Adeodato Zuccati

Baroque silver Vase with Flowers with a Fruit Tray and a Clock by A. Zuccati

2d half of the 17th century

Fred G. Meier, art historian, confirmed with the following comment, after a photographic examination of the work, that it belongs to the studio of Georg Flegel...

This painting is reproduced in the reference book on Roman still life "Pittori di nature morta a Roma - artisti italiani 1630 -1750" by Gianluca and Ulisse Bocchi - Arti Grafiche Castello 2005 (page 250 figure FS5), where it is mentioned as one of the few paintings that can be given with certainty to Giovanni Stanchi. This highly decorative flower garland reveals a very strong Flemish influence, enabling us to attribute it with certainty to Giovanni Stanchi, the eldest of a sibling group of painters active in the production of still lifes in 17th century Rome. Probably painted before 1640, our garland conceals a mystical message beneath its decorative opulence, which we're about to reveal ... 1. Giovanni, Niccolò and Angelo Stanchi, a brotherhood of still-life painters in 17th-century Baroque Rome The three Stanchi brothers, Giovanni (1608 - after 1675), Niccolò (ca. 1623 - 1690) and Angelo (1626 - after 1675) lived and worked together (like the Le Nain brothers), making identification of the different hands perilous. Giovanni Stanchi's name is first mentioned in 1634, in the register of the painters' guild of the "Accademia di San Luca". Paid membership of the painters' guild provided not only a social network, but also commissions from important Roman families. In 1638, Giovanni Stanchi painted a picture for the Barberini family depicting their coat of arms surrounded by flowers. In 1660, he was commissioned by Cardinal Flavio Chigi to decorate a gallery with still lifes of flowers and fruit. The Chigis remained his principal patrons until after 1673. Thereafter, he received commissions from almost every important family in Rome. An invoice dated 1670 identifies Giovanni Stanchi and Mario Nuzzi as the painters responsible for the still lifes that decorated the famous mirrors in Palazzo Colonna. In 1675, Giovanni Stanchi's name appears for the last time in connection with a project in which he was engaged, together with Andries Bosman and the figure painter Ciro Ferri, to decorate the mirrors of the Palazzo Borghese on Campo Marzio. Although all three brothers were active as painters, the records of their commissions always refer to Giovanni, since, as eldest brother, he was responsible for invoices and contracts. Only in a few cases is the name of one of the younger brothers mentioned. Only paintings with a strong Flemish influence dating from the first four decades of the 17th century, such as this one, can be attributed with certainty to Giovanni, as he was the only painter in the family at the time. 2. History of a genre: the flower garland Jan Brueghel the Elder (Brussels 1568 - Antwerp 1625) is credited with inventing the flower garland theme during his stay in Rome in 1592. Such garlands were originally used to surround a religious subject, often a Marian one. This religious scene could sometimes be painted by another artist, as in the painting acquired in 1608 by Cardinal Borromeo, featuring a Madonna (painted by Henry van Balen), surrounded by a garland painted by Jan Brueghel. This theme was taken up and developed in Rome from 1625 onwards by Daniel Seghers, before the young Giovanni Stanchi made it his own, reinforcing its symbolic dimension (to which we shall return) and moving away from the naturalistic approach of Jan Brueghel to develop a certain idealization of each flower, closer to the style of Mario Nuzzi (Rome 1603 - 1673). Giovanni Stanchi's garlands, of which he was the best Italian interpreter in the 17th century, also reveal him to be one of the most faithful to the Flemish tradition. The book by Gianluca and Ulisse Bocchi lists nine still lifes very similar to ours, all executed on a black background (including the one reproduced as the last photo in the gallery, which belongs to the Pinacoteca Nazionale in Bologna). Because of their proximity to Flemish works, they can be attributed with certainty to Giovanni Stanchi. Four of them belong to private collections, while the others are all in public institutions (Anhaltische Gemäldegalerie, Dessau; Galeria del Palazzo Bianco, Genoa; Musée des Beaux-Arts, Bordeaux; Pinacoteca Nazionale, Bologna; Palazzo Chigi-Saraceni, Siena). Like those in Flemish still lifes, the flowers depicted by Giovanni Stanchi bloom at different times of the year, ruling out any representation of a real bouquet. Alongside the more traditional flowers of our gardens (roses, tulips, hyacinths, daffodils, irises), it is also interesting to note the frequent inclusion of more exotic flowers such as jasmine and blue bindweed (ipomoea indica), which had been recently introduced to Europe from Mexico. Each flower painted by Giovanni Stanchi seems to have its own individuality, a trait characteristic of Flemish painting, of which Stanchi was the best interpreter in Italy. One could say that Stanchi does not depict garlands of flowers, but flowers in a garland, each with its own identity and specificity, making it unique and different from the others. Captured in a low-angled light that seems to have captured them for eternity, they are drawn with clear, precise lines. As if they had been freshly cut, they emerge from the darkness in geometric figures that reinforce the tactile quality of their representation. One of Giovanni Stanchi's distinctive features is to have substituted the central religious representation traditionally associated with Flemish flower...

