MARIO NUZZI, called "MARIO DEI FIORI" Penne, Pescara (1603) / Rome (1673) "Flower garland with an Angel of the Passion"

Oil on canvas.
Old collection labels attached to the frame.
 
Provenance:
- Dowager Duchess of Medinaceli Collection, No. 479 "A child with a border of flowers."
- Duque de Almazán Collection (Photographic record Archivo Moreno of the Cultural Heritage Institute of Spain no. 15263_B).
- Spanish private collection.
 
The skill of the flower painter Mario Nuzzi earned him the nickname “Mario dei Fiori” and a fame that transcended the city of Rome itself, where he worked for the main families of the nobility. Many of his works were sent to Spain, becoming part of the royal collections and some of the aristocracy, being recorded in the old inventories as his works. This could be the case of this extraordinary painting coming, as indicated by the label on the back, from the collection of the Dowager Duchess of Medinaceli. The work can be attributed to the painter both for the skillful technique when capturing the floral repertoires and for the child model that appears in the center and represents an angel carrying the Arma Christi. As is usual in his production, the flowers stand out against a dark background, still heir to the tenebrist currents, and are made with extraordinary detail in their anatomy, accurately reproducing all its parts. This type of floral garlands are also frequent in his production, with a representation of a religious theme occupying the central part, and it is very common for the painter to use in his repertoires the same botanical species among which predominate: tulips and peonies of different varieties, purple bells, roses, passionflowers, daffodils, red lilies, hyacinths and orange blossom bouquets. The canvas formed a pendant with another painting with similar characteristics from the same noble collection (Ansorena, Auction 415, lot 107).
 
Measurements: 88 x 75.5 cm.