ATTRIBUTED TO PIER FRANCESCO CITTADINI | Still life of a vase of flowers, musical instruments, two flasks, a dish with sweets and other objects on a table

oil on canvas

With Paolo Sapori, Spoleto;
Anonymous sale ("In the Light of Caravaggio: Still lifes from a Private Collection"), New York, Sotheby's, 22 May 2018, lot 48;
There acquired by the present owner.

Turin, Fondazione Accorsi, 'L'incantesimo dei sensi: una collezione di nature morte del Seicento per il Museo Accorsi,' 30 November 2005 - 1 May 2006, no. 18.

A. Cottino, 'L'Incantesimo dei sensi: Una collezione di nature morte del Seicento per il Museo Accorsi,' exhibition catalogue, Turin 2005, pp. 78-79, 110, cat. no. 18, reproduced p. 19. 

The canvas has been relined and the surface is somewhat pressed as a result. Overall the composition still reads quite well and presents a very decorative image. Some small losses can be seen at the extreme lower left and lower right corners. There are some thinnesses to the darks of the background, the tools at lower right and to the lute at center left. Under UV light: there appear to be some very small old retouches to the right side of the vase and to the background area between the vase and the glass flask at right resting on the tazza. Others can be seen on some of the flowers, lute and guitar, mostly in the form of inpainting of craquelure. This painting can be hung as is. Offered in a gilt wood frame.
The lot is sold in the condition it is in at the time of sale. The condition report is provided to assist you with assessing the condition of the lot and is for guidance only. Any reference to condition in the condition report for the lot does not amount to a full description of condition. The images of the lot form part of the condition report for the lot provided by Sotheby's. Certain images of the lot provided online may not accurately reflect the actual condition of the lot. In particular, the online images may represent colours and shades which are different to the lot's actual colour and shades. The condition report for the lot may make reference to particular imperfections of the lot but you should note that the lot may have other faults not expressly referred to in the condition report for the lot or shown in the online images of the lot. The condition report may not refer to all faults, restoration, alteration or adaptation because Sotheby's is not a professional conservator or restorer but rather the condition report is a statement of opinion genuinely held by Sotheby's. For that reason, Sotheby's condition report is not an alternative to taking your own professional advice regarding the condition of the lot.

This painting was traditionally attributed to Paolo Antonio Barbieri, the brother of Guercino, but an attribution to Pier Francesco Cittadini has been proposed by Cottino (see Literature). Cottino relates the picture to a painting in the Pinacoteca Civica of Cento, 'The Kitchen Worker,' which had also been called Barbieri but was recently re-attributed to Cittadini by Daniele Benati.¹  Cottino dates the present work to Cittadini's mature period, when the artist was living in Rome.

1. See Cottino, under Literature, p. 78, and D. Benati, in 'La natura morta in Emilia e in Romagna,' 2000, p. 45, fig. 11.