De Chirico, The Temple of Apollo ( 1920; oil on panel, 65.2 x 41.4 cm). Submitted by: Galleria d’Arte Frediano Farsetti
Lorenzo Merlini, Portrait of Cosimo III de' Medici (1694; marble, height 205 cm). Submitted by: Walter Padovani
Lorenzo Merlini, Portrait of Cosimo III de’ Medici (1694; marble, height 205 cm). Offered by: Walter Padovani
Lorenzo Bartolini, *Charity* (1846; marble, 99 cm without the base). Nominated by: Walter Padovani
Lorenzo Bartolini, Charity (1846; marble, 99 cm without the base). Offered by: Walter Padovani
Antonio Novelli, May (Apollo) (1628–1630; Apuan marble, height 211 cm). Presented by: Botticelli Antichità
Antonio Novelli, May (Apollo) (1628–1630; Apuan marble, height 211 cm). Presented by: Botticelli Antichità
Attilio Selva, *Ritmi* (1914; bronze-colored plaster with gold highlights, 112 x 115.5 x 57 cm). Submitted by: Antonacci Lapiccirella Fine Art
Attilio Selva, Rhythms (1914; bronze-colored plaster with gold highlights, 112 x 115.5 x 57 cm). Proposed by: Antonacci Lapiccirella Fine Art
Giulio Aristide Sartorio, An Event in Art and Culture (1906–1923; oil on canvas, 98 x 392 cm). Submitted by: Antonacci Lapiccirella Fine Art
Giulio Aristide Sartorio, An Event in Art and Culture (1906–1923; oil on canvas, 98 × 392 cm). Proposed by: Antonacci Lapiccirella Fine Art
Aeneas, Anchises, Ascanius, and the Penates of Ilion (Rome, 1803/1804–1826; carved carnelian, 28 × 35.4 mm). Submitted by: Alessandra Di Castro
Aeneas, Anchises, Ascanius, and the Penates of Ilion (Rome, 1803/1804–1826; carved carnelian, 28 × 35.4 mm). Offered by: Alessandra Di Castro

Moving on, from Bacarelli 1923 there are two portraits of exceptional quality: a Portrait of Ascanio Piccolomini, V Archbishop of Siena, painted around 1590 by Francesco Vanni, oil on canvas, and a marble sculpture by Tancredi Pozzi, an Hannibal, both offered at a price between 60,000 and 80,000 euros. Vanni’s painting comes from the Piccolomini collection at the Villa di Fagnano near Siena, which later passed to the Naldi Bandini and Terrosi Vagnoli families. The marble sculpture, on the other hand, depicts the Carthaginian general in his later years, with a stern expression and an imaginative breastplate dominated by a lion-like protome that evokes a sort of gorgoneion, the apotropaic head that, in Roman statuary, adorned the chests of emperors and military leaders. The Gomiero Gallery, meanwhile, owns the sculpture awarded as the best at the Biennale: Giovanni Duprè’s *Tired Bacchante*, in statuary marble and Siena yellow marble (price upon inquiry). Commissioned by the King of Portugal, the sculpture represents one of the pinnacles of Duprè’s Neo-Greek phase, when the Sienese sculptor drew inspiration from classical statuary while simultaneously embracing the international aesthetic of the “art pour l’art” movement, which he had come to know through his friend Luigi Mussini. The figure, inspired by the Neo-Hellenistic statuary Duprè discovered in Naples in 1853, depicts a bacchante left behind after the Dionysian dance—evoked by the cembalo and the cup spilled on the ground—with her ecstatic face framed by a garland of small roses, a symbol of vanitas. Duprè himself recounted having repeated the composition several times: in Manchester, in London, at the Imperial Palace in St. Petersburg, in the United States, and finally, in 1865, for the King of Portugal.

Lovers of early 20th-century theater and masks will find an ideal destination at the 800/900 Art Studio booth, which features three canvases by Alfredo Müller titled *The Conspiracy*, *The Rendezvous*, and *The Labyrinth* (50,000 euros each). These three works belong to the series of twelve *Arlecchinate* created by Müller between 1918 and 1922 and featuring a distinctive proscenium-style frame, exhibited at the Galleria Pesaro in Milan in 1922 and praised by critic Ferdinando Paolieri for their vivid and unabashed theatricality. The theme, which intertwines the masks of the Commedia dell’Arte with elements of variety show, seems to hold an almost autobiographical dimension, with Harlequin in pursuit of Colombina as an image of love and beauty to be attained.

