Skip to Main Content

Provenance

Cardinal Joseph Fesch [1763-1839], Rome, after 1815;[1] (his sale, Palazzo Ricci, Rome, 17 March 1845 and days following, no. 1009, as by Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione); purchased by (Alessandro Aducci).[2] Reginald Cholmondely, Condover Hall, by 1876;[3] (his sale, Christie, Manson & Woods, London, 6 March 1897, no. 66, as by Velázquez); bought by Martin Colnaghi for Sir John Charles Robinson [1824-1913], London,[4] buying for Sir Francis Cook, 1st Bt. [1817-1901], Doughty House, Richmond, Surrey; by inheritance to his son, Sir Frederick Lucas Cook, 2nd Bt. [1844-1920], Doughty House; by inheritance to his son, Sir Herbert Frederick Cook, 3d Bt. [1868-1939], Doughty House;[5] by inheritance to his son, Sir Francis Ferdinand Maurice Cook, 4th Bt. [1907-1978], Doughty House, and Cothay Manor, Somerset; sold February 1948 to (Gualtiero Volterra, London) for (Count Alessandro Contini Bonacossi, Florence);[6] purchased March 1949 by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, New York;[7] gift 1961 to NGA.

Exhibition History

1876
Wrexham, Wales, 1876, no. 2, as by Velasquez.
1879
Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1879, no. 162, as by Velasquez.
1901
Guildhall, London, 1901, no. 133, as by Velasquez.
1913
Exhibition of Spanish Old Masters in Support of National Gallery Funds and for the Benefit of the Sociedad de Amigos del Arte Espagnola, Grafton Galleries, London, 1913-1914, no. 6, as 17th Century Spanish, possibly Francisco Herrera the Younger.
1983
Italian Still Life Painting from Three Centuries, National Academy of Design, New York; Philbrook Art Center, Tulsa; Dayton Art Institute, 1983, no. 35 (cat. by John Spike).
1992
Kunst in der Republik Genua 1528-1815, Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt, 1992, no. 68, repro.

Technical Summary

The support is a loose, uneven plain-weave fabric, prepared with a warm red-brown ground. The background was sketched in first with reserves left for the still-life composition, which was worked up in layers wet-over-dry, and with scumbles and glazes, although some passages were painted wet-into-wet. The paint consistency varies from liquid and thin to moderate impasto in the highlights. X-radiographs reveal that the design was executed precisely with no artist's changes.

The tacking margins have been removed, but cusping is visible on all four edges. There are small losses scattered throughout and some minor abrasion, which is concentrated in the lower quarter. Discolored varnish was removed and the painting was restored by Mario Modestini in 1948.

Bibliography

1883
Curtis, C. B. Velázquez and Murillo. London, 1883: 36, no. 81, as related to but not securely attributable to Velázquez
1906
Robinson, J. C. "The Bodegones and Early Works of Velazquez." The Burlington Magazine 10 (1906): 178, as by Velázquez.
1907
Robinson, J. C. "The Bodegones and Early Works of Velazquez II." The Burlington Magazine 11 (1907): 39-40, repro., as by Velázquez.
1913
Borenius, Tancred. "Two Still-Life Pictures by Murillo (?)" The Burlington Magazine 24 (1913): 74, repro., as possibly by Murillo.
1915
Mayer, August. "Über einige Velazquez zu unrecht zugeschriebene Stilleben und Genrebilder." Monatshefte für Kunstwissenschaft 9 (1915): 126, pl. 35, fig. 3, as by Mariano Nani.
1926
Bodkin, T. "New Attributions to Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione." The Burlington Magazine 48 (1926): 264-265, pl. II-c, as by Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione.
1950
Longhi, Roberto. "Un momento importante nella storia della 'natura morte." Paragone 1 (1950): 39.
1952
Sterling, Charles. La nature morte de l'antiquité à nos jours. Paris, 1952: 56.
1959
Paintings and Sculpture from the Samuel H. Kress Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1959: 225, repro.
1962
De Logu, Giuseppe. La natura morta italiana. Bergamo, 1962: 48, 171, fig. 106.
1964
Ottani, Anna. La natura morta italiana. Exh. cat. Palazzo Reale, Naples, 1964: 108.
1965
Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 134.
1968
National Gallery of Art. European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. Washington, 1968: 121, repro.
1970
Castelnovi, Gian Vittorio. "La pittura nella prima metà del Seicento dall'Ansaldo a Orazio De Ferrari." In Colette Bozzo Dufour (vol. 1) and Gianfranco Bruno (vol. 2), eds. La pittura a Genova e in Liguria. 2 vols. Genoa, 1970-1971: 2(1971):165.
1970
Torriti, Piero. "La natura morta e il paesaggio." In Colette Bozzo Dufour (vol. 1) and Gianfranco Bruno (vol. 2), eds. La pittura a Genova e in Liguria. 2 vols. Genoa, 1970-1971: 2(1971):336-338, fig. 220 (2nd ed. 1987).

1972
Fredericksen, Burton B., and Federico Zeri. Census of Pre-Nineteenth Century Italian Paintings in North American Public Collections. Cambridge, Mass., 1972: 209.
1973
Shapley, Fern Rusk. Paintings from the Samuel H. Kress Collection: Italian Schools, XVI-XVIII Century. London, 1973: 93, fig. 170.
1975
European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 360, repro.
1979
Longhi, Roberto. "Progetti di lavoro di Roberto Longhi: Genova pittrice." Paragone 349 (1979): 18, pl. 95.
1979
Shapley, Fern Rusk. Catalogue of the Italian Paintings. 2 vols. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1979: 1:516-517; 2:pl. 361.
1984
Salerno, Luigi. La natura morta italiana 1560-1805/Still Life Painting in Italy. Rome, 1984: 148.
1985
European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 418, repro.
1989
Cottino, Alberto. "Anton Maria Vassallo." In La natura morta in Italia 1989: 1:134, fig. 137.
1989
Griseri, Adreina. "La natura morta in Liguria." In La natura morta in Italia 1989: 1:114.
1989
Krawietz, Clara. "Un itinierario nell'opera pittorica di Anton Maria Vassallo." Arte Documento 3 (1989): 190, fig. 19.
1989
Newcome, Mary. "Anton Maria Vassallo." In La pittura in Italia. Edited by Mina Gregori and Erich Schleier. 2 vols. Rev. ed. Milan, 1989: 2:915.
1990
Gavazza, Ezia. La pittura in Liguria. Il secondo seicento. Genoa, 1990: color pl. 48, 275, 436.
1992
Bocchi, Gianluca, and Ulisse Bocchi, eds. Naturalia. Nature morte in collezioni pubbliche e private. Exh. cat. Galleria d'Orlane, Casalmaggiore, Turin, 1992: 78.
1992
Lodi, Letizia. "Antonio Maria Vassallo." In Gavazza, Ezia, and Giovanni Rotondi Terminiello, eds. Genova nell'Età barocca. Exh. cat. Palazzo Spinola; Palazzo Reale, Genoa. Bologna, 1992: 282.
1996
De Grazia, Diane, and Eric Garberson, with Edgar Peters Bowron, Peter M. Lukehart, and Mitchell Merling. Italian Paintings of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 1996: 323-327, color repro. 325.

Related Content

  • Sort by:
  • Results layout:
Show  results per page
The image compare list is empty.