GIOVANNI PAOLO CASTELLI known as SPADINO (Rome, 1659 - 1730) Still Life Oil on canvas, 74.5X100 cm Provenance: London, M. Koester Gallery (1967) Private collection Exhibitions: London, M. Koester Gallery, 38 Duke Street, 9 October ; 20 December 1967 Bibliography: Apollo September 1967 Zeri Archive, no. 89164 Datable to the end of the 17th century or the very first years of the following century, this work stands out as an important addition to the catalogue of Giovanni Paolo Castelli known as Spadino (Rome 1659-1730) due to its clear style and quality. The Baroque decorative exuberance, the precise description of the fruit and the setting are unmistakable clues also borrowed from the examples of Campidoglio and the Flemish Abraham Brueghel, marking the evolution of Capitoline still life in the second half of the 17th century. The contribution of the German Christian Berentz (documented in Italy from 1689) must not be overlooked in his training, especially for his attention to the luministic direction that brightly delineates forms and embellishes colour tones. Nevertheless, the clear sign and luminosity indicate an analogy with the canvas already by Costantino Nigro dated 1703 (Bocchi 2005, fig. GPS10) and especially with the one in a private collection made known by Bocchi, due to the similar chromatic felicity and 'joyful excess', outcomes that represent the apex of the naturalistic results of the Baroque still life (Bocchi 2005, fig. GPS 11). Reference bibliography: L. Salerno, La Natura morta italiana, 1560-1805, Rome 1984, pp. 265-269 L. Laureati, L. Trezzani, La natura morta postcaravaggesca a Roma, in La Natura morta in Italia, Rome 1989, II, pp. 728-753 L. Trezzani, Giovanni Paolo Castelli, in La Natura morta in Italia, Rome 1989, II, pp. 836-842 G. Bocchi, U. Bocchi, Naturalia. Nature morte in public and private collections, Viadana 1992, ad vocem G. Bocchi, U. Bocchi, Pittori di natura morta a Roma. Italian Artists 1630-1750, Viadana 2005, pp. 591-624