A moment of extraordinary artistic, documentary, and scientific richness is offered by the Goldfinch Fine Arts gallery in Genoa. At the booth, directly opposite Annibale Carracci’s *Portrait of a Painter* (probably depicting his brother Agostino, 80,000 euros), Perin del Vaga’s*Amorino* is on display—a fragment of a preparatory cartoon for a tapestry from the famous *The Thefts of Jupiter* series (price upon request). The work, executed in ink, white lead, and tempera on paper mounted on canvas, is one of the extremely rare surviving fragments of the cartoons drawn by Piero di Giovanni Bonaccorsi, who was a pupil and collaborator of Raphael, for Admiral Andrea Doria for the weaving of the six large tapestries depicting Jupiter and Juno, Jupiter and Io, Jupiter and Semele, Jupiter and Callisto, Jupiter and Alcmene, and Jupiter and Danae, intended for the Prince’s Palace, as documented by the drawing in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The history of these cartoons as part of a collection is extraordinary: recorded in the Doria inventories of 1606, they have passed through many of the most important Italian and European noble collections. Purchased in 1721 by Duke Philip II of Bourbon-Orléans, the cartoons were scattered.The Cupid was also exhibited in 1892 at Palazzo Bianco during the Columbus celebrations, and today it underwent a thorough diagnostic imaging examination by Mario Amedeo Lazzari, who used infrared technology to reveal details of the wings and the coat of arms beneath them, followed by a restoration led by Julie Guilmette, who removed the buildup and altered varnish, consolidated the primary canvas from the reverse side, and brought to light the exceptional quality of Perini’s drawing.

Continuing through the eastern section of the ground floor, the exhibition offers other highlights of the utmost importance for art historians and collectors: at the Verdini Antiques booth, a rare and sophisticated Italian night clock by the clockmaker Pietro Tomasso Campani—one of the masters of the genre (the invention of the night clock is attributed precisely to the Campani brothers, who were commissioned in 1655 by Pope Alexander VII to create a mechanism that would indicate the time at night without the usual ticking), and dated 1682 (approximately 150,000 euros). Not far away, the Milanese gallery Altomani & Sons has set up a wall of Renaissance and 14th-century masterpieces of exceptional quality: Biagio d’Antonio Tucci’s *Madonna and Child with an Idealized View of Florence*, a painting designated by the Italian government for its exceptional significance (220,000 euros); the exquisitely delicate panel paintingof the Adoration of the Child, an oil on panel studied by authoritative historians such as Giuliano Briganti, Nicoletta Pons, and Andrea De Marchi (280,000 euros), and the solemn gold-ground predella by Spinello Aretino, dated circa 1395, depictingthe Adoration of the Magi, studied by Stefan Weppelmann and Gaudenz Freuler (300,000 euros).

