Nicola Cassisa

(Napoli )

Attribuito a

The large canvas depicts a rich floral triumph arranged in a stone vase decorated in relief, enlivened in the foreground by the presence of a pheasant and a dragonfly, while in the background remains a landscape.

The composition, constructed with alternating areas of shade and chromatic highlights of the flowers, belongs to the culture of the "Neapolitan still life" between the end of the 17th and the first decades of the 18th century.

The work presents various elements that can be compared to the production of Cassisa, a painter who trained in the workshop of Andrea Belvedere and specialized in sumptuous floral compositions.

The comparison with other works by the artist is significant, in particular a still life with a vase of flowers with a bird set outdoors and preserved in the Civic Museum of Pesaro (128X99 cm).

The card refers to the painter's late production with darker tones.

Further comparisons are offered by the works preserved in Florentine collections where vases of flowers with birds recur.

For the construction of the still life with landscape setting, two canvases presented by Wannenes in the auction of old master paintings of 27/11/2024, lots 178,179, catalogued as works by Cassisa, are useful.

Furthermore, the presence in the canvas of the parrot and the dragonfly associated with the large floral display are not foreign to the artist's repertoire.

De Dominici cites his redundant, Rocaille style, featuring flower vases with a free, loose brushwork that partially neglects botanical accuracy, favoring aesthetic aspects rich in color, imbued with a luminosity that enhances the tonal volumes. Indeed, the large pinkish-white flowers, the red ones, and some small ones are constructed with shortened brushstrokes and light highlights rather than with a detailed botanical description.

The condition of the canvas still shows a first canvas conservation, on the back some small interventions with restoration patches are visible.