(Naples 1629–1693)
Still life with peaches figs and blackberries,
oil on canvas, 78.5 x 103 cm, framed

Provenance:
Anna Maria Croce collection, Naples, late 19th century;
thence by descent to the present owner

The attribution of the present painting to Giuseppe Ruoppolo has been independently confirmed by Riccardo Lattuada and Andrea G. de Marchi after examination of the painting in the original.

Contemporary information about Giuseppe Ruppolo is scarce. De Dominicis, in his Vite, states that he was a nephew of Giovanni Battista Ruppolo (see B. De’ Dominici, Vite de’ Pittori, Scultori, ed Architetti Napoletani, Naples 1742, vol. III, p. 298).

The present composition shows the influence of Giovanni Battista Ruoppolo as well as the early works of Giuseppe Recco. The lack of firmly attributed works and documentary information have made it difficult for art historians to reconstruct the painter’s oeuvre.

At present Giuseppe Ruoppolo’s corpus includes a number of certain works, some of which are signed, and all characterised by the firm illumination of the objects, by a rapid but precise brushwork, and by a particular manner of arranging the varieties of fruit. These are all features that can be found in the present painting, which can be compared to the Still life with fruit (oil on canvas. 68 x 118 cm) published with an attribution to Giuseppe Ruoppolo by Middione in the catalogue of the artist’s works (see: R. Middione, in: F. Zeri (ed.), La natura morta in Italia, Milan 1989, p. 924, ill. 1116). The attention to detail, the bright lighting, and the rendition of the different surfaces of the various fruit make of the present still life an important addition to the corpus of paintings by Giuseppe Ruoppolo.