Francesco Vanni, Portrait of Ascanio Piccolomini, 5th Archbishop of Siena (c. 1590; oil on canvas, 115 × 82 cm). Attributed by: Bacarelli 1923
Francesco Vanni, Portrait of Ascanio Piccolomini, 5th Archbishop of Siena (circa 1590; oil on canvas, 115 × 82 cm). Offered by: Bacarelli 1923
Tancredi Pozzi, Annibale (1886; white marble on an original Bardiglio marble plinth, total height 85 cm). Presented by: Bacarelli 1923
Tancredi Pozzi, Hannibal (1886; white marble on an original Bardiglio marble plinth, total height 85 cm). Presented by: Bacarelli 1923
Giovanni Duprè, Tired Bacchante (Statuario and Giallo di Siena marble, 66.5 x 109 x 87.5 cm). Presented by: Galleria Gomiero
Giovanni Duprè, Tired Bacchante (Statuario and Giallo di Siena marble, 66.5 × 109 × 87.5 cm). Presented by: Galleria Gomiero
Alfredo Müller, *The Labyrinth (The Eve)* (1918; oil on canvas, 90 x 84 cm). Presented by: 800/900 ArtStudio
Alfredo Müller, The Labyrinth (The Eve) (1918; oil on canvas, 90 x 84 cm). Presented by: 800/900 ArtStudio
Annibale Carracci, Portrait of a Painter (of his brother Agostino?) (oil on canvas, 60 x 39.5 cm). Presented by: Goldfinch Fine Arts
Annibale Carracci, Portrait of a Painter (of his brother Agostino?) (oil on canvas, 60 x 39.5 cm). Presented by: Goldfinch Fine Arts
Perin del Vaga, Cupid, Fragment of a preparatory cardboard sketch for a tapestry from the “The thefts of Jupiter” series commissioned by Prince Andrea Doria (before 1533; ink, white lead, and tempera on paper, 85 x 53 cm). Presented by: Goldfinch Fine Arts
Perin del Vaga, Cupid, Fragment of a preparatory cartoon for a tapestry from the “The Thefts of Jupiter” series for Prince Andrea Doria (before 1533; ink, white lead, and tempera on paper, 85 x 53 cm). Presented by: Goldfinch Fine Arts
Pietro Tommaso Campani, Night Clock (1682; wood and semi-precious stones, 235 x 79 x 32 cm). Presented by: Verdini Antiques
Pietro Tommaso Campani, Night Clock (1682; wood and semi-precious stones, 235 x 79 x 32 cm). Presented by: Verdini Antiques
Biagio d'Antonio Tucci, *Madonna and Child with an Idealized View of Florence* (tempera on wood, diameter 116.5 cm). Presented by: Altomani & Sons
Biagio d’Antonio Tucci, Madonna and Child with an Idealized View of Florence (tempera on panel, diameter 116.5 cm). Presented by: Altomani & Sons
Bartolomeo di Giovanni, *The Madonna and Saint John the Infant Adoring the Child* (oil on panel, 89 x 67 cm). Presented by: Altomani & Sons
Bartolomeo di Giovanni, The Madonna and Saint John the Infant Adoring the Child (oil on panel, 89 x 67 cm). Presented by: Altomani & Sons
Spinello Aretino, Adoration of the Magi (c. 1395; tempera and gold on wood, 21.9 x 38.1 cm). Presented by: Altomani & Sons
Spinello Aretino, Adoration of the Magi (c. 1395; tempera and gold on panel, 21.9 x 38.1 cm). Presented by: Altomani & Sons

A short distance away, the Alice Fine Art gallery booth features one of the most celebrated paintings of this edition: Annibale Carracci’s *River Landscape with Boatmen*, which was awarded the prestigious prize for best painting at BIAF 2026 and is currently the subject of highly confidential negotiations with a private collector. The work dates to the late 1580s: it depicts a view of the countryside crossed by a river, first attributed to Carracci in 1919 by Herman Voss, when the work was part of the Platky Collection in Leipzig, and has since passed through several other private collections. It is one of the earliest known landscapes by Annibale Carracci, if not the very first painting of its kind produced by him (that is, not a mythological or biblical episode set in a landscape: here, the artist is not interested in incorporating a narrative element). This painting stands out for its fresh, natural tone, which makes it one of the most interesting works at this BIAF—a must-see during your visit.

The Reve Art gallery, on the other hand, offers—as usual—an in-depth exploration of Italian painting from the late 19th to the early 20th century. The first highlight is the large and complex canvas *Ferriera a Malavedo*, painted in 1928 by Anselmo Bucci and signed (60,000 euros). The work depicts the steel mill of Giuseppe and Fratello Redaelli, led by engineer Ernesto Redaelli, in Malavedo near Lecco (which would later become part of the Falck Industries), nestled in the pre-Alpine landscape dominated by the blue hues of the mountains and the yellow-green triangle of light from the meadows among the smoking chimneys: It dates from the years when the painter, having returned to Milan after his time in Paris and his service on the front lines of World War I, was drawing closer to the Novecento group before eventually distancing himself from it, discovering new themes such as animal subjects, landscapes, and still lifes between 1923 and 1930. Alongside Bucci, Reve Art is exhibiting Gaetano Previati’s *Il sogno* (The Dream), a precious Symbolist composition from 1908 (40,000 euros), originally conceived for Alberto Grubicy’s music room and closely linked to the panel *Notturno* or *Il silenzio* preserved at Gabriele D’Annunzio’s Vittoriale degli Italiani: it is a work that enchants with its female figure draped in a fabric rendered with the typical Divisionist technique of luminous strands of color beneath a sky populated by Neo-Renaissance cherubs.

