Still Life With Flowers, Fruit And Cat

Emilian school, 18th century

Still life with flowers, fruit and cat

Oil on canvas, cm 95 x 86

With frame, cm 115 x 110

The work in question, an oil on canvas with a wonderful contemporary frame depicting a still life with flowers, fruit and cat, is attributable to the hand of a painter belonging to the Emilian school of the eighteenth century.

This refined still life sees in the center a colorful floral cascade that attracts the attention of the viewer for bright and vibrant colors, while protagonist that permeates much of the scene is the immense red brocade drape finely embroidered with golden borders, on which a jug of metal is placed, expertly decorated and fresh fruit of exquisite workmanship, outlined in light against the background. The scene is completed by a curious sparrow placed on the table, visibly attracted by the juiciness of the fruits and, lurking on the left, an attentive cat.

Focusing on the overall composition, the arrangement of the individual elements and the fine analytical taste emerging from the many details present on the canvas, it is possible to trace the painting back to an Emilian artist gravitando around the figure of the painter piacentino Antonio Gianlisi (Piacenza, 1677 - 1727), author of lush and fragrant floral groups with carnations, tulips and roses. He was a student at an early age in his father’s workshop, until 1693, when he moved to Parma, where he completed his artistic training alongside Felice Boselli. In 1695 he moved to Crema.Invited by Vittore Tasca, he went in 1697 to Bergamo where he got in touch with the artists of the circle of Evaristo Baschenis. He frequented in particular Bonaventura Bettera, son of Bartolomeo, and Antonio Mara called the Scarpetta. From these artists he deduced a way of layouting the pictorial composition consisting of a set of curtains, carpets richly damask, raised, flower pots and fruit trays, typically Bergamo.

Gianlisi shows that he knows the pictorial tradition of both Emilia and Bergamo, By inserting in his works elements typically used by his fellow countrymen such as carpets and embroidered fabrics that elegantly lie on the tables and gently descend to the ground. The artist shows a remarkable ability in rendering details, also derived from Flemish painting, to which refers the wonderful rendering of rich and full-bodied damask. Another typical feature of Gianlisi is the inclusion (sometimes veiled with subtle irony) within his still lifes of animals that animate and make more vivid his works, as in our case the presence of a bird and a kitten lurking.

The object is in good condition