Italian painter (19th century) – Allegory satire of the papacy and Austrian empire.

Italian painter (19th century) – Allegory satire of the papacy and Austrian empire.

28,5 x 24 cm without frame, 32 x 26.5 with frame.

Oil on panel, in a gilded wooden frame.

Condition report: Good state of conservation of the pictorial surface.

– This small painting from our collection, which at first glance appears to be a harmless humorous parody, actually symbolizes historical facts that really happened. Let's try to read the scene: the lit fireplace, the dead cockerel and the details of the scattered objects give a feeling of disorder and/or social criticism. The cat with the headdress that resembles the papal mitre is an obvious reference to the Catholic Church. The monkey wears the helmet typical of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The woman with the “INTENT” halo could represent the human will to control the facts that are happening, watching over them, not only morally, but also with the intent, in case of need, to intervene directly (this could be the meaning of the stick that the woman is holding in her hand). The facts, we were saying: the facts are historical and probably refer to the repression of the national liberation movements within the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the mid-800s by Bohemia, Slovenia and Croatia. In this situation, the local Catholic hierarchy supported the imperial authorities, condemning and hindering the claims of autonomy and independence of these peoples. This occurred with the almost total indifference of the Church of Rome, which had strong political and commercial interests in the area and did not want to offend the emperor's susceptibilities. In truth, some voices were raised in the Papal States, but were immediately silenced from above. History tells us, therefore, that the Church gave a big hand to the Empire and the cat that takes the chestnuts out of the fire testifies to this in our painting. The Church, therefore, connived with the abuses of the Empire that suffocated in blood (the slaughtered rooster), the revolutionary movements of the time, failing to comply with the charter on human rights drawn up in Paris in 1789, during the French Revolution. This is precisely the last document that we find in our painting: the treaty on human rights, written in French, which we find right here on the ground, torn up. In addition to the cat representing cunning, the monkey representing inefficiency and corruption, the allegorical figure of the woman (Europe?) who threatens to intervene with her stick, but who never does, remains strongly dominant in the painting.

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*Message aimed at non-Italian buyers:

Please note that this work has not yet obtained the certificate of free export from Italy from the Superintendency of Cultural Heritage. This document certifies that the work is not part of the Italian cultural heritage. Normally the times for issuing certificates are 40 days from the appointment date: The new legislation in force from 2021 provides for shorter times at the discretion of the expert commission for declared amounts lower than €13.500. All costs of this operation are included.