(Rome active 1662–1700)
Peaches, grapes, figs, pears and apricots on a ledge covered by an ornamental red drapery, and a vase of flowers,
oil on canvas, 74 x 96 cm, framed

Provenance:
Private collection, Italy;
where acquired by the present owner

We are grateful to Alberto Cottino for confirming the attribution of the present painting on the basis of a high resolution digital photograph and for his help in cataloguing (written communication).

The present painting is an important addition to the oeuvre of Carlo Manieri, a still-life painter in late seventeenth century Rome. The artist’s identity has only recently been recovered (see G. and U. Bocchi, Pittori di natura morta a Roma, Viadana 2005, pp. 525) thanks to research which was first presented by Alberto Cottino at a conference held in 2005 at the Seconda Università di Napoli. This revealed documentary evidence identifying the so-called ‘Maestro della Floridiana’, the anonymous author, formerly thought to have been of Neapolitan origin, of a group of canvases representing fruit. The principal corpus of his works is conserved in the Museo Duca di Martina, Naples, while others are in the Museo Civico di Prato and various private collections. A series of canvases has been added to this initial group: these, like the present painting, represent fruits and flowers, and were previously given to Christian Berentz or the so-called ‘Pseudo Berentz’.