Lot 177

Umberto Giunti (1886-1970) Madonna and Child, Painted Fresco, Falsario in Calcinaccio (Siena Fresco Forger)

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Umberto Giunti (1886-1970) Madonna and Child, Painted Fresco, Falsario in Calcinaccio (Siena Fresco Forger)

Estimate: CA$200 - CA$50,000

Current Bid: CA$5,800

(46 Bids)

by Kavanagh Auctions
June 27, 2026 11:00 AM EDT
Live Auction
6059 De Maisonneuve W.
Montreal, QC, CA H4A 3R8

A fresco painting of the Madonna and Child by the renowned Italian art forger Umberto Giunti (1886-1970), who was famously known by the pseudonym Il Falsario in Calcinaccio (the Counterfeiter in Plaster). The painting depicts a classic Madonna and Child composition, the Virgin Mary in a red gown with a dark blue cloak, cradling a seated infant Jesus on her lap with landscape in the background surrounded by a plaster border within a simple wood frame.


Giunti was a student of Icilio Federico Joni, another legendary Sienese forger. His moniker, Falsario in Calcinaccio, was coined by art historian Federico Zeri, who first identified his distinctive style of using real fresco fragments and antique plaster (calcinaccio) to create convincing Renaissance-style "fragments". 

A note on the reverse reads Purchased in 1972 at a Newport estate sale at one of the mansions. It was said to have come from one of the mansions. It had a note attached to it that the gentleman the framed it for me had lost. It stated that it was a fresco that came from a church in Florence Italy that hast been destroyed, and was possibly painted by Sandro Botticelli.

Dimensions: 18.5 H x 13.5 W x 2 inches deep.

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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
CA$0 CA$49 CA$10
CA$50 CA$99 CA$10
CA$100 CA$199 CA$20
CA$200 CA$399 CA$25
CA$400 CA$999 CA$50
CA$1,000 CA$6,499 CA$100
CA$6,500 CA$9,999 CA$250
CA$10,000 CA$19,999 CA$500
CA$20,000 CA$39,999 CA$1,000
CA$40,000 + CA$2,000