Turkeys, chickens, a peacock and duck by a wall, a view to a landscape beyond
Turkeys, chickens, a peacock and duck by a wall, a view to a landscape beyond
PIETRO NERI SCACCIATI
Italian School
? -1749
Turkeys, chickens, a peacock and duck by a wall, a view to a landscape beyond
Oil on canvas
Overall framed size 180.6 x 248.5 cms
711/8 x 975/8 ins
Pietro Neri Scacciati was the son of the renowned Florentine flower and animal painter Andrea Scacciati (1642-1704), also known as Andrea il Vecchio who, along with Bartolomeo Bimbi (1648-1729) was the most important still-life painter in Florence in the latter part of the 17th century. Pietro received artistic instruction from his father and qualified from the Accademia del Disegno in 1715 and then worked in Florence as an animal and bird painter, principally at the Villa Ambogiana at Montelupo Fiorentino, near Empoli the palace of the Medici Grand Duke Cosimo III of Tuscany.
Andrea had worked for Cosimo II and when Cosimo III succeeded his father, the latter commissioned Andrea, Pietro Neri and Bartolomeo Bimbi to produce a series of paintings at the villa depicting animals and flowers. These works became famous, partly because of the number of paintings, as the set comprised almost a hundred pieces, and partly because of the size of many of them. Pietro Neri and Bimbi, apart from studying living animals probably found in the Serraglio degli animali rari, where Bimbi obtained the majority of the
models for the painted animal “portraits” that he was commissioned to create for Cosimo III. Bimbi’s pictures, along with those painted later by Scacciati, also used stuffed animals as models for a number of them, many of which were from the collection of Princess Violante and the Medicis, and these included storks, parrots, baboons and monkeys. The whole project outlasted the patronage of Cosimo III but was continued under his son Gian Gastone who was the last Medici Grand Duke and concentrated in the 1730s.
The paintings were designed to reflect Cosimo’s passion for natural history which included the recording and classification of the flora and fauna that could be found on his estates and in his collections and also his encouragement of zoological research. The Scacciatis had an exceptional talent for the precise portrayal of birds and consequently he was one of the most sought-after animal painters in Florence, together with Bartolomeo Bimbi. Bimbi tended to depict animals more than birds which were closely studied and precisely anatomically accurate but imbued with naturalism. Scacciati’s paintings, which continued on into Gian Gastone’s time, are characterised by the depiction of vivid groups of birds and animals in landscape settings and illustrate the range of the zoological and taxidermy collections relying less on the scientific observation and instilling some personal imaginative representation.
Between 1735 and 1737, Scacciati was appointed Director of Works of the Pietre Commesse della Real Galleria and later was made Superintendent. The influence of Bimbi is discernible in the commissions of the 1730s but Scacciati imbued his works with more imagination and vivacity thus moving away from the more idealistic scientific interpretation. The paintings can be seen as very accurate portrayals of rare species of birds and animals belonging to the ducal family or observed on their estates but interpreted with a clear decorative intent. The introduction of garlands of flowers apparent in some paintings endorses this approach by the artist.
The collection remained at the villa until 1810 when they were transferred to the Guardaroba Generale of the Palazzo Vecchio and although one of Scacciati’s paintings remains in the villa, many are now in Museo della Natura Morta. With the dispersal of the collection, it is difficult to imagine how the paintings looked in the context of the rooms for which they were designed to hang. There was an eye-witness account given of the impact that the pictures had on the visitor. This was in 1742, five years after the death of the last Medici and comes from Giovanni Targioni Tozzetti, a naturalist who compiled Relazioni d’alcuni viaggi fatte in diverse parti della Toscana between 1751 and 1754. On Sunday 30th September 1742, he wrote in Observations made at Ambrogiana, Royal Villa Ambrogiana that: I observed among other precious Furnishings, many Paintings, consisting of hundreds of naturalistically depicted species of very rare animals, both birds and quadrupeds. Among these are two Monstrous Calves, and a Sheep, each one with two heads, together with an inscription recording when and where they were born and how long they lived. Other than Animals, there are paintings of some extraordinarily large, and monstrous Fruit. All of these Paintings made in the Glorious Memory of Grand-Duke Cosimo III, form a worthy collection of
Natural History.
The Florence State Galleries have six paintings by Scacciati in its collection, among them: Cassowary, egret, domestic hen; Monkey, hooded crow, parrot and domestic hen; Monkeys, parrots and a cat; Barn owls, a millenarian and other parrots and Four owls and three parrots.
