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50 - Agostino Verrocchi (attributed to) – Still Life with Baskets…
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Estimate €8,000 - €12,000
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Description
Agostino Verrocchi (attributed to) – Still Life with Baskets of Fruit, Bunches of Grapes, Quinces, Pomegranates, Figs, Flowers and a Bird in Flight Oil on canvas, 69 x 119 cm The composition unfolds across two overlapping planes, following a strict and orderly layout typical of early 17th-century Roman still lifes. On the upper shelf, a low woven basket holds figs and other fruits, flanked by bunches of dark grapes spilling out to either side; a small bird in flight appears in the top left-hand corner. On the lower level are arranged quinces, an open pomegranate, other fruits and, on the right, a large basket brimming with white grapes. The almost paratactic arrangement of the elements, set against the dark background and sharply defined by the light, is one of the recurring features in the work of Agostino Verrocchi, a painter documented in Rome in the parish registers of San Lorenzo in Lucina between 1619 and 1636. His artistic style, which was previously associated with the Neapolitan school, has subsequently been attributed by critics to the Roman cultural milieu of the early seventeenth century.In this painting, the light lingers on the surfaces of the fruit, on the translucent grapes and on the weave of the baskets, making them emerge from the half-light in a manner still deeply rooted in the naturalistic tradition of Caravaggio’s school. Particularly characteristic is the attention paid to the different materials: the uneven skin of the quinces, the glossy surface of the pomegranate, the compactness of the bunches of grapes and the texture of the plant fibres are depicted with almost tactile precision.The painting bears significant similarities to the still lifes now attributed to Verrocchi, including the canvas depicting fruit and artichokes in the Civic Museums of Pesaro and the Still Life with Fruit in the Sabauda Gallery in Turin, in which the horizontal arrangement of the objects, the prominence given to the wickerwork containers and the strong isolation of the fruit against dark backgrounds. However, the multi-layered composition and the abundance of elements lend this work a particularly intricate character. The presence of the bird and the small flowers scattered amongst the fruit also introduces a lively element that breaks up the rigid stillness of the whole, whilst the open pomegranate at the centre of the scene serves as an effective chromatic and compositional focal point.The work thus fits fully within the tradition of Roman still-life painting of the first half of the 17th century, of which Verrocchi was one of the leading figures rediscovered by modern critics. Federico Zeri attributed to him several compositions characterised by similar combinations of fruit, vegetables, flowers and baskets, thereby contributing to the reconstruction of the artist’s body of work. Framed. Comparative bibliography: M. Gregori, ‘Notizie su Agostino Verrocchi e un’ipotesi per Giovanni Battista Crescenzi’, in *Paragone*, no. 275, 1973, pp. 35–37; A. Cottino, ‘Agostino Verrocchi’, in F. Zeri (ed.), *La natura morta in Italia*, Milan, 1989, vol. II, pp. 720–727; M. Gregori (ed.), *La natura morta italiana. From Caravaggio to the 18th Century, exhibition catalogue, Florence, Palazzo Strozzi, 2003.
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About the sale Paintings and Drawings from the 15th to the 19th century
Auction location
Auction time 10/29/2026 at 3:00 PM
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