Attributed to Pietro Paolo Bonzi, called Gobbo dei Frutti or Gobbo dei Carracci

With Anthony Reyre, London and New York, by whom sold in 1946 to Hearst;
William Randolph Hearst, by whom given to,
The Hearst Foundation, New York and California;
Gift of the Hearst Foundation to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, 1946, (acc. no. 46.16.19).

W.R. Valentiner, "Baroque Paintings", in Bulletin of the Art Division, Los Angeles County Museum, Spring 1947, pp. 10-11, reproduced fig. 3 (as Michael Sweerts);
W. Stechow, "Some Portraits by Michael Sweerts," in Art Quarterly, Detroit Institute of Arts, XIV, 1951, p. 215, no. 38;
E. Battisti, "Profilo del Gobbo dei Caracci," in Commentari 5 (1954), p. 302;
R. Kultzen, Michael Sweerts, dissertation, Hamburg 1954, no. 151;
P. Wescher and E. Feinblatt, Los Angeles County Museum, Catalogue of Paintings I: Catalogue of Italian French and Spanish Paintings, XV-XVIII Century, Los Angeles 1954, p. 40, cat. no. 36, reproduced;
C. Sterling, Still Life Painting from Antiquity to the Present Time, New York 1959, p. 141, no. 119;
B. Fredericksen and F. Zeri, Census of Pre-Nineteenth-Century Italian Paintings in North American Public Collections, Cambridge, Massachusetts 1972, p. 591;
S. Schaefer, et al., European Painting and Sculpture in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles 1987, p. 22, reproduced;
R. Kultzen, Michael Sweerts, Doornspijk 1996, p. 138, cat. no. R20, reproduced plate 176 (listed under "Rejected Attributions");
E.M. Zafran, "Michael Sweerts in America: Collecting, Commerce and Scholarship," in Michael Sweerts (1618-164), exhibition catalogue, Amsterdam, Hartford, and San Francisco 2002, pp. 59-60, reproduced fig. 55.

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com , an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This canvas has recently been lined and the painting restored. The varnish is a little uneven but the retouching is fairly effective, although a reexamination would benefit the work. The bulk of the retouches address some thinness which has developed in the shadowed portion of the lower background. The left hand and above the hands has also become weak because of abrasion and there is also a restoration in the sleeve along the bottom of the painting. Although there are a few odd isolated retouches elsewhere, the face and the bulk of the figure are quite well preserved. This restoration in the hand and background is a little awkward and could be reexamined. The lining is sufficient and the texture of the paint, in the hat for instance, is extremely good, but more accurate retouching would make improvements.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

Once ascribed to Michael Sweerts, this painting was subsequently attributed to Bonzi based on its close affinity with Bonzi's Boy with Melon once in the Giustiniani collection and later in the Kaiser Friedrich Museum, Berlin (where it was destroyed).¹

While the subject of this intriguing painting remains unknown, it may illustrate a proverb or saying.  The snail, due to its slowness, is traditionally the symbol of laziness and sloth.  However the snail is sometimes seen as a fertility symbol with its shell representing a womb and its horns and slimy body symbolizing both male and female reproductive organs.  Given the young man's light-hearted demeanor and sly glance, it would seem more likely to be an allusion to something of a sexual nature.

1.  See F. Zeri, La natura morta in Italia, Milan 1989, vol. II, p. 698, reproduced fig. 825.