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Lot Essay
The life and work of Bartolomeo Castelli the Elder remains enigmatic. The founder of a small dynasty of still life painters, his work influenced that of his brother Giovanni Paolo and of his nephew, also named Bartolomeo. From archival documents, it is known that Castelli died in 1686, when his brother was only twenty-seven years old, suggesting that he himself had a relatively brief life and career.
Active in the mid-seventeenth century, he was a near contemporary of the somewhat better known Michelangelo Pace del Campidoglio, with whose work Castelli’s is often confused. A starting point for the reconstruction of his oeuvre was the discovery of a ‘BC’ monogram on a small still life with Grapes, apples and pumpkins (see G. and U. Bocchi, Pittori di natura morta a Roma. Artisti italiani 1630-1750, Viadana, 2005, p. 584, fig. BCV.1). On the basis of this canvas, a small number of paintings can be grouped, characterised by strong similarities with the work of Campidoglio, especially in the composition. The latter had been foremost in developing the compositional device of depicting opulent, lavish displays of fruit, strewn over rocky ground, painted with more bravura. This can be seen in Castelli’s own work, utilising similarly arranged groups of fruits on exterior rocky ledges, but painted with a more rigorous technique. Bartolomeo gives less emphasis to the landscape, which is painted in a more sombre tone, instead concentrating of the still life itself. The painter frequently included pumpkins and grapes and was especially adept at rendering leaves, which he described with a carefully modulated palette of green and yellow hues.
We are grateful to Dr. Ludovica Trezzani for proposing the attribution on the basis of photographs.
Active in the mid-seventeenth century, he was a near contemporary of the somewhat better known Michelangelo Pace del Campidoglio, with whose work Castelli’s is often confused. A starting point for the reconstruction of his oeuvre was the discovery of a ‘BC’ monogram on a small still life with Grapes, apples and pumpkins (see G. and U. Bocchi, Pittori di natura morta a Roma. Artisti italiani 1630-1750, Viadana, 2005, p. 584, fig. BCV.1). On the basis of this canvas, a small number of paintings can be grouped, characterised by strong similarities with the work of Campidoglio, especially in the composition. The latter had been foremost in developing the compositional device of depicting opulent, lavish displays of fruit, strewn over rocky ground, painted with more bravura. This can be seen in Castelli’s own work, utilising similarly arranged groups of fruits on exterior rocky ledges, but painted with a more rigorous technique. Bartolomeo gives less emphasis to the landscape, which is painted in a more sombre tone, instead concentrating of the still life itself. The painter frequently included pumpkins and grapes and was especially adept at rendering leaves, which he described with a carefully modulated palette of green and yellow hues.
We are grateful to Dr. Ludovica Trezzani for proposing the attribution on the basis of photographs.