- 164
Attributed to Giacomo Recco Naples 1603 - before 1653
Description
- Giacomo Recco
- Still life of flowers in a vase, artichokes, lettuce, pears, fraises-de-bois and cherries in a bowl, some sliced salami, mushrooms on a plate, together with flowers and asparagus in a bowl, a fountain and arcade beyond
- dated on the vase in the center: 1651
- oil on canvas, in a 17th Century frame
Catalogue Note
The attribution to Giacomo Recco was first proposed by Prof. Ferdinando Bologna, in an expertise dated July 22, 1962 and more recently, in a private communication, John T. Spike endorsed an attribution on the basis of photographs. Dr. Spike notes that there are several "missing" masters of early still life painting in Naples. Among these artists are Ambrosiello Faro and Angelo Turcofella. The present painting appears to be by an artist who started in a more simple style and is now, in 1651, trying to keep up with the new more decorative style. Given Giacomo's dates, the our Still Life of Flowers could fit into Giacomo's oeuvre.
This elaborate still life was almost certainly painted in Naples in the middle of the 17th Century (it is dated 1651 on the vase in the center) and it has much in common with other paintings ascribed to Giacomo Recco. In particular it can be compared with two paintings in a private collection, one of which is dated 1641 in a similar manner on the vase, tentatively attributed to Recco by Spike (see J.T. Spike, in Naturalia - Nature morte in collezioni pubbliche e private, Turin 1992, p. 14, reproduced figs. 3 and 4).