The ground-floor exhibition finds its crowning glory in the works by Mirco Cattai and Fondantico by Tiziana Sassoli. Mirco Cattai is exhibiting a magnificent and extremely rare Anatolian Ushak carpet dating from the mid-16th century, preserved in exceptional condition and offered at a price exceeding 200,000 euros. At the Fondantico di Tiziana Sassoli booth, the highlights include a large panel by Lorenzo Costa depicting the Madonna and Child with Saints John the Evangelist, Anthony the Abbot, Sebastian, and John, offered at approximately 600,000 euros, and the delightful small panel by the young Guercino depicting The Flight into Egypt, a recent rediscovery (it was presented for the first time, with a study by Daniele Benati, at the 2025 edition of TEFAF: the attribution is also confirmed by another Guercino expert, David Stone). Painted around 1615 and in superb condition, the work depicts the Holy Family, led by Saint Joseph, fleeing after Herod’s tragic edict, set against a vast natural landscape.

Annibale Carracci, River Landscape with Boatmen (oil on canvas, 66 x 86 cm). Presented by: Alice Fine Art
Annibale Carracci, River Landscape with Boatmen ( oil on canvas, 66 x 86 cm). Presented by: Alice Fine Art
Anselmo Bucci, The Ironworks in Malavedo (1928; oil on canvas, 167 x 132 cm)
Anselmo Bucci, The Ironworks at Malavedo (1928; oil on canvas, 167 x 132 cm)
Gaetano Previati, *Sleep* (1920; oil on canvas, 66 x 106 cm)
Gaetano Previati, Sleep (1920; oil on canvas, 66 x 106 cm)
Ushak Lotto Rug (Western Anatolia, early 17th century). Presented by: Mirco Cattai
Ushak Lotto Rug (Western Anatolia, early 17th century). Presented by: Mirco Cattai
Lorenzo Costa, *Madonna and Child with Saints John the Evangelist, Anthony the Abbot, Sebastian, and James* (c. 1485; tempera on wood, 101 x 163 cm). Presented by: Fondantico, Tiziana Sassoli
Lorenzo Costa, Madonna and Child with Saints John the Evangelist, Anthony the Abbot, Sebastian, and James (c. 1485; tempera on panel, 101 x 163 cm). Presented by: Fondantico di Tiziana Sassoli
Guercino, The Flight into Egypt (oil on panel, 35.5 x 46 cm). Presented by: Fondantico by Tiziana Sassoli
Guercino, Flight into Egypt (oil on panel, 35.5 x 46 cm). Presented by: Fondantico di Tiziana Sassoli

As you ascend the monumental staircase leading to the main floor of Palazzo Corsini, you’ll encounter another highlight of this BIAF: Matteo Salamon’s booth, where a masterpiece of 18th-century landscape painting takes center stage: Canaletto’s *The Grand Canal Looking Southeast, from Palazzo Pesaro to the Fondaco dei Tedeschi* (1.5–2 million euros). The canvas, signed and dated (“Ant. Canal Fecit MDCCXLIV”), has emerged on the art market after having long remained hidden from the eyes of collectors and enthusiasts: it is, in fact, a previously unpublished work (with the exception of a single black-and-white promotional reproduction that appeared in 1975 in the magazine *Arte Veneta* when the work was housed at the Galleria Edmondo Sacerdoti in Milan). The painting, which arrived for restoration in critical condition due to a defective historical lining that required an extremely delicate canvas-to-canvas transfer, now shines in its rediscovered, luminous original state. At the same booth, Salamon pairs the Canaletto with a panel by Gaudenzio Ferrari depicting Saint Anthony of Padua (100,000–150,000 euros)—a fascinating example of a masterpiece that was dismembered, scattered, and successfully reconstructed by art historians, with the central portion now housed at the Accademia Carrara in Bergamo (we have discussed this fragment in these pages).

