Where can I see Still Life with Artichokes and a Parrot?

Still Life with Artichokes and a Parrot is held by National Gallery of Art.

What movement is Still Life with Artichokes and a Parrot?

Still Life with Artichokes and a Parrot is associated with Baroque.

Still Life with Artichokes and a Parrot (17th century)

About this work

Technique & Style

No further details about the artist's handling, surface condition, or specific stylistic characteristics are provided in the sources.

Still Life with Artichokes and a Parrot is executed in oil paint on a canvas support. The work measures 63.8 cm in height and 95.3 cm in width. The medium is described as oil on canvas, indicating a traditional seventeenth-century technique of pigment suspended in linseed oil applied to a woven textile ground.

The piece is classified as a painting and belongs to the still life genre. No further details about the artist's handling, surface condition, or specific stylistic characteristics are provided in the sources.

History & Provenance

Still Life with Artichokes and a Parrot is an oil-on-canvas painting attributed to an Italian 17th-century artist and dated to circa 1650. Its provenance begins with M. Knoedler and Co. of New York, which held the work in 1967 and lent it to an exhibition at the Newark Museum that year. It subsequently passed to Lore and Rudolf Heinemann in New York, then to Heinemann's estate.

The painting was offered at Christie's, London, on 4 July 1997 (lot 93), bought in, and was gifted to the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., in 1998, where it remains in the collection. No inventory number is recorded in the sources.

Context

Still Life with Artichokes and a Parrot is an Italian 17th-century oil on canvas still life, dating to circa 1650. As a representative work of the still-life genre in that period, it reflects the broader artistic context of Italian Baroque painting. The painting is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., and was lent to the Newark Museum for an exhibition in 1967.

Overview

This painting, titled Still Life with Artichokes and a Parrot, is an oil on canvas composition. It depicts a detailed arrangement on a windowsill, featuring a vibrant parrot alongside various natural elements. The artwork showcases a careful study of light and form, presenting a domestic scene with a striking visual contrast between the living creature and the botanical items.

Subject & Meaning

The composition centers on a colorful parrot, distinguished by its green and blue plumage and red beak, perched on the left side of a windowsill. Arranged beside it are several artichokes, a scattering of red berries, and a modest bouquet of flowers, including blue and white blossoms alongside red poppies. This collection of natural objects creates a diverse textural and chromatic display within the still life genre.