Description
Attributed to Alessandro Magnasco (Genoa 1667 – 1749) – Tavern scene with vendor and magpie.
Oil on canvas, in carved and gilded wooden frame.
Provenance: Sormani Collection, Contra (label on the reverse).
Alessandro Magnasco, known as il Lissandrino, is a central figure in late Baroque genre painting in Italy. Trained in Milan in the workshop of Filippo Abbiati, he developed an immediately recognizable style: rapid and nervous brushwork, elongated and restless figures, dark atmospheres enlivened by flashes of light. His production of tavern scenes, soldiers, and popular figures remained influential throughout the early eighteenth century.
The canvas depicts the interior of a tavern with brick arches and arched windows, animated by numerous figures arranged on several levels. In the foreground a seated woman and figures lying or crouching; at the centre a vendor leaning against a barrel, on which a magpie is perched, surrounded by figures bargaining or asking; in the background groups engaged in conversation or drinking. Utensils, jugs, and objects hanging from the walls complete the setting. The loose brushwork, the dense colours applied in quick strokes, and the lively character of the figures are consistent with Magnasco, as transmitted by the label on the reverse bearing the attribution of the Sormani Collection, Contra, or his immediate workshop.
Condition report: Relined canvas. Good state of conservation of the pictorial surface.
