This magnificent still life (of which the corresponding pendant - link - is also available), depicts a composition of fruit, arranged on a plane with a dark background, including two melons, a bunch of white grapes, freshly picked plums, on whose leaves there are still dewdrops, chestnuts still in their husks and peaches. Above is a portrait of a cute little bird, precisely a green woodpecker.

This is an extremely fascinating work, thanks to its detailed and realistic style, whose harmonious composition and masterful use of colour and light give the objects a greater plasticity against the dark background. Each fruit represented in the work is meticulously painted, capturing texture, shape and colour with great precision, with a detailed approach that creates a sense of realism, making the objects almost palpable.

The compositional taste of the canvas easily allows us to attribute its authorship to a master trained in the fervid 17th century Baroque Rome, in particular Franz Werner von Tamm, known as Monsù Daparait (Hamburg 1658-Vienna 1754), as he fully exemplifies its specific characteristics, both in terms of execution and inventiveness.

Von Tamm was certainly one of the most varied personalities in the large number of Italian and foreign naturamortists active in Rome, pursuing a highly successful career in the Papal City; thanks to his friendship with the figurist painter Carlo Maratti, Tamm worked for the great collectors of the aristocracy such as the Pallavicini, Falconieri and Spada families; important patrician commissions that spread his fame throughout Europe: Spain, France, England and Germany. Short stays in Florence and Venice followed, and then the appointment as court painter in Vienna by Emperor Leopold.

To confirm the attributive reference, we illustrate below some compositions with the same theme by the painter.

Below are two works, with the same dimensions and type of composition as ours, which could in particular be complements to the series or created at the same time:

- Still Life of Fruit (Alte Pinakothek München): https://www.sammlung.pinakothek.de/en/artwork/JzG60p2xWO#&gid=1&pid=1

- Still Life of Fruit with Snail (Alte Pinakothek München): https://www.sammlung.pinakothek.de/en/artwork/rqxNrgjxvW/franz-werner-von-tamm/fruechtestueck

Also

- Still Life of Fruit with Melons and Figs, c. 1690, (Hamburger Kunsthalle Museum): https://rkd.nl/images/281635

- Still Life with White Rabbit, dated 1691 (State Museum Karlsruhe): https://rkd.nl/images/279511

- Still Life of Fruit with Game, dated 1720 (Galerie Belvedere Museum Vienna): https://rkd.nl/images/288916

- Still Life with Apple Tree (National Museum in Warsaw): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tamm_Still_life_with_a_musk_melon.jpg

- Still Life with Fruit (Alte Pinakothek Nürnberg): https://www.sammlung.pinakothek.de/en/artwork/8MLv9gyxz3/franz-werner-von-tamm/fruechtestillleben

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

The painting is completed by an antique wooden frame and is sold with a certificate of authenticity and descriptive iconographic card.

We take care of and organise the transport of the purchased works, both for Italy and abroad, through professional and insured carriers.

Contact us for any information, we will be happy to answer you.

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