Roses, peonies and tulips in a gold sculpted urn with flowers in a pewter bowl by a rock pool

This picture is similar in style to a group of flower still lifes attributed to Francesco Guardi by Antonio Morassi in his catalogue raisonné (Guardi, I dipinti, Venice, 1973, nos. 911-9). Giuseppe Pilo agreed with this attribution and published the still lifes in Francesco Guardi, I paliotti (Milan, 1983). Records remain unclear about Guardi's still life production and thus the group has at times been assigned to a 'Pseudo-Guardi': alternative attributions have been suggested, including Francesco Duramano and Carlo Henric. However, more recently, Mitchell Merling has noted that there is evidence that flower pieces were produced in the Guardi workshop, and that some of them were painted by Francesco himself. For a more recent discussion on this subject, see G. and U. Bocchi, Naturaliter, Florence, 1998, pp. 466-76.