Description
Attributed to Alessandro Magnasco (Genoa 1667–1749) – Tavern scene with a vendor and a magpie.
Oil on canvas, in a carved and gilded wooden frame.
Provenance: Sormani Collection, Contra (label on the reverse).
Alessandro Magnasco, known as “il Lissandrino,” is a central figure in Italian late Baroque genre painting. Trained in Milan in the workshop of Filippo Abbiati, he developed an immediately recognizable style: rapid, energetic brushstrokes; elongated, agitated figures; and somber atmospheres enlivened by flashes of light. His depictions of tavern scenes, soldiers, and ordinary people remained influential throughout the early 18th century. The canvas depicts the interior of a tavern with brick arches and arched windows, animated by numerous figures arranged across multiple planes. In the foreground are a seated woman and figures lying down or crouching; in the center is a vendor leaning against a barrel—on which a magpie is perched—surrounded by figures haggling or making requests; in the background are groups engaged in conversation or drinking. Utensils, jugs, and objects hanging on the walls complete the scene. The loose brushwork, the dense colors applied in rapid strokes, and the lively character of the brushstrokes are reminiscent of Magnasco, as indicated by the label on the reverse bearing the attribution from the Sormani Collection, Contra, or to his close workshop.
Condition report: Lined canvas. The painted surface is in good condition.
