Sumptuous still life of flowers in a garden (1), Francesco Lavagna (Naples, 1684 – 1724)

Francesco Lavagna (Naples, 1684 – 1724)

Sumptuous still life with flower arrangements in a garden (1) (LINK)

Neapolitan school of the first half of the 18th century

oil on canvas (102 x 75 cm – with frame 116 x 88 cm)

Work accompanied by expertise of Prof. Emilio Negro

The valuable painting, depicting a sumptuous composition of flowers scenically arranged in an elegant outdoor garden, is the work of Francesco Lavagna (Naples, 1684 – 1724), one of the best-known protagonists of Neapolitan still life art of the early eighteenth century, whose training , in analogy with Gaspare Lopez, took place at Andrea Belvedere's atelier.

It is an excellent example of the aesthetic level and expressive qualities achieved by the painter, capable of vividly creating complex compositions with a great decorative effect and a characteristic rocaille taste, also showing an excellent chromatic sensitivity, enhanced by the skilful games of glazing and thicknesses of matter, but above all of a brightness that radiates without obstacles or failure.

Appreciated and sought after both by the antiques market and by critics, the Neapolitan still life was in the past requested by great collectors, destined to enrich the most beautiful buildings in Naples and its surroundings. And Francesco Lavagna was much loved by this client, with his large canvases, never banal and endowed with a descriptive capacity of notable visual impact.

The concept of conceiving such a complex composition, played on a concatenation of flower vases of different shapes and sizes, but united by the same framing, immediately makes us imagine an overall project, which the artist must have probably conceived by examining the spaces which it was intended for.

The compositional choices are typical of the painter's repertoire, who loved to create his floral compositions, from different varieties of botanical species, set en plein air within gardens; the flower bouquets are harmoniously colourful, positioned inside vases or baskets arranged with apparent randomness and disorder.

It will then be useful to point out how this type of posed nature composed mainly of fresh flowers often took on a symbolic meaning, that is, they implied a sort of metaphor for the transience of life and beauty, a transience similar to fresh flowers that shine in the morning but have already faded at sunset.

The historiographer Bernardo De Dominici in the "Lives of Neapolitan painters, sculptors and architects" of 1742 exalts Lavagna's abilities, underlines the talent of our painter who, compared with that of his master, exhibits greater freedom of execution. This aspect finds precise correspondence with the canvas, in which the stylistic modernity allows a connection with the late eighteenth-century flourishes, with strong references to Francesco Guardi.

The painting is in excellent conservation conditions, accompanied by an elegant period frame, in perfect rococo style, in carved and gilded wood.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

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