Pseudo Stanchi (Rome, 17th century), Flora with garland

Pseudo Stanchi (active in Rome from the second half of the 17th century)
Female figure with a wreath of flowers and fruits
Oil on canvas, 103 x 90 cm - with frame 112 x 95 cm
Expertise Prof. Alberto Crispo

The painting examined depicts a young woman with long hair blondes holding up a garland of flowers and fruits. The woman is only surrounded by a soft cloth at the hips and intensely observes the viewer. His figure emerges from the dark background and is illuminated by warm daylight. The wreath she gently supported is described in detail so as to be able to distinguish the colorful floral species and the different varieties of fruit that compose it. For stylistic and formal characteristics, the work is attributable to an artist called by the fictitious name Pseudo Stanchi, since his compositions recall the production of the well-known family of Roman painters. Probably active in Rome from the second half of the seventeenth century to the end of the century, Pseudo Stanchi looked, in addition to the workshop of the Stanchi, to other masters of the baroque period such as Abraham Brueghel, Tamm and De Conick, even if the schematic nature of layout and sharpness of the touch even recall early seventeenth-century models. For a comparison with the analyzed painting, look at the garland presented on the German antiques market in which we find the flowers clearly marked and marked by bright colors, almost strident in the combination of the most diverse chromatic tones. The same floral varieties are found in a Female Figure with Flowers (Flora?) Cataloged in the Zeri Archive, in which the girl is not so far from the one outlined in our painting, even if more deeply carved by the chiaroscuro contrast; finally, see the Still life with flowers and fruit also in the Zeri Photo Library, which reveals the skills of the Pseudo Stanchi in broader compositions.