Francesco Lavagna (Naples 1684-1724), Sumptuous still life with a composition of flowers, watermelon, crockery and a garden in the background Oil on canvas. Dimensions: FRAME: cm 175.5 X 187.5 X 7.5; CANVAS cm 159 X 171 Price: confidential negotiation Item accompanied by a certificate of authenticity The valuable and impressive painting, accompanied by a carved and gilded wooden frame, depicts a sumptuous composition of flowers set in an elegant outdoor environment. It is the work of Francesco Lavagna, one of the most well-known protagonists of Neapolitan still life in the early eighteenth century, and documents the expressive qualities of the painter, capable of creating lively and complex compositions with a great decorative effect and a characteristic rocaille taste, also showing an excellent chromatic sensibility. The large canvas shows several architectural elements combined with each other and placed next to a stone balustrade on which a large ochre-colored vase full of a composition of flowers is placed. Other flowers rest on the wall and lie on the stone elements. On the ground, various items of crockery, such as a bowl and a ceramic plate, a wicker basket, a red vase and one in transparent crystal and glass paste and a large rococo vase are also adorned with flowers splendidly toned together for type and color. A characteristic of the painter is the inclusion of a watermelon cut in half, whose lively color matches the palette used. In the foreground on the left, a portion of rock is inserted by the artist to increase the depth of the painting. The background leaves room for the description of an outdoor landscape, with meadows, rocky elements and tall trunks acting as a backdrop to the scene. A blue sky, marked by a few vaporous clouds, makes the composition airy and spacious. Of clear belonging to the Neapolitan school, the canvas shows undisputed analogies with the other works of the painter Francesco Lavagna (1684-1724). The Neapolitan eighteenth century, in the field of still life, is highly appreciated and sought after today by both the antique market and critics. This type of painting was much requested in the past by great collectors and patrons, nobles and wealthy bourgeois, to furnish the most beautiful palaces of Naples and its surroundings. The canvas very well documents the expressive qualities of Francesco Lavagna, capable of creating works that are never trivial and imbued with a descriptive capacity, of remarkable visual impact, in the rendering of the effects of light, color and matter, distinguished by a fine and meticulous brushstroke.