First Half Of The 18th Century, Brescia School, Couple Of Living Natures With Birds

First half of the 18th century, Brescia school

Couple of living natures with birds

(2) Oil on canvas, cm 33.5 x 24

With frame, cm 28 x 38

The northern Italian painting school developed from the 16th century a particular predilection for a sincere naturamortism that investigated with heartfelt vividness and naturalistic virtuosity those subjects traditionally found in the drawing repertoire; Living natures of animals set so, preferentially way, creatures of the undergrowth, courtyard and pastoral. The feverishly tactile processing of the pictorial material had encouraged an ever greater preference for alignment with the trends then coming from the Flemish countries; these characteristics are found in the present pair of live natures with birds, probably produced in Tuscany in the first decades of the eighteenth century.

In the first of the two animal paintings, a lively scene with different birds with colorful feathers is animated. Some seem to interact with each other, appearing depicted in flight or perched among the dark and earthy vegetation that serves as a background for the branching and animated composition. There are several species, each with its own chromatic peculiarities, which capture the eye of the observer for their uniqueness and vivacity. The second painting also shows a group of birds in a natural environment with the same characteristics. Here, the focus is more on a single bird in the foreground, with more defined details in the plumage, with vivid and bright colors. The other birds seem to move around, creating an interesting dynamic within the elaborate composition. Both paintings share a palette of colors ranging from the dark tones of earth and foliage to the more vivid touches of birds' plumages, developing a contrast that was quite common in the painting of live natures of the seventeenth century and early eighteenth century.