Flowers and fruits

Information

These two still lifes are considered among Porpora’s masterpieces.  Trained in Naples, he then joined the Academy of Saint Luke in Rome, where he was influenced by Flemish painters such as Daniel Seghers.  Creating a link between the still lifes of southern and northern countries, he would be the definitive artist of the genre in Neapolitan painting.  In a veritable Studio del vero, he represents each element with precision and minute detail, with a naturalism inspired by Caravaggio, filled with strong contrasts between shadows and light.  Here, a violent backlight with dark and fantastical silhouettes of plants reveals the sumptuousness of a basket of fruits, the delicacy of flowers, and a bird that stands out against a patch of sky.