Tomasso II | A Discerning Collection of European Art

I've always been interested in all different periods of art and styles and countries, but more so with Italian old masters. Tommaso Brothers Fine Art are normally associated with objects from Italy, Italian sculpture and Italian paintings, to try and visualise them in their original context. Walk around the Palazzi and the public buildings where these objects originally were. My name is Dino Tommaso. I am a partner with my brother Raffaello at Tommaso Brothers Fine Art. We were always brought up in a very Italian environment, in a beautiful house that was always full of the comings and goings of fine art. And what that led to is our appreciation of the finest English furniture, old master paintings and European sculpture. Italy is the country of our forebears. It's a remarkable country for works of art. You can walk into the smallest church in the middle of the countryside and find a magnificent work of art. For instance, a small-scale Madonna and Child would have been almost certainly made for a private chapel of somebody from a wealthy family. Collecting is about acquiring things which you enjoy. Our primary passion is the old master world, so paintings and sculpture. Tommaso Brothers is most known for Italian Renaissance bronzes. The bronze world is something that we have studied in depth, none more so than the School of Giambologna, who was the great 16th century Flemish artist who worked most of his life in Florence. He had some very talented students. We're always very interested to understand which artist was influenced by which school. Tommaso at Sotheby's is going to showcase our varied tastes in the art world, all the way from the Meissen porcelain, from old master paintings to neoclassical sculpture. And it gives an opportunity for collectors to savour something which has been very dear to our hearts over the last few decades.