Continuing through the rooms on the main floor, Cantore Galleria Antiquaria presents three 17th-century masterpieces of high collectible value: these include the luminous *Saint Catherine of Alexandria* by Giovanni Baglione (160,000 euros), the intense *Portrait of Cardinal Alderano Cybo* painted by Carlo Maratta (120,000 euros), and the splendid canvas *Nosce te ipsum* by Francesco Ruschi (65,000 euros). This last work, recently featured by Martina Leone in a monograph published by Campisano and just released, depicts the philosopher Socrates pointing sternly at a young student intent on gazing at his reflection in a mirror held by a companion (the theme, drawn from Diogenes Laertius’ *Lives of the Philosophers*, was dear to the Venetian Accademia degli Incogniti), transforming the Socratic maxim of knowing one’s own limits into a vibrant theatrical composition built on light and shadow around a fluted half-column. A historical photograph at the Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florence documents the painting at the Berlin antiquities market of the 1920s; it was exhibited in 1927 at the Warenhaus Wertheim as part of the collection of Galerie Schmidt & Co. It was later sold on the German market by Neumeister in 2025. The Venetian painter Antonio Zanchi revisited its iconography on several occasions. Not far away, Cortona Fine Arts is exhibiting Imperiale Gramatica’sAllegory of Truth and Mercy (under 100,000 euros), while Longari Arte is offering a precious Nativity by Eusebio Oldoni dated 1525 (75,000 euros), which was studied in its time by Roberto Longhi (his handwritten expert report is reproduced at the booth as a caption: it was Longhi who attributed the work to Oldoni based on the initials EVP, which can be deciphered as “Eusebius Vercellensis Pinxit”).

A little further on, the Berardi Gallery dedicates an entire wall to the 20th-century painter Cagnaccio di San Pietro, with a selection of works priced between 10,000 and 80,000 euros. Baroque painting and Venetian decorative arts come together at the Piva & C. booth, which features a canvas by Domenico Parodi depicting Adonis with his dogs (between 50,000 and 100,000 euros) and a spectacular centerpiece “Italian Garden,” created in Murano around the mid-18th century by the workshop of Giuseppe Briati (60,000 euros). Scholars of Renaissance painting will also find much of interest at the Brun Fine Art booth, where a tondo on poplar wood, 85 centimeters in diameter, depicting the Madonna Nursing the Child with the Adoring Saint John the Baptist ( 850,000 euros) stands out. The work, brought to light by Gigetta Dalli Regoli in 2007 when it belonged to a private Spanish collection, is attributed to Tommaso, an anonymous master and close collaborator of Lorenzo di Credi whom Bernard Berenson described as a sort of “Doppelgänger,” that is, a lookalike, of the Florentine painter. Of a completely different nature is the offering from Santa Tecla Srl, which features two small masterpieces by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo: the previously unseen Saint Roch with His Dog (195,000 euros) and Saint Anthony of Padua with the Infant Jesus (230,000 euros). The first belongs to a group of small canvases dedicated to the pilgrim saint, first documented by Antonio Morassi in 1950 with thirteen recorded examples, which rose to eighteen in 1962 and were later expanded by further studies to include this canvas as well. Although the Saint Anthony is well-known (in the early 20th century, it was attributed by Pompeo Molmenti and Eduard Sack to Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo, son of Giovanni Battista, before Morassi, in 1962, correctly attributed it to the young Giambattista), reappeared on the Genoa antiquities market only in 2024 and has since attracted renewed attention from specialists.

