Lot 1109 Dα

The oeuvre of Gabriello Salci, a Roman artist who appears to have specialised in still lifes, has only begun to be rediscovered in the last few decades. The most important sources for identifying his works are three signed and dated paintings by the artist. One is kept in the collection of the Prince of Liechtenstein (dated 1716), a second in the Szépmüveszeti Múseum in Budapest (dated 1719) and the third in an Italian private collection (dated 1719, cf. Bocchi, op.cit.). Whilst the latter piece is purely a game still life, the present work displays parallels to both the Budapest and Vaduz pictures. Interesting similarities include the ornamentation of the red carpet in the Budapest painting and the lace-edged white tablecloth in the Liechtenstein work.
Numerous German and Flemish still life painters were active in Rome in the second half of the 17th century, including Franz Werner von Tamm, Christian Berentzen and Maximilian Pfeifer. As Bocchi notes, Salchi's style was not only influenced by these artists, but also by his compatriots Pietro Navarro and Giovanni Paolo Spadino. Considering the scarcity of securely attributed works by this artist, this previously unknown piece monogrammed “G.S.” represents an important step in reconstructing the artistic identity of this gifted painter.
We would like to thank Dr. Fred Meijer for his help in identifying and cataloguing this piece.