Orsola Maddalena Caccia

oil on canvas this lot contains 1 item(s). orsola maddalena caccia was the daughter of the painter, guglielmo caccia, better known as ``il moncalvo' after his native town. she is known to have painted small-scale devotional works, as well as altarpieces, and only a few of her still lifes are known. she became a nun and was attached first to the convent of the orsoline in bianzé, and later to a convent in her native town of moncalvo (1625). there she instructed novices how to paint, together with her sister francesca who was also a painter, whilst continuing with her own career as an artist outside the convent. only three other independent still lifes by the artist are known, and these are to be found in the municipio in moncalvo; a building incorporating the convent to which orsola belonged. the still lifes depict flowers in vases and birds, carefully albeit naïvely conceived, composed in symmetrical and balanced compositions reminiscent of flemish prototypes. a similar footed dish, on which flowers and fruit are displayed, appears in another still life by caccia (reproduced in g. romano, paragone, no. 255, 1971, fig. 41). the inclusion of the partridge is an unusual, albeit not unique, detail which introduces a lively element to the still life. exhibited:new york, berry-hill galleries, from sacred to sensual: italian paintings, 1400-1750, 20 january - 14 march 1998, pp. 62-3. literature:f. moro, ``non è morta la natura di suor orsola', in carnet, march 1998, no. 3, p. 36.