Canaletto, The Grand Canal Looking Southeast, from Palazzo Pesaro to the Fondaco dei Tedeschi, Venice (1744; oil on canvas, 60.1 x 95.2 cm). Presented by: Matteo Salamon
Canaletto, The Grand Canal Looking Southeast, from the Palazzo Pesaro to the Fondaco dei Tedeschi, Venice (1744; oil on canvas, 60.1 x 95.2 cm). Presented by: Matteo Salamon
Gaudenzio Ferrari, Saint Anthony of Padua (c. 1538; oil on panel, 60 x 51 cm). Presented by: Matteo Salamon
Gaudenzio Ferrari, Saint Anthony of Padua (c. 1538; oil on panel, 60 x 51 cm). Presented by: Matteo Salamon
Giovanni Baglione, Saint Catherine of Alexandria (oil on canvas, 60 x 47 cm). Presented by: Cantore Galleria Antiquaria
Giovanni Baglione, Saint Catherine of Alexandria (oil on canvas, 60 x 47 cm). Presented by: Cantore Galleria Antiquaria
Carlo Maratta, Cardinal Alderano Cybo (oil on canvas, 106 x 92 cm). Presented by: Cantore Galleria Antiquaria
Carlo Maratta, Cardinal Alderano Cybo (oil on canvas, 106 x 92 cm). Presented by: Cantore Galleria Antiquaria
Francesco Ruschi, *Nosce te ipsum* (Socrates and Two Students) (c. 1659–1660; oil on canvas, 104 × 87 cm). Presented by: Cantore Galleria Antiquaria
Francesco Ruschi, *Nosce te ipsum* (Socrates and Two Students) ( circa 1659–1660; oil on canvas, 104 × 87 cm). Presented by: Cantore Galleria Antiquaria
Imperial Grammar, Allegory of Truth and Mercy (oil on canvas, 103 x 136 cm). Presented by: Cortona Fine Arts
Imperiale Gramatica, Allegory of Truth and Mercy (oil on canvas, 103 x 136 cm). Presented by: Cortona Fine Arts
Eusebio Oldoni, Nativity (1525; tempera on wood, 113 x 59 cm). Presented by: Longari Arte Milano
Eusebio Oldoni, Nativity ( 1525; tempera on panel, 113 × 59 cm). Presented by: Longari Arte Milano
Cagnaccio di San Pietro, Still Life with Fruit (1934; oil on panel, 42 x 56 cm). Presented by: Galleria Berardi
Cagnaccio di San Pietro, Still Life with Fruit (1934; oil on panel, 42 × 56 cm). Presented by: Galleria Berardi
Domenico Parodi, Adonis with His Dogs (oil on canvas, 191 x 123 cm). Presented by: Piva & C.
Domenico Parodi, Adonis with His Dogs (oil on canvas, 191 x 123 cm). Presented by: Piva & C.
Giuseppe Briati Workshop, “Italian Garden” Centerpiece (Murano, mid-18th century; polychrome blown glass, hand-carved, with engraved and painted decorations; mirrored base with a lacquered and gilded wooden frame; 33 x 62 x 44 cm). Presented by: Piva & C.
Workshop of Giuseppe Briati, “Italian Garden” Centerpiece (Murano, mid-18th century; polychrome blown and freehand-worked glass, with engraved and painted decorations, mirrored base with lacquered and gilded wooden trim, 33 x 62 x 44 cm). Presented by: Piva & C.
Tommaso, *The Virgin Nursing the Child with the Adoring Saint John the Infant* (first decade of the 16th century; oil on poplar panel, 85 cm in diameter). Presented by: Brun Fine Art
Tommaso, Madonna Nursing the Child with the Adoring Saint John the Baptist (first decade of the 16th century; oil on poplar panel, diameter 85 cm). Presented by: Brun Fine Art
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Saint Roch with His Dog (oil on canvas, 44.5 x 32.5 cm). Presented by: Santa Tecla srl
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Saint Roch with His Dog (oil on canvas, 44.5 x 32.5 cm). Presented by: Santa Tecla srl
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Saint Anthony of Padua Crowned with Lilies by the Infant Jesus (oil on canvas, 120.5 x 61 cm). Presented by: Santa Tecla srl
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Saint Anthony of Padua Crowned with Lilies by the Infant Jesus (oil on canvas, 120.5 x 61 cm). Presented by: Santa Tecla srl

The path through the halls of the Piano Nobile leads to Flavio Gianassi’s booth, where the history of Florentine collecting resurfaces with poignant clarity thanks to the rediscovery of Domenico Puligo’s *Cleopatra* (250,000 euros), which is returning to its rightful home, as it originally belonged to the famous collection of Prince Tommaso Corsini and was long housed in the halls of the palace that hosts the BIAF, before being passed down through the family. Extensively documented in nineteenth-century guides to Florence and in historical inventories, the *Cleopatra* thus returns—albeit only for a few days—to Palazzo Corsini, the very place where it was preserved for generations. At the same Gianassi booth, alongside *Puligo*, are two other works of great interest: the *Penitent Magdalene* by the Master of the *Magdalene of Cascio* (175,000 euros), a monumental glazed terracotta piece that emerged in the 1920s from the hermitage of Cascio in Garfagnana, where it had been located since ancient times; this work bears a strong resemblance to Donatello’s “Magdalene ,” which is housed at the Museo del Duomo in Florence (and also significant for its technique: here, the glaze is not merely a decorative coating but an expressive tool that, in a very modern way, propels the glazed terracotta toward a realism unusual for this material—one more typical of wood), and a refined gold-ground piece, one of the finest at this BIAF: it is a work by Neri di Bicci, depicting the Madonna and Child with two adoring angels (380,000 euros), which has a rare documented history, having been commissioned in Florence in 1464 by a certain Antonio di Jacopo and recorded in the *Ricordanze* of Neri di Bicci himself—the workshop diary that has survived to this day.

