Elena Recco

Anonymous sale, Munich, Hampel, 4 July 2018, lot 602 (as attributed to Elena Recco);

Where acquired by the present owner.

This beautifully preserved still life was painted by Elena Recco, daughter and pupil of the most celebrated Neapolitan still-life painter of his day, Giuseppe Recco (1634–1695). Like her father, Elena excelled in the depiction of complex arrangements of fish and crustaceans. A small number of her flower paintings are said to have been recorded in the inventories of the Buen Retiro Palace in Madrid, where she followed her father in 1695.¹

The present work is a characteristic examples of Elena's painterly style, which is typified by fluid and gestural brushwork, allowing for the depiction of a dazzling range of surfaces and materials and exemplifying her skill in painting light and textures. Moreover, Recco's in-depth knowledge of the many creatures featured in her compositions reflects her Neapolitan milieu.

It is no surprise that many of her works are often confused with those of her father, owing not only to the many parallels between their art but also a lack of scholarly attention. The relatively recent resurgence of interest in women artists has enabled Elena Recco to be recognised as an important figure in the development of Neapolitan still-life painting.

We are grateful to Prof. Nicola Spinosa for endorsing the attribution to Elena Recco on the basis of digital images.

¹ N. Spinosa, 'Elena Recco', in La natura morta in Italia, F. Zeri (ed.), Milan 1989, vol. II, p. 912.