Andrea Scacciati

ANDREA SCACCIATI (Florence, 1642-1710)
"Plums, plum trees and pears in the open air".
Oil on canvas. Relined.
Work reproduced in Bellesi S., "Andrea Scacciati. Pittore di fiori, frutta e animali a Firenze in età tardobarocca". Polistampa, Italy, 2012, p.193.
It presents repainting and restorations on the pictorial surface.
Measurements: 47 x 64 cm; 56,5 x 74 cm (frame).
Still life of baroque aesthetics, sumptuous and scenographic, where the fruits appear magnificently portrayed in a scenario enveloped by a warm half-light. The fruits are arranged in two planes; one at ground level and the other on a sort of natural step. Behind these foregrounds we see a landscape dominated by an intense blue sky. The fruits, especially those in the foreground, are directly illuminated by a dramatic light, clearly baroque, directed and theatrical. Pears and plums come together in this still life in which the author apparently presents them in a chaotic way, although a strict separation between some fruits and others can be appreciated. The composition is completed by different vegetal elements that accompany the scene. Although the inspiration of the still life tradition is clear, it is also possible to appreciate an air of modernity in the oil painting, which is contributed through the tonalities used by the artist. Although with the creation of the Academies in the eighteenth century the still life was consolidated as a minor genre, its success, rooted in the previous century, did not diminish, both for the decorative value of this type of work and for the high quality of the painters specialized in the genre. This led to a heated discussion, which culminated in 1765 with the appointment of the Italian-born still life painter Mariano Nani as an academician of merit. It was from this moment on that the still life began to establish itself as one of the most sought after genres by collectors.

The work is reproduced in the catalog of Andrea Scacciati. An Italian Baroque painter of the late 17th and early 18th centuries, Andrea Scacciati was a disciple of Mario Balassi and Lorenzo Lippi. He specialized in floral still lifes, a genre that became very important in Italy at the time, especially in Tuscany, and in which Scacciati excelled. In collaboration with Bartolomeo Bimbi, he produced numerous canvases with plant and animal themes commissioned by the Medici. Works by his hand are currently preserved in various Italian collections and other European and American countries, including the Pitti Palace in Florence.