Luca Forte
Still Life, Mid 1600s
Oil on canvas
58 x 78 cm
Framed: 71 x 93 cm
Framed: 71 x 93 cm
Copyright The Artist
Luca Forte (born in Naples in 1615 and died c.1670) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly as a still-life painter in Naples. Little documentary evidence exists...
Luca Forte (born in Naples in 1615 and died c.1670) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly as a still-life painter in Naples. Little documentary evidence exists about him.
Luca Forte's early still lives were influenced by Caravaggio’s chiaroscuro style, contrasting dark and light, and later acquired a more elaborate style, more similar to that Spanish artists at that time, to which Luca Forte would have been exposed as Naples was ruled during that period by Spanish viceroys. During this period, Naples was among the most important capitals of Europe. There is written evidence to show that Luca Forte was commercially successful in his own lifetime.
Luca Forte’s paintings are now in in many museums around the world, including the Palazzo Corsini gallery in Rome and the Museo Nazionale di Capodimonte in Naples and the Getty Museum.
In this still life painting, flowers are carefully arranged to show their petals and colours, with a snail at the bottom slowly making it’s way up. The plain, dark ground is typical of the early 1600s painting in Italy.
Luca Forte's early still lives were influenced by Caravaggio’s chiaroscuro style, contrasting dark and light, and later acquired a more elaborate style, more similar to that Spanish artists at that time, to which Luca Forte would have been exposed as Naples was ruled during that period by Spanish viceroys. During this period, Naples was among the most important capitals of Europe. There is written evidence to show that Luca Forte was commercially successful in his own lifetime.
Luca Forte’s paintings are now in in many museums around the world, including the Palazzo Corsini gallery in Rome and the Museo Nazionale di Capodimonte in Naples and the Getty Museum.
In this still life painting, flowers are carefully arranged to show their petals and colours, with a snail at the bottom slowly making it’s way up. The plain, dark ground is typical of the early 1600s painting in Italy.
