Work of the late Roman Baroque of the late seventeenth / early eighteenth century

oil on canvas

62 x 76 cm., Framed 90 x 109 cm.

Short video of the work: https://youtu.be/3sYC5rgpsg0

An open-air setting, with a hilly landscape gash that opens into the distance in the central part, surrounds our beautiful canvas, which showcases a rich selection of game and fruit, arranged in the foreground near the point of view of the observer, occupying a large part of the visual field with their bright and festive colors.

The style and quality of the work, like the pictorial technique of this still life, characterized by subtle luminous vibrations and a lively chroma, make it attributable to the Roman Giovanni Paolo Castelli, known as Lo Spadino (Rome, 1659 - 1730), one of the most important specialists of this pictorial genre of late Baroque Rome, which had a very successful career between the 17th and 18th centuries.

Analyzing the rich and heterogeneous catalog of the Roman master, in fact, our canvas can be included among his rare works which, alongside a selection of fruit - among which stand out large melons, ripe figs, dark grapes and plums - we see a game advert, presumably as requested by a patron who loves hunting. Next to various birds, spoils of a profitable hunting trip, there is also a small green woodpecker, with the characteristic red spot on the head, and a nice rodent that terminates from behind the trunk.

The painter abandons himself to a skilful and brilliant chromatic texture of the surfaces, through a pictorial material rendered with exceptional vibration in its luminous and 'tactile' body, fully respecting the taste of the full Roman Baroque.

The quality appears excellent, distinguished by a skilful and brilliant chromatic texture of the surfaces, which appear almost vibrant thanks to a skilful drafting of the pictorial material.

Inevitable and evident are the Flemish suggestions, which had influenced the Roman Baroque still life, in particular the work of Abraham Brueghel.

Giovanni Paolo Castelli could boast a family workshop (in which his brother and son worked) long appreciated in the Rome of the second half of the seventeenth century, specialized in the genre of still life, which allowed him to quickly achieve considerable fame, working for the most important Roman families, such as the Chigi, Cardinal Pamphili who owned eleven Spadino, the Spada and the Rospigliosi.

By way of comparison, among the works similar to ours, similar in scenic and stylistic organization, we can mention:

- Still life with melon, peaches, grapes, game, guinea pig and hens, Sotheby's, New York, January 17, 1992, and now Private collection, Mantua, http://catalogo.fondazionezeri.unibo.it/scheda/opera/90622/Castelli%20Giovanni%20Paolo%2C%20Natura%2...

- Still life with pomegranates, peaches, plums and birds (Private collection, Gardone Riviera) http://catalogo.fondazionezeri.unibo.it/scheda/opera/90622/Castelli%20Giovanni%20Paolo%2C%20Natura%2...

- Still life with fruit and parrot, "Domenico Inzaghi" Civic Art Gallery, Budrio

- Still life with fruit, mushrooms and bird, Antiques market, Verona

- Still life with watermelon, peaches, grapes and pomegranate, "Fortunato Duranti" Civic Art Gallery, Montefortino

- Still life with melon, watermelon, peaches, grapes, figs and pomegranate, Private Collection

- Still life with fruit, jug and bird, Palazzo Blu, Fondazione CariPisa collection, Pisa

The painting is completed by a pleasant antique frame that suits it well and is sold with a certificate of authenticity in accordance with the law.

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