Still life with a composition of flowers and watermelon and a herm with a garden in the background, by Francesco Lavagna (Naples 1684-1724)

Francesco Lavagna (Naples 1684-1724) Still life with a composition of flowers and watermelon and a herm with a garden in the background Oil on canvas, Dimensions H 48 x W 65, frame H 66 x W 83 x D 6 Price: private negotiation Object accompanied by a certificate of authenticity and expertise at the bottom of the page. The painting, beautifully made and in good condition, depicts a lavish composition of flowers and fruits set in an elegant garden. Attributable to the Neapolitan painter Francesco Lavagna, it presents compositional and stylistic similarities with certain and signed works by the painter. In our collection, we also offer a pair of paintings attributed to Lavagna and of the same dimensions. In the painting presented here, we observe compositions of flowers lying on the ground in front of a wicker basket resting on a watermelon. On the right, a watermelon cut in half and some figs chromatically balance the composition. In the background, we see a triumph of flowers inside a large vase decorated with anthropomorphic heads and a herm, also adorned with flowers. On the right, architectural elements and a column create a backdrop to the scene. The composition leaves ample space for the description of the surrounding environment: it is a formal, or Italian-style, garden characterized by a geometric division of spaces obtained with the use of hedges and plant sculptures created by pruning evergreen bushes. One can observe a boxwood topiary, pruned into an arch, while a backdrop of trees stands out against a blue sky, in which some soft clouds drift. Clearly belonging to the Neapolitan school, the canvas shows undisputed analogies with the style of the painter Francesco Lavagna (1684-1724). He is one of the protagonists of Neapolitan still life painting of the early 18th century. Neapolitan 18th century still life, in the field of still life, is very appreciated and sought after today both by the antique market and by critics. It was appreciated and much requested in the past by great collectors and patrons, wealthy gentlemen owners of the most beautiful palaces in Naples and surroundings. Today it is still under study, and very little information is available about Francesco Lavagna himself. Numerous artists tried their hand at still life painting and their figures are slowly re-emerging from oblivion, allowing critics to delineate their stylistic characteristics, grouping bodies of work under certain names, especially thanks to the discovery of signed works. The distinction between the hand of some painters such as Giuseppe and Francesco Lavagna and Gaspare Lopez remains very difficult. The same works appear in catalogs and in the antique market sometimes attributed to one, sometimes to the other artist. Francesco Lavagna, as mentioned, was active in Naples in the first half of the 18th century. He is often confused with Gaspare Lopez and Giuseppe Lavagna, probably linked to him by a family tie, and also an interpreter of the same pictorial genre. The canvas very well documents the expressive qualities of Francesco Lavagna, capable of creating works that are never banal and imbued with a descriptive ability, of remarkable visual impact, in the rendering of the effects of light, color and matter, characterized by a fine and meticulous brushstroke. Carlotta Venegoni