Bartolomeo Bimbi Settignano, Florence 1648 - 1730 Florence

The paintings appear much crisper, more colourful and less 'muddy' in tone than they appear in the catalogue illustrations. Both canvases are unlined and both are on their original stretchers. The paintings appear quite recently cleaned and have a clear, even varnish layer. The paintings are in exceptionally good condition. They both have a marked craquelure pattern due to the fact that they have never been lined. TOP: only very minor retouchings in the upper left corner, along the edge lower left, and carefully touching-up along a surface scratch on the tulip upper left. BOTTOM: a small dent along the edge upper centre; three surface scratches and a small 1cm. damage on the pears in the lower right foreground have been carefully retouched. The paintings are in excellent original condition and can be hung as they are. They are offered in Salvator Rosa-style carved and gilt wood frames, not original but appropriate (good condition).
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Bimbi was an extremely prolific painter and his long lifetime spanned three Medici rulers, all of whom patronised him in Florence: Grand Duke Cosimo III (1642-1723), his son Principe Ferdinando (1663-1713) and daughter Anna Maria Luisa (1667-1743), who returned to Florence in 1717 after being widowed.

Bimbi's paintings show a detailed botanical interest in what is represented. His famous series of canvases, painted for the Medici towards the end of the 1690s and 1700 (all now at Poggio a Cajano), illustrate every fruit imaginable: figs, plums, cherries, peaches, apricots and grapes are all painted with exact precision, numbered, named and categorised accordingly.¹  Bimbi must have frequented Francesco Redi (1626-1698), a naturalist at the Medici court, and Pier Antonio Micheli (1679-1737), prefect of the Botanical gardens in Florence and founder of the Botanical Society in the same city.

Apart from the Medici commissions, very few of Bimbi's paintings are dated and thus a chronology for his work is quite difficult. The combination of fruit and floral arrangements, although not unique in Bimbi's œuvre, are quite unusual. This fine pair of still lifes are particularly ambitious, incorporating both fruit and flowers in elaborate landscape settings. They may be compared to a signed painting by Bimbi in which the still life elements are also placed in a landscape alongside architectural fragments and a spring.²

1.  For the Medici series see D. Savoia & M.L. Strocchi, Le Belle Forme della Natura. La pittura di Bartolomeo Bimbi (1648-1730) tra scienza e 'maraviglia', Modena 2001, pp. 56-59 (figs, signed and dated 1696), pp. 72-75 (plums, signed and dated 1699), pp. 76-79 (cherries, signed and dated 1699), pp. 80-83 (peaches and apricots, signed), and pp. 84-87 (grapes, signed and dated 1700), all reproduced in colour.
2.  Formerly with Galleria Gismondi, Paris; reproduced by M.L. Strocchi, in F. Zeri ed., La natura morta in Italia, Milan 1989, vol. II, p. 595, fig. 706.