Still life with wine, bread, glasses and the remains of a meal

Details

Provenance:
Kunsthandel Xaver Scheidwimmer, Munich, acquired there in 1977 (as Italian, c. 1630);
since then in private collection, Bavaria;
by inheritance to the present owners.

Description

The present depiction, like the previous lot probably created in the circle of Carlo Magini (1720-1806), is a typical example of the Italian kitchen and banqueting pictures that became popular in the 18th century as symbols of representative wealth. The food and kitchen utensils arranged on a tabletop in a calculated disorder shine out of a colour scheme coordinated with a muted, olive-brown background: a stack of plates, slices of mortadella, two filigree glasses, a small pan, a halved loaf of bread and a chain of sausages dangling from the wall, attached to a nail. A demijohn, a silver salt cellar, wilted celery stalks and various simple containers complete the table setting. The white tablecloth has been carelessly thrown over the remains of the meal, while the flies have already settled on it. The artist cleverly places the objects and dishes in relation to each other, emphasising the diversity of surfaces and textures as well as the play of light on the objects.