XVIII Century, Still Life With Flowers And Fruits

XVIII century 

Still life with flowers and fruits

(4) Oil on canvas oval, cm 30 x 35  

This series of four still lifes is presented separately in individual ovals but united in style, shades and spatial configuration, with the flowers and fruits that are enclosed in the shape of the frame following its curvilinear course. Although they are compressed inside the oval, the figures open into space and arrange themselves in an orderly manner without giving up a certain spontaneous disorder that makes them even more plausible. The examples of the previous century in the field of still life, especially Lombard, are well present in these small paintings: from Giovanni Ambrogio Figino to Fede Galizia, passing by Panfilo Nuvolone and, wanting to go back further, by Vincenzo Campi. If in three of the four canvases we find homogeneity in the type of flowers and fruits represented, that is cherries, peaches with a couple of plums and apricots together with different flowers by species but with white or blue colors, the first one presents greater variety: two nespole in the center on which a pear is placed, on the right, and a small bunch of grapes on the left; also, the flowers are more varied, especially in shades. Apart from these differences in the subjects, the four ovals show continuity and coherence in warm and earthy tones, in the veiled pictorial writing that fades the contours without losing accuracy in the description of the details, which is important in this genre. Finally, the light also seems to be softened, dimmed in order not to create chiaroscuro contrasts that can break that sense of unity present among all the elements of the compositions.

The object is in good condition