Artwork
Still Life with Fruit and Carafe
Still Life with Fruit and Carafe is an oil painting by the Baroque artist Pensionante del Saraceni. It dates from 1615 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Technique & Style
The composition is classified within the still life genre, emphasizing the formal arrangement of the depicted objects.
Created in 1615, Still Life with Fruit and Carafe is executed in oil paint on a canvas support. The work measures 50.4 cm in height and 71.6 cm in width. As a still life, the painting focuses on the depiction of fruit arranged alongside a carafe.
While specific details regarding the artist's brushwork, surface handling, or current physical condition are not detailed in the available records, the medium and support align with the standard practices for Italian Baroque panel and canvas paintings of the early seventeenth century. The composition is classified within the still life genre, emphasizing the formal arrangement of the depicted objects.
History & Provenance
Created around 1615, Still Life with Fruit and Carafe is an oil on canvas by the Pensionante del Saraceni. The earliest documented provenance places the painting in the collection of Fejer de Buck in Rome, possibly by 1929, when Roberto Longhi published it as being in a Roman private collection. No further details regarding Fejer de Buck are known.
Count Alessandro Contini Bonacossi, operating between Rome and Florence, subsequently acquired the work. The Samuel H. Kress Foundation in New York purchased the painting from Contini Bonacossi in 1935, supported by expert opinions dated to that year. In 1939, the Kress Foundation gifted the artwork to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., where it remains today.
Still Life with Fruit and Carafe is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. The painting entered the museum's holdings in 1939 as a gift from the Samuel H. Kress Foundation. Prior to this acquisition, the Kress Foundation purchased the work in 1935 from Count Alessandro Contini Bonacossi, who maintained residences in Rome and Florence. Before joining the Contini Bonacossi collection, the artwork was possibly owned by Fejer de Buck in Rome by 1929.
While specific inventory numbers are not detailed in the provided records, the work is documented within the Kress Collection Digital Archive and was listed in the National Gallery of Art's Preliminary Catalogue of Paintings and Sculpture published in 1941.
Legacy
The work entered the Kress collection in 1935 and was gifted to the National Gallery of Art in 1939, placing it within a major public collection and ensuring continued scholarly attention; Longhi's 1929 publication identified it as part of a Roman private collection, highlighting early recognition of its significance; its inclusion in the Kress archive and subsequent catalogues has contributed to ongoing studies of early Baroque still‑life, reinforcing its reputation as an exemplar of the genre; today the painting remains on view at the National Gallery of Art, where its presence informs both public appreciation and academic discourse on 17th‑century Italian art.
Overview
Still Life with Fruit and Carafe is an oil on canvas painting created around 1615 by the artist known as Pensionante del Saraceni. This work exemplifies a common genre of the period, presenting an arrangement of inanimate objects. The composition focuses on a selection of fruit alongside a carafe, rendered with a directness characteristic of early 17th-century still life painting.
Subject & Meaning
The painting features a modest arrangement of fruit and a carafe positioned on a table. The fruit appears ripe and succulent, suggesting a recent harvest or preparation for consumption. Its informal placement, alongside the carafe, contributes to an impression of spontaneity and domesticity. This unpretentious setup invites the viewer to consider the simple pleasures of everyday life and sustenance.
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