LAURA BERNASCONI (attr. A)

(active in Rome during the second half of the 17th century and early 18th century) Vase of flowers Oil on panel, 24X31.2 cm Provenance: Private collection Laura Bernasconi, a Roman painter, learned to paint flowers from Mario Nuzzi, and succeeded to such perfection that she made the ornament to the picture of S. Gaetano, painted by Andrea Camassei in S. Andrea della Valle. This is how Pellegrino Orlandi describes the painter's talent in his Abecedario Pittorico (Orlandi 1719, p. 281). A judgment that is certainly stringent but not to be underestimated considering that the author refers to a woman artist, a fact not common for the time. In addition to her intervention in Camassei's work, we know of the Flowering Vases of the Pamphilj collection, which, mentioned in Cardinal Benedetto's inventory of 1725, attest that Bernasconi could boast her own following of collectors. An interesting clue to better delineate the painter's personality is that during the early 1700s a Paolo Bernasconi was in the service of Camillo Junior Pamphilj in the capacity of restorer, plasterer and painter, thus suggesting a connection of the artist with the powerful lineage, and since Benedetto buys canvases from the picture dealer Pellegrino Peri, we verify that Bernasconi benefited from a prominent gallery owner (Lorizzo p. 161). Looking at his works, however, it must be admitted that they do not possess that descriptive and objective verve that we find in Nuzzi's creations, thus showing a purely decorative intent in analogy, for example, with part of the Stanchi's production. Reference bibliography: A. G. De Marchi, Laura Bernasconi known as Laura dei Fiori, in Pittori di natura morta a Roma. Italian Artists 1630 ; 1750, Viadana 2004, pp. 453-464 L. Lorizzo, Pellegrino Peri. The art market in baroque Rome, Rome 2010, ad vocem A. G. De Marchi, Doria Pamphilj Collection, general catalog of paintings, Milan 2016, pp. 53-54