Felice Rubbiani
A pair of still lifes with fruit and parrots
Lot Closed
December 9, 04:25 PM GMT
Estimate
15,000 - 20,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
Felice Rubbiani
Modena 1677 - 1752 Villa San Pancrazio
A pair of still lifes with fruit and parrots
a pair, both oil on canvas, in elaborately carved and gilt wood frames
unframed each: 138 x 101.2 cm.; 54⅜ x 39⅞ in.
framed each: 213.5 x 131 cm.; 84⅛ x 51⅝ in.
Thence by descent through three generations;
In the present collection for at least five years.
Henry Clay Gibson was a liquor baron in Philadelphia, son of the founder of the Monongahela Distillery at Gibsonton, Penn. He was considered to be one of the richest men in Philadelphia and his art collection was very highly esteemed and described as 'second to none in this country' by the New York Times in his obituary.
An accomplished still-life painter, Felice Rubbiani worked predominantly in Modena and was employed by Duke Rinaldo I d'Este (1655-1737), who commissioned paintings from him for the nuptial celebrations of his son, Francesco II and Charlotte Aglaé d'Orléans.1
A pair of still lives in the Galleria Estense, Modena, are similarly composed of fruits tumbling from a broken porcelain bowl, with a bird perched upper left.2
1 F. Zeri, La natura morta in Italia, Milan 1989, p. 430.
2 Zeri 1989, p. 431, reproduced.