Hot Pamono Antonio Tibaldi, Still Life with Rug, 1660, Oil on Canvas, Framed

Antonio Tibaldi (Rome, c. 1633 – c. 1684)
Still Life with Precious Objects, Brocade Fabrics, and a Plate with Sweets

C. 1650/1660

Oil on canvas (96 x 130 cm – Framed 115 x 150 cm)

For more information on the artist, see the essay: “Still Life Painters in Rome. Italian Artists, 1630-1750” – Gianluca and Ulisse Bocchi – 2005

This prestigious still life, with its incredible scenic effect, depicts an opulent display of precious objects, including vases, jugs, and plates made of precious metals, a stringed musical instrument (a guitar), a cushion, and an elegant fabric embroidered with gold thread. On the right, a precious damask curtain opens the scene like a theater curtain.

The large dimensions of the canvas fit the typically Roman format of the so-called “emperor’s canvas,” a Baroque term used to frame canvases measuring approximately 130 x 90 cm.

The painting is by the Roman painter Antonio Tibaldi, whose compositions enjoyed considerable success in Baroque Rome thanks to his particular attention to the rendering of the exquisite details of the objects depicted, which made each of his works particularly precious and elegant.

He worked contemporaneously with Carlo Manieri, with whom he shared some of the same display formats. However, while the latter indulged in the depiction of elaborate architectural structures, Tibaldi displayed a more pronounced tendency toward saturating spaces and backgrounds enclosed by heavy draperies, in keeping with the fashion set by Francesco Maltese.

For comparison, supporting our attribution, it is easy to mention the two “Still Lifes with Brocades and Goldsmith’s Objects” held at the Musée Fresch in Ajaccio, France, commissioned around 1650 in Rome by Cardinal Fresch, which have more than one competing element, which we see reflected in the canvas presented here.

The pair of “Still Lifes with a Casket, Sweets and Precious Objects,” correctly attributed to Tibaldi and sold on the Milanese antiques market in 1987 (image 2 – Finarte, Milan, May 6-7, 1987, lots 246 and 247, as F. Fieravino), are also virtually identical to ours. In one of the two canvases, the important engraved casket features the heraldic emblem of three bees, testifying to the commission by the Barberini family.

This testifies to the fact that Antonio Tibaldi enjoyed considerable esteem among a Roman patriciate particularly inclined to these pompous depictions, working for the most powerful Roman families: among the most influential patrons, besides the Barberini (Pope Urban VIII), we know also to have included the Chigi (Pope Alexander VII) and the Colonna.

Our painting also features a coat of arms, albeit difficult to interpret (near the base of the vase, embossed in gilded metal), with a rampant lion in an oval shield surmounted by a crown.

Tibaldi’s artistic production is characterized by a series of recurring motifs, which we also find in our work: among these, the tendency to fill the pictorial space as much as possible by placing rugs or damask fabrics on stone tables decorated with Renaissance-inspired motifs. But also the typical sugary sweets, here arranged on a silver platter: biscuits and candied fruit, rendered in a highly personal and distinctive way by Tibaldi, giving them a spongy texture. The same sweets can be found not only in the works mentioned above, but also in the “Still Life with Carpet, Plate of Candied Citrus Fruit and Sweets…” sold at Christie’s in London (image 3 – 8-9 December 1994, no. 379)

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

The work being sold is beautifully framed and comes with a certificate of authenticity and guarantee.