Paolo Antonio Barbieri

Marchese Giovanni Battista Costabili Containi, Ferrara, before 1835;
Thence by descent Marchese Giovanni Costabili Containi, Ferrara, his grand nephew and heir;
Thence by descent to Marchese Alfonso Costabili Containi, his son;
From whom purchased by Angelo Genolini, Milan, the dealer/auctioneer as part of most of the remenants of the collection for the sum of 10,000 lire, and then offered together as
The "Costabili Collection" Sale, Milan, Sambon, April 27-29, 1885, lot 98 (Barbieri [Paul, frère du Guercino] Fruits et accessoires de table. Toile. Haut. 74 cent., larg. 92 cent.).

Manuscript inventory of the Costabili collection, 1835;
C. Laderchi, Descrizione della Quadreria Costabili, Parte III. La scuola ferrarese nei Secoli XVII e XVIII. Parte quarta. Pittori d'altre scuole, Ferrara 1841, p. 25, cat no 334;
G. Boschini, Vite de' pittori e scultori ferraresi, Ferrara 1844-46, vol. II. p. 478;
G. Giordani, Catalogo de Quadri di varie scuole pittoriche nella Galleria Costabili in Ferrara, Bologna 1871/72, cat. no. 510;
E. Mattaliano, La Collezione Costabili, Ferrara 1998, cat. no. 334;
E. Negro in, La Scuola del Guercino, Modena 2004, p. 89 (referring to the references in the Costabili literature).

 

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com , an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. Although this painting has not been restored for a while, the right attention will produce dramatic improvement and a picture of good quality and condition. At present the canvas has an old lining which is not properly supporting the paint layer. One can see in the white plates some discolored yet minor restoration and it is likely that this kind of restoration has occurred in other areas. The painting is slightly cracked in areas and perhaps slightly browner in some passages. Overall however, the painting is healthy and unabraded for the most part. No restorations are visible under ultraviolet light yet in addition to the retouches in the white plates, one can see old restorations in the dark background and perhaps in the yellow apples in the lower right. One should completely clean the picture with confidence, prior to retouching.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Only now reappearing since it was last seen at the Costabili auction in 1885, the present painting is an important addition to the oeuvre of Paolo Antonio Barbieri.  Barbieri was the younger brother of Guercino and a painter in his own right, specializing in still lifes of all sorts.  The brothers shared the same studio and occasionally worked together on paintings.¹  It was Paolo Antonio, in fact, who kept the famous Libro dei Conti which lists all of his brother's works from 1629 onwards, and which he updated until his own death in 1649, when the Gennari took up the task.  He appears to have spent much of his time seeing to the actual business of the studio, and it would seem that his own artistic output was lessened as a result.²  Nevertheless, some 42 still lifes by Barbieri are listed in the Libro, where Barbieri generally notes along with the subject, patron and the sum received— as indeed he did for Guercino's works— that the painting was his own.

Despite this early documentation of his activity, Paolo Antonio's body of work remained elusive until the mid-twentieth century.  The references in the Libro made to specific paintings were rudimentary at best, merely listing very vaguely the subject matter: frutti; fiori; animali, and the like.  It was only in 1961, on the basis of a mention in the accounts of 1637 of a still life representing a "Speciaria" (spice shop) painted for Alfonso Palettonio, a native of Spoleto and governor of Cento, that a connection to a known painting was made: the famous Spice Seller's in the Museo Civico, Spoleto.³   With that, a number of works have been attributed to him.

The present painting is typical of Barbieri's style.  The disposition of the various elements of the still life are arranged in a somewhat hieratic manner, much like that employed by Spanish painters; the "Iberian" quality has been noted by scholars in Barbieri's work, and indeed the present canvas had been considered in its recent history to be Spanish.  The treatment of the objects, and the soft modeling of the plates and the sack of olives, however, betrays the Guercinesque handling of Barbieri.  Indeed, the painting was correctly attributed when it was in the celebrated Costabili collection in Ferrara, which contained at least five paintings by the artist.  With two other canvases, it formed a group of three still lifes, and all are listed together in a manuscript inventory of 1835; however, the description simply mixes each of them together making identification impossible.⁴  In a later inventory of the collection done in 1871, each painting is described separately and in detail, with the present canvas listed as number 510: "Barbieri Paolo, centese- Frutta diverse tra quali delle ulive entro un sacchetto, tre melagrane, due cotogne e due piatti, sopra tela."⁵  

We are grateful to Daniele Benati who, on the basis of photographs, concurs with the attribution to Barbieri.

1  The Flora and the Fruitseller in the Palazzo Rospigliosi-Pallavicini , Rome are usually considered collaborative works (although Negro, see op. cit., p. 83 passim, suggests that the figures in these works might be by Bartolomeo Gennari rather than by Guercino.
2   Lanzi, in fact, notes that Barbieri was "singolare in dipingere animali, fiori e frutti, quanto Gio. Francesco suo fratello in figure umane: poco però attese all'arte, occupato nel governo della famiglia. [exceptional in painting animals, flowers and fruit, as much as Gio. Francesco his brother was in the human form, but he waited little upon his art, as he was busy running the family]. " L. Lanzi, Storia Pittorica della Italia, vol.V, Milan 1823, pp. 175-176.
3  See F. Arcangeli, "Il fratello del Guercino," Arte antica e moderna, 13-16, 1961.
4  "Tre quadri in tela per traverso di mezzana grandezza rappresentano frutta e uccellami di Paolo Barbieri [Three horizontal paintings on canvas of middling dimension, that depict fruit and gamebirds by Paolo Barbieri]."
5   "Barbieri, Paolo, from Cento- Different Fruit among which are olives in a bag, three pomegranates, two quince and two plates, on canvas."  The other two paintings were described as well: one with two cups and saucers, figs, pears, fish and a watermelon, and the other with animals, pigeons, a chicken and other types of fowl.