Lot No. 268


Cristoforo Munari


Cristoforo Munari - Old Master Paintings

(Reggio Emilia 1667–1720 Pisa)
Still Life with Pastries, an open Book and Porcelain
oil on canvas, 70 x 57 cm, framed

The present painting is a typical work by the Emilian artist Cristoforo Munari, one of the leading Italian still life painters of his time. In the foreground of the present composition there are two porcelain beakers and a bowl, with further objects arranged behind them on a stone pedestal: several pastries presented on a pewter plate, a wine glass, a piece of cake, and three books, one of which, on the right-hand side, has been opened, so that the spectator can catch a glimpse of its contents.

In many of Munari´s compositions Chinese porcelain is represented as a precious treasure symbolising the wealth, pride, and elegance of patrician households. Several of Munari’s still life compositions similarly contain a pewter plate, a book, and such porcelain dishes as beakers and bowls, including those in the Galleria Estense, Modena and the Uffizi, Florence (see F. Baldassari, Cristoforo Munari, Milan, 1998, cat. nos. 32, 63). The latter’s arrangement in particular, with a bowl turned upside down and a toppled beaker, recurs in a still life in a Swiss private collection (see F. Baldassari, op. cit., cat. no. 94). Munari also used the interesting motif of a piece of pastry dipped into a wine glass in two paintings in the Molinari Pradelli Collection in Marano di Castenaso, Bologna (see F. Baldassari, op. cit., cat. nos. 24, 25).

20.10.2015 - 18:00

Estimate:
EUR 30,000.- to EUR 40,000.-

Cristoforo Munari


(Reggio Emilia 1667–1720 Pisa)
Still Life with Pastries, an open Book and Porcelain
oil on canvas, 70 x 57 cm, framed

The present painting is a typical work by the Emilian artist Cristoforo Munari, one of the leading Italian still life painters of his time. In the foreground of the present composition there are two porcelain beakers and a bowl, with further objects arranged behind them on a stone pedestal: several pastries presented on a pewter plate, a wine glass, a piece of cake, and three books, one of which, on the right-hand side, has been opened, so that the spectator can catch a glimpse of its contents.

In many of Munari´s compositions Chinese porcelain is represented as a precious treasure symbolising the wealth, pride, and elegance of patrician households. Several of Munari’s still life compositions similarly contain a pewter plate, a book, and such porcelain dishes as beakers and bowls, including those in the Galleria Estense, Modena and the Uffizi, Florence (see F. Baldassari, Cristoforo Munari, Milan, 1998, cat. nos. 32, 63). The latter’s arrangement in particular, with a bowl turned upside down and a toppled beaker, recurs in a still life in a Swiss private collection (see F. Baldassari, op. cit., cat. no. 94). Munari also used the interesting motif of a piece of pastry dipped into a wine glass in two paintings in the Molinari Pradelli Collection in Marano di Castenaso, Bologna (see F. Baldassari, op. cit., cat. nos. 24, 25).


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Auction: Old Master Paintings
Auction type: Saleroom auction
Date: 20.10.2015 - 18:00
Location: Vienna | Palais Dorotheum
Exhibition: 10.10. - 20.10.2015