Fireplace front; Attributed to Valentino Besarel, c. 1880.

Fireplace front; attributed to VALENTINO BESAREL (Astragal, Italy,1829-, Venice, 1902); Venice, c.1880.
Carved walnut.
It shows wear on the base.
Provenance; Palace of the Marquises of Unza.
Measurements: 259 x 204 x 44 cm.
Front of fireplace made of carved walnut. The piece, which stands out for its monumental dimensions, is supported on a base whose pilasters adopt the realistic form of Atlas. Above them a delicate cornice shows a detailed ornamentation based on carved acanthus leaves, accompanied by sparrows of extreme lightness in form and in the center a feminine face of horses on a rampage. This horizontal frieze gives way to a cornice entablature inspired by classical architecture. Above it, a large crest presents in relief a scene of mythological inspiration that seems to represent Venus and Hephaestus in the workshop of the latter, framed by a large garland. This detail is accompanied by a round sculptural group with two little love birds on the top and a male and a female figure flanking the sides.

The technical quality of the carving of this large fireplace frontal suggests that it is a work by Valentino Besarel. In fact, in the book "Valentino Panciera Besarel (1829-1902) Storia e arte di una bottega d'intaglio in Veneto" you can see a very similar fireplace frontal made in marble. "Besarel" is a nickname of popular origin used to distinguish the artist's family from other homonymous lineages, but it has come to dominate even the surname, to the point that even in the artistic world he is known simply as "Valentino Besarel". The last representative of the "Besarel" Panciera was Valentino's daughter Caterina, who died in 1947. The Besarel family had been engaged in wood carving for generations: his great-grandfather Valentino (1747-1811), a pupil of Giampaolo Gamba "Zampòl" and disciple of the master Andrea Brustolon, his grandfather Giovanni (1778-1842) and also his father Giovanni Battista (1801-1873) had been carvers; the latter had achieved some local fame by leaving works in several churches in the Zoldo area. Valentino received his first training in his father's workshop, to which he added, in the early 1840s to the school of the Belluno draughtsman Antonio. The turning point came when he met Giuseppe Segusini, who saw him work while, following his father, he decorated the archdeaconry church of Agordo. Thanks to the architect from Feltre, he was able to attend the Accademia di Venezia from 1853 to 1855, although he was unable to complete his studies. His first independent works, also commissioned by Segusini, were Saints Peter and Paul for the high altar of the parish church of Tiser and the Four Evangelists for the cathedral of Belluno (1855-1856). Besarel worked for a long time in his native land, until in the sixties he moved to Venice, where he received great honors and European fame, to the point of becoming an official supplier to the main monarchies of the continent. Not even the disability he suffered with the loss of four fingers could interrupt Valentino's activity.