Still Life of Fruit with Lizard, Franz Werner Von Tamm (Hamburg 1658-Vienna 1754)

Franz Werner Von Tamm known as Monsù Daparait (Hamburg 1658-Vienna 1754) Attributed to

Still life of fruit with lizard

Oil painting on canvas,
58 x 74 cm. – Framed 76 x 92 cm.

This magnificent still life (of which the relative pendant is also available – link -), depicts a composition of fruits, arranged on a dark background, including some juicy bunches of grapes of different qualities, just picked from the vines on whose leaves there are still drops of dew, some apricots placed in a woven wicker basket and some ripe figs placed on a silver plate that reflects their shapes. On the right is portrayed a curious lizard, who turns to check that it is not being seen.

This is an extremely fascinating work, thanks to its detailed and realistic style, its harmonious composition and its masterly use of colour and light, which give the objects a greater plasticity against the dark background.

Each fruit depicted in the work is meticulously painted, capturing its texture, shape and color with great precision, with a detailed approach that creates a sense of realism.

The compositional taste of the canvas allows us to easily attribute its authorship to a master trained in the fervent Baroque Rome of the seventeenth century, in particular Franz Werner von Tamm, known as Monsù Daparait (Hamburg 1658-Vienna 1754), as he fully exemplifies its specific peculiarities, both from an executive and an inventive point of view.

Von Tamm was certainly one of the most varied personalities in the large number of still life painters active in Rome, pursuing a highly successful career in the Papal City; thanks to his friendship with the figurative painter Carlo Maratti, Tamm worked for the great collectors of the aristocracy such as the Pallavicinis, the Falconieris and the Spadas; important patrician commissions that spread his fame throughout Europe: Spain, France, England, Germany. Short stays in Florence and Venice followed, and then the appointment as court painter in Vienna, by the emperor Leopold.

To support the attributive reference, we illustrate below some compositions with the same theme as the painter.

For example, we can find the same lizard in a painting by the painter, from a private collection, catalogued in the Zeri Foundation: https://catalogo.fondazionezeri.unibo.it/entry/photo/156262/Anonimo%20-%20Stilleben%20n.%20F.%20W.%2….

Below are two works, with the same dimensions and type of composition as ours, which could in particular be complements to the series or created at the same time:
– Still Life of Fruit (Alte Pinakothek Munich): https://www.sammlung.pinakothek.de/en/artwork/JzG60p2xWO#&gid=1&pid=1
– Still Life of Fruit with Snail (Alte Pinakothek Munich): https://www.sammlung.pinakothek.de/en/artwork/rqxNrgjxvW/franz-werner-von-tamm/fruechtestueck

Furthermore
– Still Life of Fruit with Melons and Figs, c. 1690, (Museum Hamburger Kunsthalle): https://rkd.nl/images/281635
– Still Life with White Rabbit, dated 1691 (State Museum Karlsruhe): https://rkd.nl/images/279511
– Still Life of Fruit with Game, dated 1720 (Museum Galerie Belvedere Vienna): https://rkd.nl/images/288916
– Still life with apple tree (National Museum in Warsaw): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tamm_Still_life_with_a_musk_melon.jpg
– Still Life of Fruit (Alte Pinakothek Nuremberg): https://www.sammlung.pinakothek.de/en/artwork/8MLv9gyxz3/franz-werner-von-tamm/fruechtestillleben

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

The painting is completed by an antique wooden frame and is sold with a certificate of authenticity and a descriptive iconographic card.

We take care of and organize the transport of the purchased works, both for Italy and abroad, through professional and insured carriers.

Contact us for any information, we will be happy to answer you.

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