Colnaghi is one of Europe's most pre-eminent firms in the field of Master Paintings and Drawings. Many of the most celebrated Italian paintings that have been available to the art market in this century have been sold by the gallery (
see History), and Northern European paintings form an equally important part of Colnaghi's dealing activities. For instance, the exhibition
Gothic to Renaissance held in the 1980s included a painting by one of the rarest 16th century German Masters, Albrecht Altdorfer. More recently, the gallery is pleased to have handled Pieter Paul Rubens’ celebrated
Portrait of a Man as Mars, one of the most exciting paintings by the 17th century Flemish master to be on the market in recent times.
Today, in keeping with tradition, Colnaghi specialises in Old Master paintings of the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. In their capacity as experts, appraisers and dealers, the team continues to buy and sell paintings of the highest quality on the market, and assists collectors with the sale of fine art. Colnaghi purchases directly or acts as selling agent on a consignment basis. Selling through Colnaghi is a means by which vendors can benefit from the gallery's expertise and understanding of the international art market. Clients can be assured that any advice they seek, either in buying or selling, will be handled with complete confidentiality.
Colnaghi holds several exhibitions annually. In the 1970s the gallery organized a distinguished series of thematic exhibitions that included Objects for a Wunderkammer and The Grand Tour. In 1984, the firm arranged the exhibition Art: Commerce: Scholarship - Colnaghi 1760 - 1084 which gave an insight into both its working and history. The thematic format for exhibitions proved popular and has been retained by the firm, examples being Gothic to Renaissance, 1789- French Art during the Revolution, to mark the bicentenary of this event and Claude to Corot: The Development of Landscape Painting in France, in 1990. More recently Colnaghi hosted the exhibition Francesco Foschi, 18th century Italian Landscape, which was timed to coincide with the publication of a new monograph on the artist.