SILVER AS AN IRRENOUNCABLE PROTAGONIST IN PAINTING
The first images with representations of Still Life can be found in beautiful floor mosaics and ancient frescoes on the walls,between archaeological excavations and museums.Over the centuries great masters have ventured into the creation of paintings with still lifes. Depending on the historical context and the artist's personality, several absolutely magnificent works have come down to us. At the beginning of it all was the painting of a very talented 20-year-old Milanese, to ignite the fuse that detonated the Italian pictorial art Michelangelo Merisi known as Caravaggio. Very young he created the painting FRUIT BASKET – 1594/1598 [ Ambrosiana Art Gallery Milan ] In this work, everything speaks to us of beauty,the wealth of details the cut of light on the fruit that seems to pierce the picture; thanks to the compositional balance, the basket takes on a visceral vitality, placing itself among the masterpieces of Caravaggesque painting. Great teacher with a restless life, Caravaggio is a contemporary of Fede Galizia, a young painter born like him in Milan; it is therefore possible that the two met having in common a passion for art.
FRUIT BOWLS AND UPSTANDS, GLASSES AND TRAYS ALL IN SILVER
Thanks to this woman with great pictorial skills the Silver becomes the protagonist in the Still Life. The Milanese Fede Galizia, she is an artist of the highest level and high skill in compositions of still lifes. She grew up in the workshop of her father, a famous miniaturist, already at the age of nine he demonstrates his artistic skills; over time it creates miniatures,jewels and garments. At eighteen he paints the famous picture GIUDITTA WITH THE HEAD OF OLOFERNE * 1596,this is a portrait of Faith in the role of the biblical heroine; the dramatic effect of the work is mitigated by the pride expressed by the young woman wrapped in richly decorated clothes, with splendid jewels and an elaborate hairstyle that frames her face. Virtuosity and attention to detail will be his passe-partout for success. At thirty-two, aware of his talent, he composes the painting CHERRIES IN A SILVER FRUIT * 1610 in a symphony of colors[L’opera è al National Museum of Woman in Arts a Washington]This precious still life is the demonstration of the value and creative taste of Fede, in this composition the dark background, sharpens the vividness of the cherries placed on the welcoming silver fruit bowl that lights up at the touch of light. On the level of the composition there is a butterfly resting on the leaf of a tuft of cherries that seems to move the colorful wings just opened. The centrality of the work and the hidden melancholy that transpires in the composition create a temporal suspension and an extension of the spatial dimension. In his brilliant artistic career the multifaceted Fede Galizia has painted more than sixty paintings and of these works, no less than forty-four are still lifes. His predilection for backsplashes and fruit bowls in various materials (Silver,Glass,Ceramic) made his compositions unique and instantly recognizable; giving her imprint to Still Life as a woman and as an artist.
GOBLETS, GLASSES, DISHES AND AMPHORES, FROM THE NETHERLANDS TO FRANCE A SILVER GLOSSY PERVAVES THE EUROPEAN STATES
The Flemish naturamortisti,they developed a pictorial style that diverged from the Italian one; making extensive use of monochromatic paintings by Heda Willem Claesz,famous Dutch Baroque artist painted BREAKFAST TABLE * 1631 [Gemaldegalerie Alte Meister of Dresden Germany] In the painting, the background remains neutral with respect to the composition. The objects are connected to each other by an invisible diagonal that creates balance. The artist focuses on the role of light hitting matter and the effects it creates. The silver cup lights up and reflects the glow like the rest of the composition; it is the triumph of the skilful monochromatic use that is enveloping. Another beautiful work by the same painter STILL LIFE WITH CLOCK, GLASSES AND HAZELNUTS * 1633 [L'opera è al Kunschandel Bijl-van Urk,Alkmaar Netherlands]
Almost black and white in the composition, the artist involves the viewer with lighting effects that create three-dimensionality in the work. The silver plate protrudes from the compositional base reflecting the image of the resting clock. The hazelnuts and the overturned glass convey a sense of natural everyday life. The silver mug shines at the touch of the light that brings out the precious engravings.
The last Flemish painter I want to remember, has placed splendid silver objects in this composition of Still Life; it is Brueghel Abraham descended from a dynasty of famous painters. He was born in Antwerp but spent his life in Italy where he worked,he took a wife and remained until his death. He has captured the essence of Italian polychromism, pouring it with great skill into his works. STILL LIFE WITH VASE OF FLOWERS,DISHES AND EMBOSSED AMPHORA * 17th century second half [The work is located in the Galleria Previtali in Bergamo]
The painting has a rectangular composition which creates great depth. In the foreground, two small groups of flowers are placed on the table, some protrude beyond the base thus accentuating the three-dimensionality. In the background on one side there is a vase full of flowers with overflowing corollas, on the other, an amazing embossed amphora in silver makes a fine show of itself. On the bottom of the work there are silver plates,the central one demonstrates the fine workmanship of inlays thanks to the magic of the touches of light that sublimates the material in the work and makes it intense. The painting is harmonious, the rich composition is balanced by the skilful use of details and the delicate imprint that makes everything shine.
THE FRANCE OF LUIGI XV
At the end of this silvery journey we are in France with the last fantastic artist Jean Baptiste Simeon Chardin. Simple but refined man, very sensitive and gifted with great irony that shines through in his self-portraits; he lived in the eighteenth century under his great admirer King Louis XV. The Sovereign allowed him to live and work in the Louvre; here he spent his life in a careful search for the everyday that he carried in his works. Chardin favored simple everyday objects and the gestures of ordinary people; thus aligning himself with the opposite of his contemporary artists. His works with the variation of light effects on objects and people, they communicate the emotions he felt in front of the painted subject. An example of his poetic brushwork is the painting
THE SILVER GLASS * 1760/1768 [The work is located in the Louvre Museum in Paris] This small still life contains all the greatness of Chardin, the shades of colors reflected by the silver glass are the focal point of the work; the compositional simplicity stops time in the moment of normal everyday life that appears to us. Bowl, spoon, fruit and a glass of silver give life to strong suggestions that strike the observer. The background and the plan with the composition, together with a warm light creates a harmonious whole full of enveloping emotions. In at least six still lifes Chardin has placed this simple and elegant silver glass, perhaps out of a sense of affection for the object; inserted in the compositions enriches the harmonious whole with its sparkle. The choice is never accidental, the daily life that surrounds it is made up of objects and people that emanate strong sensations. The naturalness of his pictorial themes, his attentive and meditative gaze, make him an intimate and spiritual poet who silently describes the wonder of everyday life.
