Founded in Bologna thirty years ago, the Maurizio Nobile Gallery has forged itself a solid reputation in the world of antique dealing. Situated in an evocative corner of the Piazza Santo Stefano in Bologna, near to Palazzo Bovi Tacconi, the Maurizio Nobile Gallery specializes in painting, drawing and sculpture ranging from the sixteenth to the twentieth century, with some occasional dalliances with more contemporary works.
To trace the profile of Maurizio Nobile, expert art dealer, is to unlock an understanding of that cultivated intuition that he brings to his reading of paintings, drawings, furniture and sculptures. This flare allows him to discover new works and their attribution, as seen with two extraordinary and unknown paintings by Bartolomeo Manfredi (1582 – 1622) and a sculptural arrangement by the sculptor from Sienna, Lorenzo di Mariano, otherwise known as Marrina (1476-1534). Let us also not forget the extraordinary rediscovery of an unknown collection of 79 drawings by Giovanni Battista Foggini (1652-1725), sculptor and architect of the court of Cosimo de Medici III, belonging to the Principi princes, members of a Florentine noble family.
Beauty, authenticity, quality, and rarity: these are the values that guide Nobile in his constant search for antique works and objects destined to enrich public and private collections around the world.
The interest shown in his work by museums and international collectors has encouraged him to expand his operations to the international sphere. Choosing Paris as a location for his second gallery, opened in June 2010 and situated on 34 Rue de Penthièvre, in the heart of the Rive Droite, a historic location for galleries specializing in painting. In less than eight years, the Maurizio Nobile Gallery has already developed a portfolio of several exhibitions. The gallery’s opening show was an exhibition dedicated to Jared French, an American artist known for his representations of ‘Magic Realism’, and for which Nobile was able to acquire several previously unseen works. From this show followed, ‘Rêve d’Italie Paysages et Caprices du XVII au XIX siècles’, organized to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy. Another show of great acclaim was ‘The art of the beard – The beard in art from the sacred to the profane’; an account of the masculine aesthetic in history across cultures, and part of a conference that took place with the Italian Ambassador at the Italian Embassy. Other important exhibitions have followed, amongst which, ‘Caravagistes/Caravagismes – variations picturales sur le thème’, the show that the new gallery in Paris opened with; an exhibition that finally brought the gallery’s discovery – or rediscovery – of important works from the school of Caravaggio to the attention of the public. Many of these works, by both Italian and European painters, had never been shown before.
Next in line will be a show dedicated to Italians in Paris – from Boldini to Severini (from 1870 to 1930) organized in collaboration with the Galleria Bottegantica in Milan. The exhibition will open to coincide with the Salon du Dessin on the 22 March 2018, and will remain open to the public until the 21 April.
Over time, the Maurizio Nobile Gallery has become a reference point for some of the most knowledgeable and demanding of distinguished private collectors and public institutions. Indeed, the Gallery has worked with a range of prestigious museums around the world, including the National Gallery of Washington, the Pierpont Morgan Library in New York, the Arkansas Art Center, and the ETH Graphische Sammlung in Zurich.
The Maurizio Nobile Gallery participates in several important international art fairs, including the Florence Biennale, London Art Week, the Paris Biennale, Salon du Dessin, Paris Tableau.