Period: 17th century
SOLD This elegant Vase of flowers, oil on canvas, measures 68 x 49 cm without frame and 85 x 66 cm with frame. The vase, in the shape of an amphora with a small round foot, embossed in the upper band with a refined depiction of Galatea on a shell, fits with undeniable relevance into the large number of this fundamental theme of European and Italian "still life", both for the high mimetic value with which the individual flowers are rendered, and for their airy arrangement giving a spatial depth to the composition, despite its classic frontal setting. It is in fact a representative and typical work of Mario Nuzzi known as Mario dei Fiori (Rome 1603 - 1673), whose authorship emerges with clear evidence both from the aforementioned expository imprint and from the detailed descriptivism of the individual flowers executed with his unmistakable stylistic signature, marked by a plastic and linear clarity permeated by a penetrating chromatic-luministic sensitivity. If undoubtedly in this theme he directly linked to the tradition of the Dutch and Flemish masters of the late sixteenth century, certainly appreciated and studied directly by him, Nuzzi knew how to infuse his "Vases of Flowers" with a more palpable objectivity compared to the crystalline clarity of the Nordic masters, adhering from the beginning to the rising fortunes of the Baroque, progressively indulged with ever greater fragrance and expository freedom. Interpretive openings that can already be seen in this painting, in which if the parameters at the top are soaring, others, such as the tulip, show an incipient wilting, but it is especially in the three-dimensional impression that generates this bouquet that the innovative taste of Mario dei Fiori is expressed. So a already mature but not advanced work, as the view from bottom to top, typical of many of his examples placed in the last two decades of his career, is only hinted at here. However, tracing a path, even an elastic one, of Nuzzi's conspicuous activity is difficult, given the scarcity of his securely dated works. However, there are many more than convincing comparisons with the painting here under consideration, which can be expunged from the consultation of the publication edited by G. and U. Bocchi, Still Life Painters in Rome. Italian Painters (1630 - 1750) (Arti Grafiche Padana, Verona 2005, pp.67-142, figs. MN 1-64), including a vast selection of Nuzzi's works and an updated introduction to his personality. On which the criticism had focused from the beginning of modern specific studies, such as those of Sterling and De Logu., followed by his representative presence at the exhibition of the Royal Palace of Naples in 1964 - the first major exhibition and still today the most complete on the Italian "still life" - and by the treatment of L. Laureati (Still Life in Italy, Electa ed. Milan 1989, II, figs. 897-98), to mention only the major stages; but never with the breadth and documentation, as well as with the rich illustrated repertoire, however far from being exhaustive, of the aforementioned work. To this end, we can cite some "Vases of Flowers" already in the Mansi collection in Lucca (op. cit., figs. MN 47-50); very fitting is also the comparison with one of the two octagons in private collection (op. cit., fig. MN 55), as, with reference also to the container, the pair of the Molinari Pradelli collection and the other of the Civic Museum of Como (op. cit., figs. MN 57-58 and MN 59-60). This "Vase of Flowers" fits significantly into the specific catalog of Nuzzi, focused on the iconography most painted by him and of which he was an undisputed protagonist not only Italian but also European. In fact, while linking back to the previous tradition of the Netherlands, the Roman master developed an inventive formula of vast success, with an evolution that moves from the first experiences of the Roman school, in the wake of Caravaggio (Mario not surprisingly was the nephew of Meo Salini), towards more progressive Baroque openings with a prompt adherence to new aesthetic changes. Although it is necessary not to neglect other of his inventions such as the group of works preserved in Spain and the series of seasons of the Chigi palace in Ariccia, undoubtedly the vase of flowers represented one of the key to the success of Nuzzi already widely recognized by contemporary and immediately following sources. We see in the present work the same jasmine of which Mario Nuzzi can be said to be the poet: poet of their fragrant and starry whiteness. They are flowers made by the art of a florist who was also an architect of stems, petals and calyxes. The work, like all our objects, is sold accompanied by a photographic FIMA certificate of authenticity and lawful provenance; this document identifies the object adding value to the article. We personally take care of and organize the packaging and shipping of works of art with insurance worldwide. Dr. Riccardo Moneghini expert in ancient painting - expert of the court