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Lot Essay
Recent scholarship on the topic of Italian still life painting sheds new light on the body of work of Michele Pace, known as Michelangelo di Campidoglio, whose work is often misidentified with that of his contemporaries, most frequently with Abraham Brueghel. Much of the confusion surrounding the attribution of these pictures stems from the scarcity of signed works. Another contributing factor is the lack of detailed records among their early patrons, who tended to group several still lifes together in their accounts without indication as to who created them.
Despite the inexplicit nature of these inventories, it is thanks to them that we can trace Michele Pace's early activity to 1654. The name first appears in the documents of Marcantonio V Colonna, a loyal patron of the artist until about 1661. Other patrons included Cardinal Flavio Chigi, the nephew of Pope Alexander VII Chigi, who commissioned works between 1658 and 1665; Lorenzo Onofrio and Don Emanuele of Portugal. He was employed to paint a variety of works for these patrons.
Campidolgio is best known for still life paintings of fruit and flowers on staggered stone ledges, as seen in the present painting. His earliest work dates to the 1650s and is thought to be Still life with peaches, figs and a tuberose in a vase (Palazzo Pitti, Florence); (see L. Trezzani in, G. and U. Bocchi, Pittori di natura morta a Roma. Artisti italiani 1630-1750, Viadana, 2005, p. 403). The present example dates towards the end of the artist's career ca. 1667-69. During this late period Campidoglio's brushstrokes are bold and loose and his palette tends towards pink and silver tones.
Despite the inexplicit nature of these inventories, it is thanks to them that we can trace Michele Pace's early activity to 1654. The name first appears in the documents of Marcantonio V Colonna, a loyal patron of the artist until about 1661. Other patrons included Cardinal Flavio Chigi, the nephew of Pope Alexander VII Chigi, who commissioned works between 1658 and 1665; Lorenzo Onofrio and Don Emanuele of Portugal. He was employed to paint a variety of works for these patrons.
Campidolgio is best known for still life paintings of fruit and flowers on staggered stone ledges, as seen in the present painting. His earliest work dates to the 1650s and is thought to be Still life with peaches, figs and a tuberose in a vase (Palazzo Pitti, Florence); (see L. Trezzani in, G. and U. Bocchi, Pittori di natura morta a Roma. Artisti italiani 1630-1750, Viadana, 2005, p. 403). The present example dates towards the end of the artist's career ca. 1667-69. During this late period Campidoglio's brushstrokes are bold and loose and his palette tends towards pink and silver tones.