Full Record |
| Title |
Kitchen Utensils |
| Collection |
Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle |
| Artist |
Attributed to circle of Recco, Giuseppe (Italian painter, 1634-1695)
Previously attributed to Meléndez, Luis Egidio (Spanish painter, 1716-1780)
Previously attributed to Spanish School
Previously attributed to Velázquez, Diego (Spanish painter, 1599-1660) |
| Date Earliest |
possibly about 1650 |
| Date Latest |
possibly about 1700 |
| Description |
This still life was previously ascribed to the Spanish school, but it is now thought to be by an artist from the circle of the Neapolitan painter Giuseppe Recco. The composition is reminiscent of the Spanish bodegón, a type of still life depicting humble foodstuffs and everyday objects. The combination of fish and kitchen utensils is characteristic of the Neapolitan school. The careful arrangement of horizontal and vertical lines is typical of Recco's paintings, although the handling lacks his intensity. Recco's fame reached other European courts and he was invited to work in Spain by Charles II. |
| Current Accession Number |
B.M.25 |
| Subject |
still life (fish, vegetables, pans) |
| Measurements |
59.0 x 94.8 cm cm (estimate) |
| Material |
oil on canvas |
| Acquisition Details |
Bequeathed by the founders John and Joséphine Bowes 1885. |
| Provenance |
Purchased by John and Joséphine Bowes from the collection of the late Conde de Quinto, after 1860(?), cat. no. 138, as by Diego Velázquez. |
| Notes |
Paper label on the back: 'BRUN / Restaurador'. This painting has been associated with the Spanish school and attributed to Diego Velázquez, Luis Meléndez and to a painter belonging to the circle of Mateo Cerezo. The latter attribution was made by Martin Soria, who proposed the dates 1650-60. In correspondence (1996), Federico Zeri attributed it to the Spanish school. Fred G. Meijer, of the Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, referred to this painting as 'either North-Italian or central European, towards 1700' (correspondence, 1995).The Bowes painting has similarities with the Still Life with Fish catalogued as 'school of Recco' (Museum Bredius, The Hague, inv. no. 92-1946, cat. nr. 134).<.p> The handwriting on the note that the painter included in the composition on the right is not legible, but the stamp recalls the arms of the Spanish King, under whose government Naples was subject at the time. See Spinosa, N., 'La Natura Morta a Napoli', in Pirovano, C., (ed.), La Natura Morta in Italia, Milan, 1989, vol. 2, pp. 852-71 and pp. 903-14. |
| Rights Owner |
The Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, Co. Durham |
| Author |
Dr Mercedes Cerón |
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