Poppies in a Wine Flask
Unidentified artist, Italian (Roman), 17th century
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio
(Italian, 1571–1610)
Medium/TechniqueOil on canvas
Dimensions65.1 x 56.5 cm (25 5/8 x 22 1/4 in.)
Credit LineCharles Potter Kling Fund
Accession number50.651
On View
Not on viewClassificationsPaintings
Collections
It was once believed that this still life was the work of the great seventeenth century Italian painted Caravaggio. Caravaggio’s revolutionary paintings focused on everyday people and objects, which he depicted with robust naturalism and made emphatically three-dimensional through bold contrasts of light and shadow. Only one still life is now convincingly attributed to Caravaggio, but his influence can be seen in many Italian examples.
InscriptionsFalsely signed, lower right: M A'Cariva [...] feProvenance17th century, said to have been acquired in Italy by the Earls of Leicester, Penshurst Place, Kent, England and passed by descent within the Sidney family to William Philip Sidney (b. 1909 - d. 1991), 6th Baron De L'Isle and Dudley, Penshurst Place [see note 1]; by about 1949, sold by the Baron de L'Isle and Dudley, possibly to or through Hans Gronau (b. 1904 - d. 1951), London [see note 2]. By 1949, acquired by Paul Cassirer, Ltd., London; 1950, sold by Cassirer to the MFA for $20,160 [see note 3]. (Accession Date: April 13, 1950)NOTES:
[1] According to Grete Ring on behalf of Cassirer (letter to the MFA, April 29, 1950), Cassirer purchased the painting through an intermediary. She had visited the Baron De Lisle and Dudley, however, and stated that this painting was one of the "oldest acquisitions of the 17th century" and while it was at Penshurst Place, it was attributed to an Italian, 17th century artist. [2] A letter from Hanns Swarzenski of the MFA to Carmen Gronau (November 16, 1953) suggests that Gronau "discovered" the painting, and that it might subsequently have sold at auction. [3] Accessioned by the MFA as "Poppies in a Chianti Bottle" by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio.
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