(Reggio Emilia 1677–1720 Pisa)
Porcelain cups and a ‘Façon de Venise’ glass on a salver, with a ewer of wine, a peeled lemon, peaches and other fruit, all before a plinth with a cello, a recorder and scores of music,
oil on canvas, 100 x 75 cm, framed

Provenance:
Collection of Lorenzo Pellerano (1847–1931), Buenos Aires;
his sale, J. C. Naon, Buenos Aires, 27 August 1938, lot 350;
Private collection;
sale, Christie’s, New York, 25 January 2002, lot 41, sold for $ 138,000 (as Cristoforo Munari)

The present painting is a typical work by the Emilian artist Cristoforo Munari, one of the leading Italian still life painters of his time. The realistic treatment of materials, the attention to detail and the objects juxtaposition of surface textures evident in this work, characterise the artist’s production. The subtle effects of light on the various items reflect the painter’s mastery: From the transparency of the ewer and wineglass filled with wine, to the reflection of the porcelain on the metallic salver and to the solid carving of the wooden musical instruments.

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, books or sheets of music, 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).

Munari began his career in his native city as a protégé of Rinaldo d’Este, Duke of Modena, before travelling to Rome in 1703, where he found patronage among the leading aristocratic families. By 1706 he had moved to Florence and there completed commissions for Ferdinand de’ Medici, Cosimo III, and Cardinal Francesco Maria de’ Medici.