At Giorgio Baratti Antiquario ’s booth, visitors can admire another key addition to the catalog of Venetian International Gothic art: the Madonna of Humility by Zanino di Pietro, documented in Bologna and Venice from 1389 to before 1448, a panel that recently resurfaced from a private collection and was identified by Angelo Tartuferi; it stands out for the extraordinary formal elegance of the Virgin with the Sleeping Child (190,000 euros) and a significant bas-relief depictingthe Adoration of the Shepherds, executed by a sculptor active in the circle of Giovanni Pietro da Rho (38,000 euros). The 20th century and 19th-century landscape painting, on the other hand, are beautifully represented at the Enrico Gallerie d’Arte booth, which presents two rare early panels by Umberto Boccioni dating from 1907, titled *Boats in the Sun* and *Impression of Venice*, offered at approximately 500,000 euros each, along with two large cityscapes by Carlo Ferrari, known as Il Ferrarin: Piazza delle Erbe in Verona (250,000 euros) and View of Venice (150,000 euros). Finally, as the public makes its way to the exit, they are accompanied by Paolo Antonacci, who features Umberto Brunelleschi’s visionary painting *La fête du soleil* as the centerpiece, and Bottegantica, which exhibits one of Vittorio Matteo Corcos’s most famous paintings, *The Painter’s Daughter at the Window*, painted in 1909 and cited in major critical surveys dedicated to the Belle Époque (such as the one curated by Durbè in 1965 in Livorno and the one by Francesca Dini in 2025 in Pisa, at Palazzo Blu), offered at a price exceeding 200,000 euros.

Domenico di Bartolomeo Ubaldini, known as Domenico Puligo, *Cleopatra* (oil on panel, 49 x 63 cm). Presented by: Flavio Gianassi
Domenico di Bartolomeo Ubaldini, known as Domenico Puligo, *Cleopatra* (oil on panel, 49 x 63 cm). Presented by: Flavio Gianassi
Master of Cascio’s Magdalene, Penitent Magdalene (c. 1515–1520; glazed terracotta, 137.3 x 38 x 32 cm). Presented by: Flavio Gianassi
Master of the Cascio Magdalene, Penitent Magdalene (circa 1515–1520; glazed terracotta, 137.3 x 38 x 32 cm). Presented by: Flavio Gianassi
Neri di Bicci, *Madonna and Child with Two Adoring Angels* (1464; tempera on wood, 84 x 68 cm). Presented by: Flavio Gianassi
Neri di Bicci, Madonna and Child with Two Adoring Angels (1464; tempera on panel, 84 x 68 cm). Donated by: Flavio Gianassi
Zanino di Pietro, Madonna of Humility (tempera on wood, 71.5 x 53 cm)
Zanino di Pietro, Madonna of Humility (tempera on panel, 71.5 x 53 cm). Donated by: Giorgio Baratti
Sculptor active in the circle of Giovanni Pietro da Rho, *Adoration of the Shepherds* (marble, 31 x 46 cm). Presented by: Giorgio Baratti
Sculptor active in the circle of Giovanni Pietro da Rho, Adoration of the Shepherds (marble, 31 x 46 cm). Donated by: Giorgio Baratti
Umberto Boccioni, Boats in the Sun (1907; oil on canvas mounted on cardboard, 42.5 x 63.5 cm). Presented by: Enrico Gallerie d'Arte
Umberto Boccioni, Boats in the Sun (1907; oil on canvas mounted on cardboard, 42.5 x 63.5 cm). Donated by: Enrico Gallerie d’Arte
Umberto Boccioni, Impression of Venice (1907; oil on canvas mounted on cardboard, 43.3 x 64 cm). Presented by: Enrico Gallerie d'Arte
Umberto Boccioni, Impression of Venice (1907; oil on canvas mounted on cardboard, 43.3 x 64 cm). Donated by: Enrico Gallerie d’Arte
Carlo Ferrari, known as
Carlo Ferrari, known as “il Ferrarin, ” Piazza delle Erbe in Verona (oil on canvas, 82.5 x 111.5 cm). Presented by: Enrico Gallerie d’Arte
Carlo Ferrari, known as
Carlo Ferrari, known as “il Ferrarin,
”
View of Venice (oil on canvas, 83 x 110.5 cm). Donated by: Enrico Gallerie d’Arte
Umberto Brunelleschi, *La Fête du Soleil* (oil on canvas, 125 x 125 cm). Presented by: Paolo Antonacci
Umberto Brunelleschi, *La Fête de Soleil* (oil on canvas, 125 x 125 cm). Presented by: Paolo Antonacci
Vittorio Matteo Corcos, The Painter’s Daughter at the Window (1909; oil on canvas, 110 x 92 cm). Presented by: Bottegantica
Vittorio Matteo Corcos, The Painter’s Daughter at the Window (1909; oil on canvas, 110 x 92 cm). Presented by: Bottegantica

