Maximilian Pfeiler (active from 1683-c.1721), Still life with fruit

Maximilian Pfeiler (active from 1683-c.1721) Still life of fruit Oil on canvas, 63 x 96.5 cm With frame, 87 x 118 cm Critical note by Prof. Bocchi The life of Maximilian Pfeiler is not very well documented and there are few chronological references regarding his activity. The few existing sources indicate that in 1683 he was a member of the Prague Painters' Guild, his native city, and a pupil of Christian Berentz (1658-1722), a painter of German origin who traveled first in the Netherlands and then settled in Rome, introducing North European themes of the still life genre in which he specialized into Italy. It is unclear whether Pfeiler's apprenticeship with Berentz took place in Rome, where the Czech artist was certainly active from 1694, forging collaborations with Francesco Trevisani and Michele Rocca. Pfeiler thus managed to carve out a leading role in the Roman artistic scene of the late 17th - early 18th century, creating extravagant and recognizable compositions of fruits and flowers that were highly appreciated by illustrious men: for example, some of his works were part of Cardinal Fesch's collection. The painting in question is an example of the quality of Pfeiler's typical production and shows debts to his master Berentz as well as other foreign artists who settled in Rome specializing in still life. As in the compositions of Tamm or Vogelaer, the still life is set against a colonnade with architrave surmounted by statues, suggesting a Roman setting between the last quarter of the 17th century and the beginning of the next, and introducing that taste for ancient ruins that will consolidate in that period. The following still life, composed of fruits, vegetables and birds, has been set up partly on a shelf covered with an elegant turquoise fabric with golden fringes, from which a basket with handles full of various types of fruit has been overturned. Each element is described with extreme technical skill and attention to detail: note in this sense the detail of the crystal wine glass, rendered perfectly in its transparency and fragility; the pulp of the open melons with the seeds in evidence; the shininess and the material rendering of the fabric covering the supporting surface; the meticulousness and the descriptive realism with which each fruit (grapes, peaches, oranges, melons, pomegranates, cherries) and vegetable are depicted. On closer analysis, one can notice that the various fruits depicted do not belong to the same seasonality, an element that would suggest that the artist created some of them without a real model, but painting them from memory, still obtaining a general effect of great naturalism. Also worthy of note is the immense skill of the Czech artist in terms of color combinations: the orange accents of the melons and oranges are enhanced by the complementary turquoise that predominates in the tablecloth. These combinations amplify the effect of three-dimensionality already given by the chiaroscuro contrasts that skillfully balance the more strident colors. Pfeiler, in the analyzed work, as well as in other compositions such as the still life in a private Genoese collection, shows the debts to his master Berentz. This is evident in the great variety of fruits and flowers described and above all in their almost completely filling the available space. The last news of Maximilian Pfeiler is attested to 1721. He presumably spent most of his existence in Rome enjoying a certain success and appreciation from contemporaries, both among artists and among collectors.