Matthew Cook Paintings

Outstanding early 18th-century portrait of a seated Spaniel dog in a landscape with an array of fruits. Attributed to the work of Tobias Stranover. ...

Roman school of the early 18th century Luigi Garzi (Pistoia 1638– Rome1721) attributed Still life of fruit supported by three angels Oil on oval canvas 116 x 91 cm., Framed 140 x 119 cm. Authentication on a photograph by Prof Giancarlo Sestieri, who attributes the work to the sphere of Luigi Garzi This magnificent canvas, depicting a sumptuous composition of fruit supported by three prosperous winged cherubs, from which comes a parchment bearing the Latin expression "Amor est vitae essentia", is to be placed in the production of a Roman author active between the second half of XVII century and the first of the following century. The iconography that sees represented cherubs with fruit or flowers is frequent in the Baroque period, especially in the Roman area, starting from the 1600s, with that particular depictional tendency aimed at illusionistic and frivolous images, to a type of paintings or frescoes of strong value decorative, intended for the private context and depicting jubilation of cherubs, angels or cherubs, and of which our canvas represents a perfect example. We can recall, among the most illustrious iconographic precedents, the elegant mirrors painted by Mario Nuzzi and Carlo Maratta that adorn the hall of Palazzo Colonna in Rome, and again the canvas preserved in the Rouen museum and the similar ones in Palazzo Chigi in Ariccia, with the collaboration for the figurative parts of Filippo Lauri. The commercial and furnishing success of similar works is also testified by authors such as Guglielmo Cortese known as Borgognone (1628 - 1679), Franz Werner Von Tamm (1658 - 1724), Giovan Battista Gaulli (1639 - 1709), Giovanni Paolo Castelli known as Spadino (Rome 1650 - 1740) and the aforementioned Carlo Maratta (1625 - 1713) The work, studied by Giancarlo Sestieri, was brought closer to the sphere of the eclectic Pistoian painter Luigi Garzi, one of the protagonists of Roman painting in the decades of transition between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. In our painting we can find the typical elements of his painting: the soft and delicately chiaroscuro light, the sculptural classicism of the figures as well as the stupendous luministic and chromatic effects. Luigi Garzi's training and artistic activity took place in the Eternal City and he was in effect a Roman artist. He moved to Rome from Pistoia, his hometown at a very young age, and joined the atelier of Andrea Sacchi, who directed his studies towards classicism, comparing himself with the works of Raphael, Domenichino and Nicolas Poussin, but also with the Emilian one. , with particular attention to the school of Guido Reni. But the Emilian examples were undoubtedly preceded, particularly by Giovani Lanfranco, who modeled his taste and style, together with a modulated cortonism, while those pre-eighteenth-century sensibilities are due to the lesson of Carlo Maratta. However, there is no doubt that the painter oriented his personality without ever bowing to imitation, reaching a refined elegance and autonomy of language, as the canvas in question clearly demonstrates in which the different influences find a refined amalgamation in perfect harmony with the baroque evolution between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, indicating a dating to its earliest maturity. These attitudes led the painter to obtain awards and prestigious commissions as soon as possible, such as the frescoes of Palazzo Borghese...

Francesca Volò Smiller, called Vincenzina (Milan, 1657 - 1700) attributed Floral composition overflowing from an embossed vase (LINK) Oil on canvas 79 x 61 cm. Framed 89 x 70 cm. T...

Cubist still life, acrylic and oil on board, by French artist Créqule. Signed bottom right. The painting is presented in a gilt wood frame, under glass. A bold exploration of form a...

Pieter Symonsz Potter Dutch 1600 - 1652 Soldier in an Interior Oil on oak panel, red seal to reverse Image size: 15 x 10 3/4 inches Dutch Ebonised frame Bathed in a well lit roo...

Frans van Mieris the Elder (Leiden 1635 - Leiden 1681) Workshop Elegant company in an interior (or “Self-portrait with his family”) Oil on canvas 50 x 41 cm In a beautiful fra...

This wonderful 17th-century French School vanitas painting is a meditation on mortality and the transience of earthly pleasures. The composition centers on a finely rendered human sk...

Still life - Salvatore Marinelli Italia 2008 - Oil on canvas cm. 60x120 Salvatore Marinelli's canvas is a painting inspired by Abraham van Beyeren Dutch painter, of the Baroque age, ...

In this work, the artist explores the idea of boundaries as something fluid rather than fixed. What appears as a division is, in fact, a space of transition — a place where control a...

In this work, the artist reflects on the nature of hierarchy as something subtle and often unseen. Rather than being defined by size, power, or position, importance emerges through a...

Still life - Giovanni Perna Italia 2006 - Oil on canvas cm.60x80 In this beautiful oil on canvas Giovanni Perna was inspired by the paintings of the Spanish painter of Dutch origin ...

Cubist still life, acrylic and oil on board, by French artist Créqule. Signed bottom right. The painting is presented in a gilt wood frame, with mount, under glass. This composition...