Maximilian Pfeiler (active 1683 to c. 1721) Still Life with Watermelon and Still Life with Grapes and Figs, oil on canvas, 62 x 76 cm, with frame 79 x 92 cm. The pair of fruit still lifes presented here can be attributed to the hand of the Czech artist Maximilian Pfeiler, active from 1683 to c. 1721. Biographical information and chronological references to the artist are scarce. The few existing sources indicate that in 1683 he was a member of the Guild of Painters in Prague, his home town, and one of the best pupils and followers of Christian Berentz (1658-1722), a painter of German origin who travelled first to the Netherlands and then settled in Rome, introducing northern European themes related to the naturamortist genre, in which he specialised, to Italy. It is unclear whether Pfeiler's apprenticeship at Berentz took place directly in Rome, where the Czech artist was certainly active from 1694 onwards, establishing collaborations with Francesco Trevisani and Michele Rocca and achieving enormous success. In the Roman capital, Pfeiler soon succeeded in carving out a prominent role for himself in the artistic scene of the late 17th - early 18th century, producing extravagant and recognisable compositions of fruit and flowers that were highly appreciated by illustrious men, such as Cardinal Joseph Fesch, who commissioned several paintings for his collection. The two sumptuous specimens under scrutiny present the main highlights of his repertoire as a great still-life specialist: the realistic depiction of fruit, the finely embroidered fabrics and the shiny metal plates, combined in a complex and elegant composition that is carefully balanced. Pfeiler includes in his repertoire a series of recurring fruits of different seasons, such as grapes and tapering vine shoots, figs, peaches and watermelons, tirelessly blending them into increasingly exuberant compositions typical of the decorative instances of late Baroque still life. The en plain air setting, influenced by the example of the Flemish Franz Werner Tamm favoured by the painter, lends the reproduced objects a special luminosity, enhancing Pfeiler's rich and contrasting palette and giving full emphasis to his virtuosity in light effects and surface rendering.
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SILVER Seller in Milano, Italia
