Doe and Hope

Description

The massive eighteenth-century oil on canvas painting of semi-elliptical form, in distressed and un-restored condition, stretching to over ten feet wide and five high, depicting a religious scene and surviving from the middle period of eighteenth century Italy.

As per the photographs the picture is in decorative but very tired and distressed condition with losses, punctures and tears. It remains un-cleaned.

The sheer size of this picture and its shape point to it being part of a niche in an ecclesiastical setting. The middle figure is almost certainly the Madonna and is surrounded by saints and other important figures. Any cleaning and restoration would almost certainly bring out many more figures and the picture as a whole would become clearer.

Whether to be restored or not, this picture has huge decorative clout.