The monks' lunch, oil on canvas, Genoese school, Italy 18th century.

Oil on canvas. Genoese school of the 18th century. Inside a large room with arched windows overlooking the street, a group of brothers sits on the floor sharing a simple meal laid out on a white tablecloth. The scene refers to the sphere of Alessandro Magnasco, known as Lissandrino (1667-1749), a Genoese artist considered one of the most original painters of 18th-century Italy, who distinguished himself in popular genre painting and, in particular, in the production of scenes depicting Capuchin or Camaldolese brothers engaged in various activities, from studying in the library to confession, from the work of sharpeners or carpenters in the convent workshops to simple contemplation around the fire: in these works, one can appreciate the full expressive freedom of the artist's brush. He moves across the canvas with quick strokes to describe flames, chimneys, cats, books, dogs, poor bowls, lentils, tattered clothes, chairs, and stools, in short, an entire everyday world of gestures and objects constructed with a very particular and recognisable technique, made up of a mix of bright colour and almost entirely played on monochrome, on which a few skillful strokes of light descend to give shape and substance to the bony figures of the monks. The author of the work presented here was certainly trained in the area of Magnasco and was inspired by his style, although it is more restrained, lacking the flashes and interpretative freedom, often irreverent or ironic, towards the figures of the brothers; he managed to capture the play of light and shadow, flowing from a monochrome in shades of brown, while nonetheless creating a work of excellent pictorial quality. Restored and relined, the painting is presented in a gilded frame from the early 1900s.