Antonio Mancini Oil Painting, ca. 1920
Appraised Value:
$75,000 - $75,000
IMAGE: 1 of 2
Appraisal Video:
Appraised By:
Debra Force
Paintings & Drawings
Debra Force Fine Art, Inc.
Appraisal Transcript:
GUEST: I brought in this painting that I've owned for quite some time.
APPRAISER: Do you know who the artist is?
GUEST: I've not been able to really read it well, but I've owned it since 1972.
APPRAISER: Well, the signature, which is here in the upper right, is actually A. Mancini, and Antonio Mancini was an Italian artist. He was born in 1852 in Rome. He was somewhat of a child prodigy. He actually went to the Institute of Fine Arts in Naples when he was as young as 12 years old. So that was quite something for the time. He has the recognition of being a leader in what's called the Verismo movement, which relates to aesthetic realism that was very popular in Europe in the late 19th century. And his early work was very much in the realist vein. He enjoyed painting street urchins, street musicians and circus performers. And he remained in Naples until the 1870s, when he actually goes on to Paris. And in Paris he meets Manet and Degas, and he becomes great friends with John Singer Sargent. And one thing that I find very interesting is that Sargent actually said that he was perhaps the greatest living painter in the 1870s. And Sargent also painted his portrait. Unfortunately, by 1881, he suffers from mental illness, and he actually becomes somewhat destitute and sort of roams around Italy until right after World War I. And he then resumes his career around that time. But in terms of your painting, it strikes me that based on the style-- and you can see it's rather loosely rendered as opposed to being very tightly rendered-- it probably was done after World War I and before he died in 1930. So, roughly in the early '20s or so. And, also, what's really great about it is it has this wonderful brushwork, this very strong brush and also nice paint texturing. This is oil on board, which artists often use as opposed to canvas. Now, you have an interesting story on how you acquired the painting.
GUEST: Well, in 1972, my wife and I were living in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and I was playing in a band up there called Gypsy, and the first album that we did had an Art Nouveau gypsy lady on the front cover. And, of course, us being from Texas, we came down to visit and I was looking for something that I could bring back, maybe to use as an album cover. I saw this and fell in love with it.
APPRAISER: Well, it is very dynamic and very engaging, I think. And it also, I think, it needs to be cleaned. It's very yellow in certain areas. What did you pay for it? Do you remember?
GUEST: I think we paid maybe $200.
APPRAISER: Well, in today's market, this artist is extremely popular and has been rising in popularity in the last couple of years. And if this were in a gallery in New York City, the gallery would probably be asking in the range of $75,000.
GUEST: Wow.
APPRAISER: It's very, very...
GUEST: Well, that makes me feel real good.
APPRAISER: Well, it should, it should. I mean, actually, at auction, the artist's work has made close to $500,000, but for something much larger and a bit earlier.
GUEST: Wow. Yeah. I guess I need to get it cleaned.
APPRAISER: I think you need to get it cleaned.
GUEST: (laughs) I can't believe it.
