Flowers and sculptures

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In this second painting, as in the first, flowers occupy a large amount of space and, always against the back-lit background, are rendered opulently and smoothly, with a richness of colour predominantly including intense reds, delicate pinks, and luxurious whites.  This taste for flowers earned Porpora the nickname “Paolo dei Fiori”, and in the Nordic style he associates Chinese porcelain and fragments of bas-reliefs or familiar animals such as ducklings, ladybirds, and snails with the flowers, which add life and spirit to the sumptuousness of the bouquets.  These two compositions, with their Baroque exuberance, pay tribute to the vitality of nature.