Featured need some opinions

Does this small painting look like a real Angelo Asti painting? I'm leaning toward yes because the signature and the writing on the back looks right and the quality of the work looks good. I just wanted some opinions.

 

Statcat, we had a brief discussion of another Mandel Brothers work of art here on the forum not too long ago. It may not be of help with your item, but here's a link to it, just in case:

https://www.antiquers.com/threads/old-print-in-mandel-brothers-frame.19611/

 

Yes not much help there other than Mandel Brothers was a Chicago company? They acquired this at some point and put a label on it. I noticed the word "lot" in there so I wonder if they had an auction too.

 

nice expressive work...

 

Yes, Mandel Bros was a Chicago department store, with a thriving Art Department and a framing facility. They apparently both sold artwork and framed artwork brought to them by their clients.

 

This one looks very similar to yours, can someone translate the words on the link below (scroll way down the page)

https://pyroessa-logotimis.blogspot.com/2014/03/blog-post_1.html

 

wow good find. Perhaps he did a few versions? It says panel next to the name Angelo Asti in Greek and underneath is some sort of unrelated poem.

 

Wow, that's a killer frame. Love it. Also the labels on the back have some genuine age -- can't help with authenticity, but nice painting. Hope it turns out to be genuine. Keep researching, and maybe others will comment, too.

 

It is the same painting, statcat's picture is probably a print.

The entire page is someone's poetry, the pictures serve to enhance the atmosphere of the poems.
This particular poem is about a girl with a ribbon in her hair, etc. The only information about the painting is that it is by Angelo Asti, not even a title. Πίνακας (Pinakas) means painting.

 

How can it be a print when it's oil on board? It's on a wooden board. There's no paper involved. There's also pretty severe craquelure in the lower portion.

It's not the same painting either. The colors are different and there are minor differences.

 

It may not be a print, but it could be a painted copy. For the sake of space, I'm going to leave these as thumbnails. They are all painted, 2 on board, others on canvas.

 

It's not a print. I can't believe this is even in consideration haha.

It could also be another version done by the artist. Many artists did multiple versions of the same composition with minor changes. There's also sometimes studies done before a final painting. The label appears of the time period with the artists name and uses French. So that was my initial question- if it was a work by the artist or a follower.

 

I have a way of looking right past things in front of my nose in photos. Could you direct my eye to the signature? I simply cannot spot it.

I also can't make much of the label above the Mandel one. (N___ fantaisia?) Suspect it is the title of the painting, but I'm not sorting it out properly. The writing looks done with a fountain pen, the style Palmer method or similar. Ballpoints weren't invented until WWII & the Palmer method was still being taught in the early 1960s. The label could be from well after Asti's death in 1903.

 

The top line of the label definitely appears to read “A. Asti” to me. The bottom line is a little less clear to me, perhaps “fintaisic”?

 

As often happens when I go back & look at something again, I see it quite differently. Yes, I can see that the first line of the label does say A. Asti, & the piece is certainly in his style. This is not a signature, it is a label put on by someone else.



I do think the second word is fantaisia, Italian for fantasy.

You can get your very own Asti painted on canvas, in the size of your choosing here:

https://www.niceartgallery.com/index.php?route=product/search&keyword=angelo asti&page=1

 

This may be a reproduction, but if it is, it is an old reproduction. The frame has to be 100 years old just from the looks of it. Also those old stickers and the font on the Mandel Bros label looks to have the similar age.

Statcat, you might compare with other A. Asti pieces if you haven't already. There are a few sold on Skinner. Most seem to be signed however, which might be a bit of a red flag for this one. (Yours isn't signed is it? I know the back has the label, but nothing on the front, right?) I noticed there were a few that came up on the Skinner site that were "after A. Asti", in the style of, I think. Perhaps it is one of those. They were selling, too, by the way.

It is certainly an older piece. Best of luck.

 

To command that kind of money, this miniature must be painted; nevertheless, it is 'after' the Asti original:

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/74590937551266330/



Like the one above, with the title Epanouissement (Blooming), many of Asti's ladies seem to have been given allegorical titles rather than women's names. Scatcat's is Fantaisia (Fantasy). Royal Vienna Porcelain made many:

http://antiqforum.com/royal_vienna_asti.html

 

I ended up returning the painting because it seemed like a copy. The photo of the other version above I believe to be a copy as well. Thank you for the input. Finding this helped me determine that too; a print after the original painting: