Lot 1075 D α

The painter Carl Borromäus Ruthart was born in Gdansk but spent the majority of his life in Italy following stays in Antwerp and Vienna. He entered the abbey of S. Maria Collemaggio in L´Aquila in 1672 where he became a monk and a painter. In Italy he was known under the name of Carlo Borromeo Rutardo and it was here that he painted the majority of his works.
This large format canvas originates from a collection in Milan. Both the composition and the motif can be securely attributed to Ruthart's oeuvre. Unusual groupings of animals, ranging from ostriches and other birds to lions, leopards, rabbits, and deer, are characteristic of his work, and these motifs brought him considerable renown as an animal painter. He places considerably less importance on the figures: Adam and Eve, the protagonists of the Genesis story, are shown in diminutive form in the background. This compositional motif is also characteristic of Ruthart's work, and the figures are stilistically similar to those in other paintings by this artist.
Ruthart frequently left his paintings unsigned, but it is possible that a monogram or small signature could be discovered beneath the centuries old patina that covers the work.