68 - Italian school of the seventeenth century.

Italian school of the seventeenth century. "Garland of flowers with religious scene". Oil on canvas. Relined. Measurements: 77 x 98 cm; 87 x 107 cm (frame). This painting follows a compositional scheme that knew a great boom during the European Baroque: the religious theme appears surrounded by a garland of sensual flowers whose prominence is almost greater than that of the central theme. In the way of resolving the tulips and corollas, of cheerful and contrasting colors, standing out against a black background, a dense brushstroke of brilliant pigment has been used. The chromatic juiciness of the floral piece leaves in the background the central scene, in which we see a hermit saint who could be Antonio Abad, in a landscape dramatically illuminated by a break of glory. In the Italian Baroque, the decorative trend of depicting religious or mythological scenes framed by garlands of flowers developed mainly in northern Italy and was strongly influenced by the Flemish school, especially by artists such as Jan Brueghel the Elder. The Flemish Daniel Seghers, who worked in Rome, was one of the artists who popularized this fashion among Italian artists.