Bidspirit auction | PANFILO NUVOLONE (Cremona, 1581 –

PANFILO NUVOLONE (Cremona, 1581 – Milan, 1651) - Still Life with Lemon and Apples - Oil on slate. Dimensions: 17 x 19.5 cm. Dimensions with frame: 31.5 x 37.5 cm. We are grateful to Professors Sandro Bellesi and Giancarlo Sestieri for their assistance in cataloging this work, whose attribution to Panfilo Nuvolone has been confirmed by both specialists. Their corresponding expert reports are attached. This painting is a refined example of the still lifes produced by Panfilo Nuvolone, one of the most prominent and original figures in the Lombard art scene of the first half of the 17th century. The composition depicts two apples of different shades and a lemon arranged on a stone shelf, creating a scene of extraordinary formal simplicity yet great visual intensity. Far from any narrative artifice, Nuvolone focuses all attention on the direct observation of the fruit, studied with meticulous naturalism and a sensitivity to light that reveals the artist's profound interest in the representation of nature. Considered one of the most charismatic figures in Lombard still life painting of the 17th century, Panfilo Nuvolone developed a personal style that blended the naturalistic tradition derived from Caravaggio with an extraordinary ability to lend monumentality to the humblest objects. Although his fame also rests on his religious compositions and large altarpieces, it was in the still life genre that he achieved some of his most original and highly regarded creations. In this work, executed on slate, a support particularly prized during the 17th century for the chromatic intensity and visual depth it lends to painting, the fruit acquires an almost sculptural presence thanks to the masterful treatment of light and the economy of means employed by the artist. The composition can be considered a small pictorial gem, fully representative of the reflection on the study of nature that characterized the finest Lombard production of the period. The work was exhibited at the Biennale Internazionale dell'Antiquariato di Firenze (BIAF) in 2022 and 2024, as well as in the exhibition ”Tutti Frutti: A Fresh Harvest on the Classics,” held at the Sainte Anne Gallery in Paris from June 8 to 18, 2023. It was also included in the important exhibition ”Caravaggio e il suo tempo, tra naturalismo e classicismo,” held at the Castello Normanno Svevo in Mesagne between July 16 and December 8, 2023. Bibliography: Pierluigi Carofano and Tamara Cini (eds.), Caravaggio e il suo tempo, tra naturalismo e classicismo, catalogue of the exhibition held at the Castello Normanno Svevo in Mesagne, Locorotondo Editore, 2023, pp. 116-117. Exhibitions: Tutti Frutti: A Fresh Harvest on the Classics, Sainte Anne Gallery, Paris, June 8-18, 2023. Biennale Internazionale dell'Antiquariato di Firenze (BIAF), 2022 and 2024 editions. Caravaggio e il suo tempo,Between Naturalism and Classicism, Castello Normanno Svevo, Mesagne, July 16 - December 8, 2023. Lot in international warehouse (within the EU). Intra-community shipment: no import duties apply within the EU. Export permit from the country of origin may be required.