Updated 28 February 2025
Currently not on display

Currently not on display
A Still Life with Musical Instruments
Date | The latter half of 1660s |
---|---|
Materials and Techniques | Oil on canvas |
Size(cm) | 98 x 145 |
Inscriptions | Signed on the edge of the spinet: EVARISTUS BASCHENIS P. |
Category | Paintings |
Collection Number | P.2015-0002 |
Evaristo Baschenis was active in Bergamo, northern Italy, around the middle of the seventeenth century. He became best known for still-life paintings featuring musical instruments, which are characterized by their geometric composition and preternatural stillness. While the instruments in this work may seem to be haphazardly placed, they are actually arranged in a fan-like pattern. Notice the finger traces exquisitely captured in the dust on the back of the lute. Although the externals of each item are represented objectively, the artist also manages to infuse the picture with a melancholic poetic charm. (Source: Gallery label, July 2016)
Provenance
1680, Post-mortem inventory of Francesco Moroni, Bergamo; By 1912, Count Moroni, Bergamo; By 1983, Silvano Lodi, Campione d'Italia; Sale, Christie's New York, 6 April 2006, lot 60; Otto Naumann, Ltd.; Purchased by NMWA, 2015.
Exhibition History
- 1983
- Italian Still Life Paintings from Three Centuries, National Academy of Design, New York, 2 February 1983 - 13 March 1983, Philbrook Art Center, Tulsa, 9 April–30 June 30; Dayton Art Institute, Dayton, 30 July–11 September 1983, cat, no. 24, col. repr.
- 1984
- Natura morta italiana: Italienische Stillebenmalerei aus drei Jahrhunderten, Sammlung Silvano Lodi, Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Alte Pinakothek, München, 27 November 1984 - 22 February 1985, cat. no. 37, col.repr.
- 1986
- Italian Still Life Painting from Three Centuries: The Silvano Lodi Collection, The Museum of Modern Art, Saitama, 8 August 1986 - 21 September 1986, Shimonoseki City Art Museum; The Seibu Museum of Art, cat. no. 32
- 1990
- La curiosità dipinta: elementi di collezionismo tra XVI e XVIII secolo, X Internazionale antiquariato, Milano, 30 March 1990 - 8 April 1990, Gallerie principe Eugenio, Torino, 18 April-5 May 1990, cat. no. III
- 1996
- Evaristo Baschenis e la natura morta in Europa, Galleria d'arte moderna e contemporanea, Bergamo, 4 October 1996 - 12 January 1997, cat. no. 24, col. repr.
- 2001
- Italian Still Life Painting: From the Silvano Lodi Collection, Seiji Togo Memorial Yasuda Kasai Museum of Art, Tokyo, 28 April 2001 - 26 May 2001, Niigata City Art Museum, 2 Ju.–22 Jl.; Hakodate Museum of Art, 29 Jl.-9 S.; Toyama Shimin Plaza Art Gallery, 6–28 O.; Ashikaga Museum of Art, 3 N.–9 D.; Yamagata Museum of Art, 5 Ap.–6 May 2002, n. 25
- 2003
- Natura morta italiana: Italienische Stillleben aus vier Jahrhunderten: Sammlung Silvano Lodi, Schloss Achberg, 11 April 2003 - 12 October 2003
- 2022
- Evaristo Baschenis 1617-1677: Le Triomphe des Instruments de Musique dans la Peinture du XVIIe Siècle, Galerie Canesso, 6 October 2022 - 10 December 2022, cover, p. 45, fig. 29, col. repr.
Bibliography
- 1931
- Delogu, G. Pittori minori liguri, lombardi, piemontesi del seicento e del settecento. Venezia, Stamperia editrice Zanetti, 1931, p. 220.
- 1946
- Angelini, Luigi. I Baschenis. Bergamo, Edizioni Orobiche, [1946], p. 85, plate 42.
