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Still Life with Fruit and Dead Birds in a Landscape
Giovanni Battista Ruoppolo (Italian (Neapolitan), 1629–1693)
Medium/Technique
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
75 x 36.5 cm (29 1/2 x 14 3/8 in.)
Credit Line
Bequest of Mrs. Henry Edwards
Accession Number90.82
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsEurope
ClassificationsPaintings
A still-life specialist, Ruopoolo lived his entire life in Naples and was succeeded by a sizable school of followers. Here, the urn, which rises out of view at the top of the picture, serves to anchor the objects that curve slowly toward the foreground space. The figs, burst pomegranates, cascading grapes, and rough-skinned melon all are featured in many of Ruoppolo’s works.
ProvenanceSaid to come from a gallery in Rome [see note]. Martha Ann Dorr (Mrs. Henry) Edwards (b. 1809 - d. 1882), Boston and Lenox, MA; 1890, bequest of Mrs. Henry Edwards to the MFA. (Accession Date:April 1, 1890)
NOTE: A handwritten label on the stretcher describes it as a fruit piece from an old Roman Gallery.
NOTE: A handwritten label on the stretcher describes it as a fruit piece from an old Roman Gallery.