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Pseudo-VitaliLiving Natures of Animals Pseudo Vitali ( First half of the 18th century)
About the Item
Pseudo-Vitali (Active in Bologna in the first half of the 18th century)
Pairs of Nature Vive with chickens, sheep, wicker basket
Oil on canvas, 80 x 170 cm
Framed, 95 x 185 cm
Critical Record Prof. Alberto Crispo
The two compositions of the same size in a horizontal format are clearly ascribable to that strand of still and living natures in the Bolognese tradition made for some noble residence. The first depicts a living nature piece in which white, thick-coated sheep are depicted along with live and dead chickens within an airy landscape. In the second canvas the duck accompanies dead chickens and wicker baskets and animal cages.
The very high quality of the two canvases allows us to restore them to the still-to-be-reconstructed catalog of a very refined, as well as enigmatic, painter active in Bologna at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries: the so-called Pseudo-Vitali.
This personality has been identified relatively recently and owes his name to the Bolognese characters present in his works and his close relationship with the manner of Candido Vitali (1680 - 1753), a very skilled still life painter who benefited from extraordinary success.
The critical affair that led to the emergence of the pseudo-Vitali began in 1977 when Renato Roli included in the catalog of the painter Candido Vitali a Still Life with Chickens and Flower Purse now preserved at the Opera Pia dei Poveri Vergognosi. Scholar Amelia Cicatelli traces some similar features to another canvas with Volatili e melone in the Dava Bargellini Museum, differing, however, from Candido's art. And this is where the first nucleus of works that form the cornerstone for the compilation of our artist's catalog begins. In later years scholars such as Daniele Benati and Alberto Crispo further expanded the painter's catalog, to which these two unpublished canvases are now to be added.
On more than one occasion it is tempting to bring this able personality out of anonymity, to the scholar Daniele Benati we owe in fact a suggestion of a possible identity with Andrea or Giacomo Monticelli contradicted only by the labile reconnaissance implemented by Massimo Pulini in an attempt to superimpose the figure of Pseudo Vitali on that of Carlo Cittadini (?-1661).
In his works it is possible to discern a usual repertoire of animals, flowers, fruits and vegetables dictated by a frank and real rendering. Pseudo-Vitali's remarkable ability to structure the space in depth, to integrate the still life into the landscape context, and to harmonize the surrounding vegetation with the composition, draws inspiration from the influence of the most distinguished master of 17th-century Bolognese still life, Pier Francesco Cittadini. Look at examples such as Vegetables and Fruit from the Galleria Estense in Modena or the Vase with Musical Instruments (Galleria Colonna, Rome).
Despite this, the exclusive focus on Bolognese influences does not fully account for the stylistic complexity found in the works attributed to pseudo-Vitali. The marked concreteness of his representations suggests a deep understanding of the dominant artistic currents in western Emilia. In particular, there is a remarkable affinity with the production of Felice Boselli, whose compositions share a similar repertoire of subjects and a similar formal approach. The stylistic affinities are not limited to individual elements, but embrace the entire conception of the landscape, in which the background opens up like a theatrical backdrop of lush trees envelops a dusky, gloomy sky. Closer analysis also reveals commissioning links with the work of Angelo Maria Crivelli, known as the Crivellone, suggesting an artistic dialogue and mutual influence between the two painters. Moreover, as proof of the painter's great technical and constructive skill, it should be noted that the pseudo Vitali often transcends the easel format common to all other Bolognese specialists, including Candido Vitali himself. The large paintings that are part of his catalog indicate an artist who specialized in decorating large rooms, as it is obvious that canvases of this size could not fulfill the function of overlays or furnishing accessories common to still life paintings.
It cannot be ruled out that he had some contact with the patronage of Parma, Lombardy, or Piedmont, which precisely to Boselli and Crivellone commissioned large cycles of canvases depicting landscapes and animals, with which to adorn their suburban or even city residences.
- Creator:Pseudo-Vitali (Italian)
- Dimensions:Height: 31.5 in (80 cm)Width: 66.93 in (170 cm)
- Medium:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:Milan, IT
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU2639216022352
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