Woman and Child

Paintings are one of the things that are very difficult to evaluate remotely. There are a lot of features to look at, and many of the masters were copied (both for legitimate and illegitimate purposes).

One has to look at the backing, how the painting was attached, the type of oil paint, brush strokes, signature forms, etc. which simply are not doable except in person and usually under controlled situations (i.e. lighting is important!)

That said, and with the understanding that a 3/4 panoramic type view is all we have to work with, I suspect that you *might* have an Italian Giuseppe Palmieri from the 1700's. Maybe a copy or maybe an original I can't tell.

I personally, would ask the opinion of a local art museum and, depending on their response, consider sending it to a reputable art historian for authentication.

Of course that may also raise another issue, if it turns out to be original you may have to pay a bit more on your home insurance!(grin)

I know of at least two people who did not authenticate what I believe to be original works, simply for that reason. They want to hang it without the insurance costs or the worry about having known expensive art on the wall.

I think you have a nice painting, so that even as a more modern copy it's worth at least a couple hundred dollars. If it's original you could be looking at a significant number of zero's added to the end of that number at least.

250chief