MARIO DEI FIORI
(b. 1603, Roma, d. 1673, Roma)

Flowers in a Vase on a Stone Ledge

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Oil on canvas, 71 x 61 cm
Private collection

The sole aim of the layout of this bouquet on a stone tabletop, is to prominently display a wide variety of flowers. The abundance out of which a rose, narcissi, tulips, anemones, jasmine, carnations and, at the top, a branch of passion-flower materialise, does not in any way detract from our viewing, as each flower is different from the others, in both form and colour. The painter depicts pistils, open and closed petals, stems curling in on themselves, and backlit foliage with an entirely naturalist precision. The gaps between the leaves allow the warm browns of the backdrop to filter through, in opposition to the cold greens of the richly decorated metal vase and of the foliage of the foreground.