Italian School, circa 1700

Vincenzo Polli collection, Milan, by 1953;

Private collection, Milan, by 1965;

Acquired subsequently by the present owner.

Milan, Palazzo Reale, I Pittori della Realtà in Lombardia, April–July 1953, no. 52 (as Evaristo Baschenis);

Bergamo, Galleria Lorenzelli, Evaristo Baschenis (1607–1677), September 1965, no. 16 (as Evaristo Baschenis).

R. Longhi, in I Pittori della Realtà in Lombardia, R. Cipriani and G. Testori (eds), exh. cat., Milan 1953, p. 42, no. 52, reproduced (as Evaristo Baschenis);

A. Ginseri, ‘Bilancio di una mostra. ‘I Pittori della realtà in Lombardia’’, in Emporium, August 1953, CXVIII, no. 704, p. 63 (as Evaristo Baschenis);

T. Pignatti, ‘An Exhibition of Lombard ‘Painters of Reality’', in The Burlington Magazine, August 1953, vol. 95, no. 605, pp. 277–78, reproduced fig. 36 (as Evaristo Baschenis);

G. De Logu, Natura Morta Italiana, Bergamo 1962, p. 164 (as Evaristo Baschenis);

A. Geddo, Evaristo Baschenis, Milan 1965, pl. 7, reproduced in colour (as Evaristo Baschenis);

F. Russoli, Evaristo Baschenis (1607–1677), exh. cat., Bergamo 1965, no. 16, reproduced (as Evaristo Baschenis);

M. Rosci, ‘Evaristo Baschenis’, in I Pittori Bergamaschi. Il Seicento, vol. III, Bergamo 1985, pp. 92–93 and 146, no. 142, reproduced fig. 1 (as Cristoforo Munari);

F. Baldassari, Cristoforo Munari, Milan 1999, p. 207, no. 13 (as Italian School, mid-18^th century).

This intriguing canvas has been discussed among scholars since its appearance from the Vincenzo Polli collection in 1953, bearing historic attributions to Evaristo Baschenis (1617–1677) and Cristoforo Munari (1667–1720). Since then, both these attributions have been superseded. It displays close similarities in style and execution to a canvas formerly attributed to Giuseppe Recco (1634–1695) or Meiffren Conte (c. 1630–1705) by Luigi Salerno,¹ offered at Christie's, London, in December 2012 from an Important European Collection.² Both canvases display very similar motifs, such as the array of biscuits and façon de Venise wine-glass.

We are grateful to all those consulted for their views.

¹ L. Salerno, Nuovi studi su la natura morta italiana, Rome 1989, pp. 108–109, fig. 101, reproduced in colour; https://catalogo.fondazionezeri.unibo.it/entry/work/99046/Autore%20non%20indicato%2C%20Natura%20morta%20con%20scultura%2C%20dipinto%2C%20vassoio%20di%20biscotti%20e%20vaso%20di%20fiori#lg=1&slide=0

² Anonymous sale ('Property from an Important European Collection'), London, Christie's, 4 December 2012, lot 10, where unsold against an estimate of £80,000–120,000.