- 1971
- Rosci, Marco. Baschenis, Battera & Co: Produzione e mercato della natura morta del seicento in Italia. Milano, Görlich, 1971, pp. 50-51, 55, 124, no. 103, repr.
- 1983
- Italian Still Life Paintings from Three Centuries (exh. cat.). Spike, John T., ed. National Academy of Design, New York, 2 February – 13 March 1983; Philbrook Art Center, Tulsa, 9 April – 30 June 30; Dayton Art Institute, Dayton, 30 July – 11 September 1983. Florence, Centro Di, 1983, pp. 76-77, no. 24.
- 1984
- Salerno, Luigi. La natura morta italiana, 1560-1805. Wolf, Robert Erich, trans. Roma, Ugo Bozzi Editore, 1984, p. 155, fig. 39.2
- 1984
- Salerno, Luigi. Natura morta italiana: Italienische Stillebenmalerei aus drei Jahrhunderten, Sammlung Silvano Lodi (exh. cat.). Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Alte Pinakothek, München, 27 November 1984 – 22 February 1985. Florenz, Centro Di, 1984, pp. 94-95, no. 37.
- 1985
- Rosci, Marco. Evaristo Baschenis: Bartolomeo e Bonaventura Bettera. Bergamo, Poligrafiche Bolis, 1985, p. 82, no. 47, p. 128, no. 1, repr.
- 1986
- Italian Still Life Painting from Three Centuries: The Silvano Lodi Collection (exh. cat.). The Museum of Modern Art, Saitama; Shimonoseki City Art Museum; The Seibu Museum of Art, eds. Nippon Television Network Corporation; The Japan Association of Art Museums, 1986, no. 32, pp. 88-89, 164.
- 1987
- Ravelli, L. Bartolomeo Arbotoni piacentino, maestro di Evaristo Baschenis: ipotesi sulla formazione del pittore Bergamasco. Bergamo, 1987, p. 51, no. 46.
- 1990
- La curiosità dipinta: elementi di collezionismo tra XVI e XVIII secolo (exh. cat.). Anedi, Gabriella et al., eds. Milano, EXPO, 1990, p. 35, no. III.
- 1996
- Evaristo Baschenis e la natura morta in Europa (exh. cat.). Milano, Skira, 1996, pp. 184-187, no. 24.
- 2000
- The Still Lifes of Evaristo Baschenis: The Music of Silence (exh. cat.). Bayer, Andrea, ed. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 17 November 2000 – 4 March 2001. Milano, Olivares, 2000, p. 37, fig. 19 (detail), pp. 43, 51.
- 2001
- Italian Still Life Painting: From the Silvano Lodi Collection (exh. cat.). Seiji Togo Memorial Yasuda Kasai Museum of Art, Tokyo, 28 April – 26 May 2001. Niigata City Art Museum, 2 June – 22 July 2001; Hakodate Museum of Art, Hokkaido, 29 July - 9 September 2001; Toyama Shimin Plaza Art Gallery, 6 October – 28 October 2001; Ashikaga Museum of Art 3 November – 9 December 2001; Yamagata Museum of Art, 5 April – 6 May 2002. [Tokyo], Contemporary Sculpture Center, 2001, p. 59, no. 25.
- 2003
- Natura morta italiana: Italienische Stillleben aus vier Jahrhunderten: Sammlung Silvano Lodi (exh. cat.). Dathe, Stefanie, ed. Schloss Achberg, 11 April – 12 October 2003. Ravensburg, Landratsamt, 2003
- 2017
- Annual Bulletin of the National Museum of Western Art. No. 50 (Apr. 2015-Mar. 2016), 2017, Kawase, Yusuke. New Acquisitions. pp. 15-17, List of New Acquisitions. p. 26, col. repr.
- 2022
- Evaristo Baschenis 1617-1677: Le Triomphe des Instruments de Musique dans la Peinture du XVIIe Siècle (exh. cat.). De Pascale, Enrico. Paris, Galerie Canesso, 2022, cover, p. 45, fig. 29, col. repr.