ANGELO MARIA CRIVELLI known as IL CRIVELLONE (Milan, news from 1662 - c. 1730) Natura viva with eagle, wolf and duck Oil on canvas, 96.5X72 cm Provenance: Rome, private collection The Flemish matrix of the work is very evident, inspired by painters of the Rubensian circle such as Frans Snyder and Paulus de Vos and other specialists such as Jan Fyt, Weenix and Hondecoeter. Crivelli was inspired by these artists and was greatly appreciated by collectors in Lombardy and Emilia. Active in Milan as a genre painter and documented from 1662 to 1730, Crivelli dedicated his art to the depiction of animals and especially hunting themes, and the canvas under examination can be considered typical of his production. The artist's painting technique is refined, rich in lacquers and glazes, well-calibrated thicknesses of drafts and rich in luminosity, according to an expressive accuracy already praised by Orlandi. These aspects contributed to the critical fortune of the artist, who is to be considered one of the best animalier artists of 18th-century Italian painting, and it is no coincidence that he was in the service of the Savoy court and for the Lombard nobility, by virtue of his decorative temperament to great scenic effect. Reference bibliography: L. Beltrame, Museo d'Arte Antica del Castello Sforzesco, edited by M. T. Fiorio, Milan sd, pp. 73-77, nos. 860-861 F. Arisi, Crivellone e Crivellino, Piacenza 2004, ad vocem