As is the case every year, the authenticity and condition of all these works are guaranteed by the vetting process carried out by the Biennale’s Selection Committee, which for this edition brings together sixty-three international experts—including conservators, curators, and museum directors—tasked with examining each work individually over the two days preceding the public opening. The invitation-only preview, the press preview, and the opening night on September 24—reserved for museum directors, scholars, and collectors from every corner of the world—preceded the day reserved for collectors and industry professionals on September 25, after which the BIAF will open to the public tomorrow.

Among the micro-engravings of the Poniatowski gems, Perin del Vaga’s cartoon, Canaletto’s Venice, and the bold innovations of the 20th century, Palazzo Corsini reaffirms itself once again—as it has done for more than thirty biennial editions, with almost ritualistic regularity—as one of those places where collecting seeks to shape the visual arts. It is therefore inevitable that, while walking through this edition of the BIAF, one encounters a significant number of new discoveries, restorations, fresh research, and reappearances—reminding us that high-profile antiquities collecting, when it is not content to be merely about antiques, can also become a rather effective form of cultural and scientific progress. Of course, the primary goal remains sales. And naturally, items are being sold and will continue to be sold. Some of what is here now, we’ll see again hanging on the wall of some museum. Other pieces will disappear into the rooms of some private collector somewhere, and we’ll probably never see them again. And it would be strange for an antique art fair to forget the existence of commerce. The BIAF, however, is not just a commercial showcase. It is something more: a curious alliance between the market, preservation, and knowledge. An alliance that continues to assign Italy a leading role in the world, reminding us that the past can continue to be transformed into the present.



Federico Giannini

The author of this article: Federico Giannini

Nato a Massa nel 1986, si è laureato nel 2010 in Informatica Umanistica all’Università di Pisa. Nel 2009 ha iniziato a lavorare nel settore della comunicazione su web, con particolare riferimento alla comunicazione per i beni culturali. Nel 2017 ha fondato con Ilaria Baratta la rivista Finestre sull’Arte. Dalla fondazione è direttore responsabile della rivista. Nel 2025 ha scritto il libro Vero, Falso, Fake. Credenze, errori e falsità nel mondo dell'arte (Giunti editore). Collabora e ha collaborato con diverse riviste, tra cui Art e Dossier e Left, e per la televisione è stato autore del documentario Le mani dell’arte (Rai 5) ed è stato tra i presentatori del programma Dorian – L’arte non invecchia (Rai 5). Al suo attivo anche docenze in materia di giornalismo culturale all'Università di Genova e all'Ordine dei Giornalisti, inoltre partecipa regolarmente come relatore e moderatore su temi di arte e cultura a numerosi convegni (tra gli altri: Lu.Bec. Lucca Beni Culturali, Ro.Me Exhibition, Con-Vivere Festival, TTG Travel Experience).



Ilaria Baratta

The author of this article: Ilaria Baratta

Giornalista, è co-fondatrice di Finestre sull'Arte con Federico Giannini. È nata a Carrara nel 1987 e si è laureata a Pisa. È responsabile della redazione di Finestre sull'Arte.



Noemi Capoccia

The author of this article: Noemi Capoccia

Originaria di Lecce, classe 1995, ha conseguito la laurea presso l'Accademia di Belle Arti di Carrara nel 2021. Le sue passioni sono l'arte antica e l'archeologia. Dal 2024 lavora in Finestre sull'Arte.


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