Bonino Auction of Veneto Banca Collection Features Mantegna, Hirst, and Guido Reni

The second auction of the Veneto Banca collection, titled "Meraviglie Atto II. La Gioia a colori," will be held by Bonino auction house in Rome on January 30 and 31, 2024. Following a record €1.2 million sale of a Canova plaster in February 2023, this auction offers 378 lots with a total estimate of €7.7 million, making it the most significant Italian auction since the Tanzi collection sale in 2019. The collection spans six centuries of Italian and international art, from Mantegna and Bellini to Lucio Fontana and Damien Hirst. Highlights include an unpublished painting by Guido Reni, "San Francesco in meditazione" (estimate €200,000), Gaspard van Wittel's "Veduta di Verona" on copper (€700,000), Luigi Nono's "Il bimbo malato" (€680,000), and Raffaello Sorbi's "I Musicanti (Serenata)" (€120,000). Also featured are works by Antonio Vivarini, Rocco Marconi, Domenico Morone, Carlo Saraceni, Toulouse-Lautrec, Maurice Utrillo, Lucio Fontana ("Concetto Spaziale," 1960, €140,000), and Damien Hirst ("Spot Painting," 2007, €800,000). Over 50 specialists contributed to the catalog, with scientific investigations available for all major lots. The sale is part of the liquidation of Veneto Banca SpA, ordered by the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) on June 25, 2017.