**First Time At Auction**

Italian Renaissance, ca. 15th to 16th century. A bust-length portrait of Neptune (Poseidon to the Greeks) - the son of the Titans Cronus and Rhea, brother to Zeus, and Olympian god of the sea, rivers, drought, earthquakes, horses, and floods. The artist has depicted Neptune / Poseidon as a mature man with a voluminous head of silver hair and a full beard and mustache, holding his signature trident, a magical weapon that granted Neptune/Poseidon the divine right to rule the sea. His visage is remarkably realistic bearing countless wrinkles that indicate his age - ridges and furrows marking the bridge of the nose, the forehead, neck, and fingers - despite the fact that his bright-eyed gaze suggests internal youth. An exceptional painting mounted in a gorgeous Italianate gilt wood frame decorated in relief with festoons of flowering vines and classical vase motifs, rosettes at each corner, as well as elaborately embellished borders. Size (painting): 17" L x 14.5" W (43.2 cm x 36.8 cm) Size (frame): 28" L x 25.375" W (71.1 cm x 64.5 cm) Frame finish contains 70% gold

This painting demonstrates hallmarks of the Renaissance including a naturalistic style, impressive rendering of three dimensional space and foreshortening of the hand holding the trident, individualism of finely delineated realistic facial features, and a classical theme. In addition, the composition of the pigments which is also consistent with the Renaissance.

Provenance: private southern California, USA collection, acquired prior to 2000

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#178377

Painting is in overall very nice condition. It was professionally conserved by Betty Engle who worked on art for the San Diego Museum and also restored the medieval ceilings at Hearst Castle. The craquelure commensurate with age was stabilized when the painting was professionally conserved. The frame was professionally restored. Frame finish shows minor scuffs, minute areas of loss and touch up. Verso of frame shows expected darkening and age cracks with some notes written in black. Still, the frame is quite exceptional with generous gilding. The gilding was tested via X-ray flourescence and contains ~70% gold. Painting's pigments have been tested via x-ray flourescence and are consistent with the Renaissance. Fit with suspension wire and ready to display.