Giovanni Rivalta (faenza, 1756 - 1832), Flower Pot With Birds - Flower Pot With Grapes

Giovanni Rivalta (Faenza, 1756 - 1832)

Flower pot with birds - Flower pot with grapes

(2) Oil on glass, cm 24 x 28

With frame, cm 36 x 30

Critical sheet of Prof. Alessandro Agresti

These two exquisite works are really rare within the nature in pose: in fact in the eighteenth century the technique of oil on glass became rather rare after having found its apogee in the interventions of Carlo Maratti and the Stanchi family in the well-known cycles of Palazzo Colonna and Palazzo Borghese in Rome; this technique was usually used, However, for orders of rank, on large areas, for buildings of prime importance. It is much more rare to find similar works of this size, especially in the late eighteenth century: and it is surprising the more than satisfactory state of conservation, thanks to which we can appreciate the skill and subtleties of the brush in forming these two very pleasant images. Therefore I think that the most relevant name for our glasses is that of Giovanni Rivalta, from Faenza, and that they are first fruits of his production. In fact, on the back of one of the two boards protecting the fragile support we find the vintage writing *Vicenza 1780' which I think is relevant to the entry into some collection of that city of our paintings or, perhaps, their execution in the Venetian town. On the other hand, among the few biographical news we know of Rivalta, we know that he participated in the annual competitions of Brera in 1820, which would suggest study trips, if not work, even if the time his activity is documented only in Faenza. No objection that he may have sent his works to other parts of Italy. The first known still lifes are those signed and dated 1803 in the Pinacoteca di Rimini that also provide us with cultural coordinates to better understand the beginnings of this petit maître.