This painting is typical of the art of Jan Weenix, one of the best still life and hunting painters of the Dutch Golden Age. In a cleverly disordered manner, he depicts ten studies of dogs (mainly spaniels and greyhounds) and the sumptuous study of a stole. These studies were probably intended to be used as a source of inspiration and adapted in the painter's compositions, as we will see in a close examination of some of his paintings. 1. Jan Weenix, a prolific still life painter Jan Weenix was born into a family of artists: his father Jan Baptist Weenix (1621 - 1659) was also a landscape and still life painter and his mother Josyntgen d'Hondecoeter was the daughter of the animal painter Gillis d'Hondecoeter (1575 - 1638). His father trained him together with his cousin Melchior d'Hondecoeter (1636 - 1695). In 1664 Jan Weenix became a member of the St. Luke's Guild in Utrecht, to which he belonged until 1668. In 1679 he married Pieternella Backer with whom he had 13 children. His compositions, often related to hunting (still lifes, portraits of hunters) were very successful, ensuring him a certain financial ease. Jan Weenix also painted large-scale decorations: while staying in Düsseldorf with the Prince-Elector of the Palatinate between 1702 and 1712, he executed twelve gigantic compositions combining landscapes, hunting scenes and still life for the Bensberg hunting lodge. 2. Description of the artwork The painting displays a great apparent disorder that hides a rigorous organisation in four quarters. It presents ten studies of hunting dogs and one study of a stole. The studies of the stole and of two of the dogs (the greyhound in the lower right and the spaniel in the upper right quarter) are quite elaborate, whereas those of the other dogs are sketchier. As an example, the dog in the upper right corner is only partially painted. The dogs' coats, of different colours - brown, sandy, grey or black - stand out against the warm brown background and are illuminated by the shine of their white hair. This white colour, probably executed with ceruse white, illuminates the study of a stole which stands out in the lower left-hand corner while the red colour of its lining warms up the composition. The purpose of this stole is enigmatic: we think it is probably a neckband, but it could also be the back of the turban of an oriental character. To the right of this stole is the outline of a long animal leg, perhaps a horse leg. Similar studies are rare in the work of Jan Weenix, but the Rijksmuseum recently acquired the study of a seated monkey. This study, executed in the same brown chromatic range, is much more accomplished. It has been reused with minimal change in many compositions. It is likely that Jan Weenix had less frequently a monkey at his disposal, and that he therefore depicted it in great details, whereas he could probably easily find dogs as models. Note the characteristic white dot in the corner of each pupil that brings them to life! 3. Related artworks We have tried to relate the various dogs in this study to the countless dogs that appear in the paintings of Jan Weenix, as listed in the catalogue 'Father and Son - Weenix' compiled by Anke van Wagenberg- Ter Hoeven in 2018. A first example is the painting entitled "The Prodigal Son on the Steps of a Palace" (catalogue number 7 - 8th photo in the gallery). In the lower left-hand corner of the composition, a spaniel is barking at a peacock perched on a stone. This spaniel, which is depicted in a similar manner in the "Portrait of a Young Man with a Falcon" in the Bremen Kunsthalle (catalogue number 76), is reminiscent of the spaniel in the upper left-hand quarter of our study (although the latter is slenderer and the direction of its head differs). We also find, in a slightly different pose, the seated greyhound that is at the top of our painting in the composition representing "A Swan, a Stag, a Hare and Birds presented by two hunting Valets" (catalogue number 130 - last photo in the gallery). The sketch of this greyhound in our study is unfinished: the painter only painted the grey undercoat and the white parts of the coat, without completing the sandy coat which appears in the final painting. We can see from these various examples that our study was probably more a repertoire of forms than a model for a specific composition. The painter probably used it for inspiration before adapting each dog study...

The technique of this luminous architectural drawing with its rigorous perspective is perfectly representative of the creations of the Venetian school’s 18th century vedutists. Simil...

In this painting, Gabriel de Saint-Aubin, the great chronicler of the reign of Louis XV, takes us to the annual parade of the Swiss Guards at the Plaine de...

In this masterly painting, Francesco de Mura presents the meeting of Herminia and the shepherds, a famous episode taken from the seventh canto of Torquato Tasso's Jerusalem Delivered...

German School, early 20th century oil on canvas, framed framed: 33 x 27.5 inches canvas: 30 x 25 inches private collection, UK the painting is in overall very ...

Studio of Miguel Canals, Spanish 1925-1995 Still life painting with flowers in a vase oil on canvas, unframed canvas: 23 x 18 inches provenance: private ...

Studio of Miguel Canals, Spanish 1925-1995 Still life painting with flowers in a vase oil painting on canvas, framed oil on canvas, unframed canvas: 23 x...

Profusion of Flowers Classical Still Life Dutch School, 19th century oil on canvas, unframed canvas : 32 x 21 inches provenance: private collection condition: very good and sound con...

Ornate Classical Fruit Still Life Italian School, 17th century oil on canvas, unframed canvas: 22 x 27 inches provenance: private collection, UK condition: very good and sound condi...

A rare and most attractive still life by William Smith of Chichester. The sumptuous textures of the peaches and grapes contrasting with the dark background. A really handsome 18th Ce...