In 1979, I left for Rome; I had already been to Paris twice, in 1975 and 1976, and it had been love at first sight.
I was greatly moved by the thought of seeing the Italian capital; since it was during June, I decided to stay there for a few months. I found a job in a vintage shop in Via delle Carrozze, very close to Piazza di Spagna. At the time, the Via del Babuino and its surroundings were filled with antique shops and it was in that moment, in my mind of a young boy, that I decided what would be my future and my destiny: the pursuit of beauty. A compelling adventure that continues today and started at that precise moment.
In 1987 I opened my first very small shop in the historic centre of Bologna and in 1989 in Milan; my goal was, however, Paris, la ville lumière, the city that - together with Rome - had inspired me, renewing its capacity to surprise me at every visit with all of its astounding beauty.
It was only in 2010 that I was able to make my dream come true; I came to Paris with Davide Trevisani, who has since then been, director of my gallery.
In these 40 long years, I have made the most of my work and, above all, my passion, always continuing to learn, challenging myself, and rejoicing in certain exceptional discoveries that I have had the chance to make. This was certainly the case with the magnificent Saint Andrew, in front of which I now find myself; an extraordinary work by Nicolas Tournier.
I love my work… and similar satisfaction is found in the motivation to never be dejected, not to give up, to look forward waiting with curiosity to know when we will encounter the next masterpiece.
Nicolas TOURNIER
(Montbliard, 1590 - Toulouse, 1638 ca.)
Saint Andrew
Oil on canvas, 115 x 85 cm
Literature:
G. Papi, Tournier e le sue relazioni con l'ambiente artistico romano in Nicolas Tournier et la peinture caravagesque en Italie, en France et en Espagne, symposium conference proceedings of Toulouse, 7-9 June 2001, edited by P.F. Bertrand e S. Trouvé, Toulouse 2003, p. 107; G. Papi, Bartolomeo Manfredi, Soncino (CR), 2013, pp. 44, 54, n. 7; A. Hémery, Tournier (1590-1639) et Ribera (1591-1652) une nouvelle lecture des influences artistiques sur le peintre comtois, in "Les cahiers d'histoire de l'art", n° 13 (2015), p. 6-9; G. Papi, Entro l'aria bruna d'una camera rinchiusa : scritti su Caravaggio e l'ambiente caravaggesco, Naples 2016, pp. 183-186, fig. 7, repr. p. 188.