Lot 2040 D α

The imposing canvas fit well in a cultural context of extreme interest, namely the early development of Neapolitan still life: from the beginning of the 17th century, a mixture of local and foreign painters – it is interesting to note that a Flemish community is registered in Naples at the end of the XVI century - were active for aristocratic patrons in the Parthenopean city.
Christopher Marshall (C. Marshall, "'More Beautiful than Nature Itself': The Early Commercial and Critical Fortunes of Neapolitan Baroque Still Life Painting”, in The Open Arts Journal, issue 6, pp. 129-145) , notes the exceptional value attached to the still life genre from a relatively early date, and remarks that not only Neapolitan still life should be considered ‘the most important and richest of all such schools in Italy’ (Luigi Salerno, La Natura Morta Italiana 1560- 1805, Rome, 1984, p.105), but also found an unique high critical status and a broader reception amongst early collectors.
The genre overcame the boundaries of a minor category, and a significant
number of still lifes included large-scale figures executed by acclaimed figure painters, such as Massimo Stanzione and Artemisia Gentileschi. This collaborative output was received with great enthusiasm by Neapolitan collectors and these paintings can be seen as the forerunners of a combined type of still life with large-scale figures that would grow and develop in monumental pieces painted by Luca Giordano in collaboration with the still life specialists of the 1680s

Although present painting is evidently the result of a cooperation of two very highly skilled artists, its attribution has been a difficult rebus: when it first appeared on the art market in 2002, the canvas was ascribed by professor Spinosa to Luca Forte and Salvator Rosa, with a dating around 1640s (verbal communication).
Although the background links strongly to examples by Rosa, this first hypothesis was overcome by the critic: Leone De Castris suggested the names of Paolo Porpora and Micco Sapdaro, whereas Roberto Middione confirmed the name of Spadaro for the figure and advanced the hand of Giovanni Battista Recco for the fishes.
Recently, Valeria Di Fratta endorsed the attribution to Giovanni Battista Recco for the still life: the thick and quick brushstrokes, the saturated coloring and the silvery reflections of the shiny skins are indeed very typical for the artist. The scholar proposed the name of Massimo Stanzione for the figure: the resolute realism, the characteristic sfumato of the flesh tones, the facial features, but also the heavy treatment of the clothing, recall other examples by the artist: in particular, the Christ in the Museo Nazionale degli Abruzzi, l´Aquila, and a study for a head recently surfaced on the market, most likely a portrait of the same sitter.
Indeed, Stanzione, who had tight contacts with the Recco Family – he baptized one Giuseppe's sisters (L. Salazar, Documenti inediti intorno ad artisti napoletani del XVII secolo, in Napoli nobilissima, 1897, vol. 6, n. 9, pp 129-132 (p. 131), showed a strong interest towards still lifes representations throughout his career, working together with the most estimated still life painters of the time, including Recco himself.

We are grateful to Dr Valeria di Fratta for her kind assistance in the catalogue entry and to Professor Riccardo Lattuada for endorsing the attribution proposed by Dr Di Fratta.