A Crystal Fruit Stand with Peaches, Quinces, and Jasmine

A Crystal Fruit Stand with Peaches, Quinces, and Jasmine

This oil on canvas still life painting is the earliest still life with a clear, concrete creation date, and is Galizia's first signed one [1]. Different sources refer to this painting by slightly different names from the most common name used in the Omeka title, but all have the same meaning. For example, Segal refers to it as "Glass tazza with peaches, jasmine flowers, and apples", while Garrard refers to it as "Peaches on a Stand, with Apples and Jasmine". It depicts peaches and a jasmine flower plant in a glass tazza with vine leaves, and three green apples below, with one being opened with just half remaining. This work represents Fede Galizia's tendencies to place her fruit subjects in glass bowls, with only 1 or 2 varieties of fruit, and placing her viewer on a slightly elevated viewpoint [2]. Galizia is believed to have worked towards efficacy as opposed to variety, desiring to truly hone-in her paintings to achieve intended outcomes. Her attention to detail differentiates her hand from her followers, and is displayed with her intricate use of glazing to create a gentle browning and "greenish aureole" inside the apple [3]. There is a dark background, which is contrasted with the brightness of the white jasmine leaves, and light-shaded surface that the subjects stand on. Galizia includes small discolored spots on the fruit, which are mirrored in Garzoni's works, which signify the decaying of these fruits [2]. Although they contain similar elements of the fruit depictions, Galizia's work lacks the radiant light source and birds of Garzoni's "Still Life with Birds and Fruit".

Fede Galizia

[1] Galizia, Fede. “A Crystal Fruit Stand with Peaches, Quinces, and Jasmine.” Obelisk Art History. Accessed October 13, 2021. https://arthistoryproject.com/artists/fede-galizia/a-crystal-fruit-stand-with-peaches-quinces-and-jasmine/.

[2] Mary D. Garrard. “The Not-So-Still Lifes of Giovanna Garzoni.” Essay. In "The Immensity of the Universe" in the Art of Giovanna Garzoni, 62-77. Sillabe, 2020.

[3] Segal, Sam. “An Early Still Life by Fede Galizia.” The Burlington Magazine 140, no. 1140, March 1998.

Stefano Bottari and Flavio Caroli catalogued much of Galizia's work

1607

Cameron DeChurch

Public Domain

Oil on canvas painting, 31.2 cm by 42.5 cm

Painting

This painting is in private collection, but has exhibited in the Cleveland Museum of Art (1992-2001) and the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art (2001-2015).