Attributed to Gasparo Lopez. "Lopez dei Fiori" (Naples 1677-Florence, 1732) Still Life with Flowers, Birds, and a Fountain. Oil on canvas mounted on board. The still life presented here shows close stylistic similarities to the work of Gasparo Lopez, a leading figure in 18th-century Neapolitan painting after Andrea Belvedere and the French flower painters. Gasparo Lopez was an excellent flower painter belonging to the Neapolitan still-life school inspired by Paolo Porpora, Giovanni Battista Rouppolo, and Andrea Belvedere, from whom he learned to paint. He later settled in Florence, where he became court painter to the Grand Duke. It is the biographer Bernardo de Dominicis who points out how decisive the influences of Jean Baptiste Dubuisson were in his career. Dubuisson was a skilled disseminator in Naples of the courtly customs of Jean Baptiste Monnoyer, leading him to a style of painting with an ornamental taste but characterized by vibrant color. His works are characterized by a decorative and refined taste, with great attention to detail in depicting different types of flowers. The sheer quantity and floral richness of his compositions live up to his nickname, “di Fiore” (of the Flowers). Architectural fragments, richly decorated plates or vases, often featuring putti, birds, small animals, and cascades of flowers, are used to create floral settings typical of a culture where a fresh aesthetic absolutely prevailed. The contrast between the colors of the earth and those of the flowers creates a vibrant and dense atmosphere, intensifying the composition. The background is illuminated by plays of light, giving substance to the vase and the fountain and illuminating the petals with vivid colors. As Rita Iacopino notes, “Lopez demonstrates, consistent with the times, a particular sensitivity with a representation of Baroque still life in more authentically decorative terms, giving life to what has been defined as ‘naturalistic Baroque,’ a nature not described realistically, but idealized and sublime.” To compare with the work made by Lopez in 1658 and preserved in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. Reference bibliography: "Gaspar Lopez pittore di principi e gentiluomini", by Alberto Cottino. Catalog of the exhibition held at the Gallery De Primi Fine Art SA, Lugano, November 17, 2010-15 January 2011. Genoa, 2010. and "Dopo Caravaggio Fiori dipinti del Seicento napoletano nelle collezioni di Palazzo Pretorio e della Fondazione De Vito", by Nadia Bastogi and Rita Iacopino. Claudio Martini editor. Prato, 2020. 'Vite de pittori, scultori ed architetti napoletani", by Bernardo de Dominici. Forni, 1971. 116 x 89 cm.
