Michele Antonio Rapos (Torino 1733-1819)

Michele Antonio Rapos (Turin 1733-1819), Still life of flowers and fruit Oil on canvas; frame: cm H 133 x W 124 x D 8 (canvas: cm 108.5 x 108.5) Price: confidential negotiation Item accompanied by a certificate of authenticity and expertise (attached at the bottom of the page) This important and particular painting depicts a triumph of flowers arranged inside a fluted stone vase in an antique style, placed in a garden. The work is presented within a fine contemporary Baroque-era carved and gilded wooden frame. In the foreground on the left, above an architectural element, rests fruit such as a watermelon, grapes, and a peach; on the right, a pheasant in profile enlivens the composition. In the background, a classical Renaissance-style architectural building and some tall trees can be glimpsed. The twilight light makes the atmosphere evocative. The work is attributed to the illustrious Piedmontese still life painter Michele Antonio Rapos (or Rapous, as it is more traditionally written), certainly the best still life artist in Piedmont between the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Highly appreciated by the Savoy court and the local nobility, the artist is present in the main court residences and in numerous private palaces and castles throughout Piedmont. Michele Antonio Rapos was born in Turin in 1733 and died there in 1819. Brother of Vittorio Amedeo, also an important court painter, he specialized in the still life genre, enjoying success at the Savoy court, from which he received commissions for the Royal Palace of Venaria Reale, Stupinigi, and the Royal Palace of Turin. Rapos' still lifes possess particular characteristics that make them easily identifiable. The painter interprets the Piedmontese Rococo style with grace and decorative elegance, demonstrating knowledge of the French still life painters of the eighteenth century.