Provenance: Private Collection, Ohio.
Private Collection, Pennsylvania.
NOTE:
This work has regularly been attributed to Franceso Della Questa (1652-1723). Thought to have been a pupil of Giovanni Battista Ruoppolo (1629-1693), Francesco della Questa was among the most active still-life artists in Rome and Naples in the1650s, building upon the innovations introduced into the genre by Caravaggio (1571-1610) in the early 17th century. His work was highly regarded enough to have him included in a list of still life painters drawn up by Viceroy and fine art collector, Marques del Carpio. Della Questa's monumental paintings of fruits, vegetables and flowers (such as the present pair) are characterized by creative arrangements of still life elements, using exaggerated sizes, shapes and colors of fruits and vegetables for maximum artistic impact.