Unknown
Woman With Grapes (ex. Mobile Museum of Art), 20th Century
Oil Paint
37.75 x 27.50 in
SOLD
Ex. Mobile Museum of Art. The ornate gold leaf and gesso 19th-century frame on this painting is spectacular. This painting was listed by a reputable auction house as 19th-century and "relined, new stretcher, cleaned; extensive inpainting." But I lean towards thinking it is a recent painting, and possibly even a (real of course, hand-painted oil) version of an older one. If this is true, it doesn't mean it lacks value; in fact, until modern reproduction processes, and especially in the Renaissance, masters were dispatched to make copies of favored paintings for the collections of nobility. It is signed faintly in the bottom center, but indistinctly. I'm not saying it's not old; maybe it is. The auction house, and the fact it was in a museum collection, would argue that way. At any rate, I think it would look great in someone's bar or kitchen (grapes = wine, of course, and that is what this young lady with grapes is celebrating). Joyous, festive, and again, that magnificent frame - which you couldn't get made at any price these days. Please know in advance that the shipping is going to be very pricey. The antique fragile gold-leaf, plaster and gesso frame will require a small crate. I would guess at least $500. If you live close to New Orleans, however, you can make a fun visit out of it and pay nothing for shipping -- and see my 200 other paintings while you are at it!