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Lot Essay
These delightful anthropomorphic figures composed of fruit and flowers are ultimately inspired by the fantastical creations of the sixteenth-century Milanese painter, Giuseppe Arcimboldo. It remains unclear, however, whether the present group of compositions was directly based on designs by the artist. In his 1642 Le vite de' pittori, scultori & architetti, the painter and historian Giovanni Baglione credited the Florentine flower painter Francesco Zucchi (1562-1622) with the invention of a 'way of composing and coloring the heads of the Four Seasons with their fruits, flowers, and other things which in the time of those seasons Nature customarily brings forth' (see L. Salerno, Still Life Painting in Italy, 1560-1805, Rome, 1984, p. 54). Zucchi may have been introduced to Arcimboldo's innovations via Caravaggio, during the period in which the two artists trained together in the workshop of the Cavaliere d'Arpino. Maria Silvia Proni has recently argued, however, that while Zucchi, who worked primarily in Rome, may have invented this particular type of figural group, the subject was actually popularized by another Roman flower painter, Giovanni Stanchi (1608-after 1673; see G. Bocchi and U. Bocchi, eds. Pittori di natura morta a Roma, artisti Italiani 1630-1750, Viadana, 2005, pp. 273-276).
The masterful handling of the still life elements in the present group of paintings distinguishes them from other known versions of this series (see Bocchi, op. cit., pp. 274-275, figs. FS.31-36), suggesting that they were created by an accomplished painter of considerable skill. Of particular note is the figure of Spring, which varies from the standard iconography of the series by presenting the figure frontally rather than in profile. The inclusion of background elements also distinguishes the present group from other versions of this series, and adds to these figures' almost uncanny presence. Due to their exceptionally high quality, an attribution to Stanchi may be considered.
The masterful handling of the still life elements in the present group of paintings distinguishes them from other known versions of this series (see Bocchi, op. cit., pp. 274-275, figs. FS.31-36), suggesting that they were created by an accomplished painter of considerable skill. Of particular note is the figure of Spring, which varies from the standard iconography of the series by presenting the figure frontally rather than in profile. The inclusion of background elements also distinguishes the present group from other versions of this series, and adds to these figures' almost uncanny presence. Due to their exceptionally high quality, an attribution to Stanchi may be considered.