Lot 1542 Dα

Alongside Bartolomeo Bimbi, Andrea Scacciati was the most important Florentine painter of still lifes in the second half of the 17th century. He was taught in Florence by Mario Belassi and Lorenzo Lippi, but also sought inspiration from Netherlandish artists such as Jan Davidsz de Heem or the Roman school of Mario de' Fiori. Grand Duke Cosimo III was among his patrons, and he provided several of the works decorating the Villa dell'Ambrogiana. The Duke's mother Vittoria della Rovere was also one of Scacciati's supporters, and he painted for both the Tuscan and British aristocracy, the latter of whom when they visited Florence as part of the “Grand Tour”.
The present, monumental still life was shown as part of the possibly most important exhibition of Italian still life painting ever held, which was curated by Mina Gregori and took place in Munich and Florence in 2002/2003. In the exhibition catalogue, Stefano Cascili writes: “The landscape format and large format of this work lend the signed work dated to 1684 (sic., actually 1687) a monumental and decorative character. The huge floral arrangement is made up of many different blooms (including roses, tulips, cress, bindweed, anenomies, lilies, stocks, poppies, daffodils, pinks, lilac, marshmallows, campion and fritillaries) bursting forth from a metallic, decorated vase. The characteristic abundance of motifs concentrated in the centre of the work in an arrangement of soft, pale roses alongside anenomies and daffodils is reminiscent the works of both Flemish and Roman artists such as Jan David de Heem and Jerome Galle. The Baroque force of the work's decorative impact and the unusual metal vase are further elements recalling the Roman school. […] Most impressive about this piece is its vivid, pastose use of colour, which has been used to lend the canvas an almost tactile structure and can be found in many of Scacciati's other works.”
The monumental format, technical brilliance and rare signature conspire to make this one of the artist's seminal works.