Lot 47: Gabriel de la Corte , Madrid 1648 - 1694 Still Lifes of Flowers in Sculpted Vases, flanked by Sculpted Scrollwork with Eagle Heads a pair, both oil on canvas

a pair, both oil on canvas Quantity: 2

measurements note each: 98 by 123 cm.; 38 1/2 by 48 1/2 in.

Believed to have been in the collection of the Marqués de Camarasa, Spain, during the 19th century;
Thence by descent to the present owner.

PROPERTY FROM A SPANISH NOBLE COLLECTION
These are particularly fine still lifes by Gabriel de la Corte, the last significant flower painter working in Madrid during the 17υth century. Stylistically they are much indebted to the local flower painting tradition established in Madrid during the mid-17th century by the likes of Juan de Arellano and Bartolomé Pérez, who in turn were greatly influenced by the Roman still life painter Mario Nuzzi, called Mario dei Fiori.

The compositional types however are more reminiscent of Flemish prototypes, the vast profusion of flowers emanating (rather improbably) from the small sculpted vases revealing an affinity with the great still lifes of Jan Brueghel the Elder. De la Corte's superficial style, in which the picture surface is filled with a profusion of blooms without any real sense of depth or three-dimensionality, is particularly suited to the decorative function of these impressive works, which judging from their di sotto in su perspective were probably designed as overdoors or as part of a decorative scheme within a Madrileñan palacio. The artist's distinctive handling and his predilection for the architectural scrollwork can be compared with other works including, for example, two still lifes in the Naseiro Collection, Madrid.υ1

We are grateful to Dr. Peter Cherry and Prof. William Jordan for tentatively endorsing the attribution to Juan de la Corte on the basis of photographs. 1. See Floreros españolas del Siglo de Oro, Madrid, Museo del Prado, 15 November 2002 - 2 February 2003, nos. 37 & 38, reproduced.