A Pair Of Fine 17th-century Still Lifes.

A pair of still lifes painted in oil on canvas, executed with great skill, depicting gilded vases with sculptural decorations featuring classical grotesques and containing lavish floral arrangements.

The paintings are attributed to the artist Francesco Caldei, known as Francesco Mantovano (Mantua, 1584 – Venice, 1674).
The dimensions of the paintings, including the non-contemporary frames, are 120 x 94 cm.
Mantovano was a painter likely of Mantuan origin but trained in Venice, whose body of work was only recently reconstructed in 1998 with the recovery of four of his historically documented works from the storage facilities of the Accademia dei Concordi in Rovigo. From that initial group, a clear image emerged of a specialist in flower painting, an artist characterized by a habit of repeating his motifs with a propensity to depict antique vases with masks and vases decorated with reclining or lying figures. The Mantuan artist’s presence in Rome cannot be precisely dated, but it is a fact that must be taken into account given the similarity of his compositions to the repertoire of Mario Nuzzi, known as Mario dei Fiori, and other artists active in Rome.


We are including a historical certificate of authenticity with the sale.