MICHELANGELO CERQUOZZI

(Rome, 1602 - 1660)

Still Life of Fruit, circa 1625

Oil on canvas, 50 x 65 cm

How did still life evolve after Caravaggio? How can one distance oneself from "thought" without appearing gaudy or simply ornamental?

Michelangelo Cerquozzi, a sublime example of a painter of Bambocciate, battle scenes, and still lifes, follows his natural path, lightening his compositions of intellectuality and enriching them with what he does best: painting.

The brushstrokes lose definition, not at the expense of quality, but in favor of a more vibrant pictorial rendering; the structure is enriched with elements; the carefully studied and refined balances suddenly become refined through masses of color.

This work, which we might call transitory, represents a first departure from Caravaggio's naturalism, which is nevertheless still present, for example in the depiction of the signs of aging on some fruit.

The use of light for scenographic purposes is also completely abandoned, in favor of a more natural (!) and frontal, diffused light.

Cerquozzi, as mentioned, abandons spirituality in favor of pure painting, liberating his own style and personality and laying, obviously completely unwittingly, the foundation for his next Baroque still life painting, overflowing with elements and color, dedicated to the most luxurious and gilded environments of the Italian and European nobility.