A cornflower, a tulip, a carnation and other flowers in a glass vase on a stone ledge; and A tulip, roses, jasmine and other flowers in a glass vase on a stone ledge, with a dragonfly

The cool red and green tonalities of this pair of still lifes, the metallic brilliance of the light and the delicate refinements are fully characteristic of Florentine painting, and it had previously been thought that they were early works by the Florentine artist, Carlo Dolci. Another Florentine, Andrea Scacciati, however, appears closer, painting with a palette of rich, oily pigments visible here. His biographer, Giovan Camillo Sagrestani, noted at the time that the secret of Scacciati's success was his initial training as a figure painter, learning first from Mario Balassi and then Lorenzo Lippi, 'who exhorted him to study from nature every type and quality of flower'. We are grateful to Dr. John Spike for his assistance in cataloguing this lot.