Bibliography:
La Natura Morta in Italia – Editor: Carlo Pirovano
Dictionary of Bird Painters of the World- Christine E Jackson
Dictionnaire des Peintres – E Benezit
Exotic Animals in the Art of the Medici Court in Florence – Angelica Groom
Allgemeines Lexikon der Bildenden Künstler von der Antike bis zur
Gegenwart - Ulrich Thieme and Felix Becker
RELATED ITEMS
, also known as Andrea il Vecchio who, along with Bartolomeo Bimbi (1648-1729) was the most important still-life painter in Florence in the latter part of the 17th century. Pietro received artistic instruction from his father and qualified from the Accademia del Disegno in 1715 and then worked in Florence as an animal and bird painter, principally at the Villa Ambogiana at Montelupo Fiorentino, near Empoli the palace of the Medici Grand Duke Cosimo III of Tuscany.Andrea had worked for Cosimo II and when Cosimo III succeeded his father, the latter commissioned Andrea, Pietro Neri and Bartolomeo Bimbi to produce a series of paintings at the villa depicting animals and flowers. These works became famous, partly because of the number of paintings, as the set comprised almost a hundred pieces, and partly because of the size of many of them. Pietro Neri and Bimbi, apart from studying living animals probably found in the Serraglio degli animali rari, where Bimbi obtained the majority of the models for the painted animal “portraits” that he was commissioned to create for Cosimo III. Bimbi’s pictures, along with those painted later by Scacciati, also used stuffed animals as models for a number of them, many of which were from the collection of Princess Violante and the Medicis, and these included storks, parrots, baboons and monkeys. The whole project outlasted the patronage of Cosimo III but was continued under his son Gian Gastone who was the last Medici Grand Duke and concentrated in the 1730s.The paintings were designed to reflect Cosimo’s passion for natural history which included the recording and classification of the flora and fauna that could be found on his estates and in his collections and also his encouragement of zoological research. The Scacciatis had an exceptional talent for the precise portrayal of birds and consequently he was one of the most sought-after animal painters in Florence, together with Bartolomeo Bimbi. Bimbi tended to depict animals more than birds which were closely studied and precisely anatomically accurate but imbued with naturalism. Scacciati’s paintings, which continued on into Gian Gastone’s time, are characterised by the depiction of vivid groups of birds and animals in landscape settings and illustrate the range of the zoological and taxidermy collections relying less on the scientific observation and instilling some personal imaginative representation.Between 1735 and 1737, Scacciati was appointed Director of Works of the Pietre Commesse della Real Galleria and later was made Superintendent. The influence of Bimbi is discernible in the commissions of the 1730s but Scacciati imbued his works with more imagination and vivacity thus moving away from the more idealistic scientific interpretation. The paintings can be seen as very accurate portrayals of rare species of birds and animals belonging to the ducal family or observed on their estates but interpreted with a clear decorative intent. The introduction of garlands of flowers apparent in some paintings endorses this approach by the artist.The collection remained at the villa until 1810 when they were transferred to the Guardaroba Generale of the Palazzo Vecchio and although one of Scacciati’s paintings remains in the villa, many are now in Museo della Natura Morta. With the dispersal of the collection, it is difficult to imagine how the paintings looked in the context of the rooms for which they were designed to hang. There was an eye-witness account given of the impact that the pictures had on the visitor. This was in 1742, five years after the death of the last Medici and comes from Giovanni Targioni Tozzetti, a naturalist who compiled Relazioni d’alcuni viaggi fatte in diverse parti della Toscana between 1751 and 1754. On Sunday 30th September 1742, he wrote in Observations made at Ambrogiana, Royal Villa Ambrogiana that: I observed among other precious Furnishings, many Paintings, consisting of hundreds of naturalistically depicted species of very rare animals, both birds and quadrupeds. Among these are two Monstrous Calves, and a Sheep, each one with two heads, together with an inscription recording when and where they were born and how long they lived. Other than Animals, there are paintings of some extraordinarily large, and monstrous Fruit. All of these Paintings made in the Glorious Memory of Grand-Duke Cosimo III, form a worthy collection of Natural History. The Florence State Galleries have six paintings by Scacciati in its collection, among them: Cassowary, egret, domestic hen; Monkey, hooded crow, parrot and domestic hen; Monkeys, parrots and a cat; Barn owls, a millenarian and other parrots and Four owls and three parrots. Bibliography:La Natura Morta in Italia – Editor: Carlo PirovanoDictionary of Bird Painters of the World- Christine E JacksonDictionnaire des Peintres – E BenezitExotic Animals in the Art of the Medici Court in Florence – Angelica GroomAllgemeines Lexikon der Bildenden Künstler von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart - Ulrich Thieme and Felix Becker ){kind=link}