Giacomo Francesco Cipper Il Todeschini

Giacomo Francesco Cipper, called il Todeschini (Feldkirch 1667-1738 Milan) A peasant boy seated at a table, holding a jug oil on canvas 92.8 x 116cm (36 9/16 x 45 11/16in). The same model was used by Todeschini in another composition, now in a Private Collection, Brescia (see M. S. Proni, Giacomo Francesco Cipper detto il Todeschini (Soncino, 1994), no. 5, p. 46, fig. 12).

Giacomo Francesco Cipper, called il Todeschini (Feldkirch 1667-1738 Milan) A cook at work in a kitchen unframed A cook at work in a kitchen oil on canvas 89 x 64.5cm (35 1/16 x 25 3/8in). unframed The present figure is repeated by Todeschini in the work offered at Christie's, Milan, 22 May 2007, lot 52. Giacomo Francesco Cipper, called il Todeschini (Feldkirch 1667-1738 Milan)

Giacomo Francesco Cipper, called Il Todeschini (Feldkirch 1664–1736 Milan) A still life of fish, oil on canvas, 75 x 59 cm, framed Provenance: formerly in a French private collection, Roanne, Literature: A. Crispo, “Postilla alla natura morta lombarda dal Todeschini al Ceruti” , in: Parma per l’’’’’’’’Arte, Rivista d’’’’’’’’Arte e Cultura, XIII, Fasc. 1, 2007, pp. 85–90. Alberto Crispo confirmed the authenticity of the present painting to the consignor. We are grateful to Dr. Silvia Proni, who has also confirmed the authenticity of the present painting on the basis of a photograph. She compares the present painting to the Morra Players with a Porter and a Still Life of Fish in a private collection (M. S. Proni, Giacomo Francesco Cipper detto il “Todeschini” , 1994, p. 75, pl. 18) and the Still Life of Fish and Shells, likewise preserved in a private collection (F. Arisi, Natura morta tra Milan e Parma in età barocca, 1995, p. 480, fig. 671, and M. S. Proni, Giacomo Francesco Cipper, 1998, p. 181, fig. 222). The latter features the same type of shell in an identical position. This painting belongs to a group of four oval compositions, one of which also shows a large fish in the foreground that seems to fall out of the picture, towards the spectator. The rendering of the sky is typical of Todeschini and similarly recurs in both his few uncontested autonomous still lifes and his numerous figural compositions. Specialist: Dr. Alexander Strasoldo

Giacomo Francesco Cipper, called il Todeschini (Feldkirch 1667-1738 Milan) The fish market oil on canvas 179 x 238cm (70 1/2 x 93 11/16in). unframed Footnote: PROVENANCE: A noble villa in Lombardy, from which acquired at the end of the 19th century by an old Milanese family and thence by descent to the present owner Not much biographical information is available on Giacomo Francesco Cipper, who was born in Feldkirch, a small village in the Austrian Voralberg region, in 1664. It is not known when and how he moved to the Italian peninsula, where he is recorded from 1696. From that year, he lived in Milan for the rest of his life, marrying the daughter of a local notary. His first recorded work, now in an Italian private collection, a Still life with figs, celery and a glass , dates from 1700. The next dated work is from 1705 and depicts Two gypsy boys playing cards (formerly in the Geri Collection). It has been supposed that Todeschini started his career as a still life painter and only after his arrival in Lombardy did he begin painting the humble interior scenes, which are now considered his typical works. Influences included the work of Bernard Keil, called Mons� Bernardo (1624-1687), who has often been seen as the main source for Todeschini's figurative repertoire of peasants, gypsies, card players and concerts, while the influence of contemporary Italian still life painters, such as Felice Boselli (1650-1732) and the Recco family, has also been discerned. Forgotten by most art critics until the 19th century, his significance was first recognised in 1859, when an anonymous article in the Gazette des Beaux Arts mentioned a few works by him with the London art dealer, Thomas Walesby, comparing them with a group of paintings by the same hand in the Royal Collection, now at Hampton Court and Kensington Palace. Todeschini's repertoire is mainly centred on scenes of the vernacular, depicting the everyday life of peasants and hawkers, accentuating their comical intent. Whereas many 17th and 18th century genre painters had a sociological and moralistic intent, Cipper displayed a totally independent approach, which was lighter, sometimes almost verging on caricature. The earliest scenes are characterised by their theatrical setting, with the figures almost confined to the foreground, and by the choice of vivid colours, which became duller in his later works. Whereas his figures are often depicted in almost stereotypical poses, he paid closer attention to the rendering of objects, as is particularly noticeable in the present painting and in lots 70 and 71.

Giacomo Francesco Cipper, il Todeschini (Feldkirch c. 1670-after 1736 Milan) A fisherman with his catch, a boy piping and a coastal port beyond; and A peasant woman and a boy with dead game in a rocky landscape oil on canvas 33 7/8 x 41¼ in. (86.1 x 104.8 cm.) a pair (2) Provenance Private collection, Italy, since at least the 1950s. Lot Notes Little is known of the artist's life and his artistic training is unrecorded, although he was clearly influenced by Giacomo Ceruti, close to whom he is known to have lived in 1716, as well as by Pietro Bellotti and Bernhard Keilhau. His oeuvre consists almost exclusively of burlesque grinning peasants engaged in everyday activities. Occasionally, as here, he included still lifes of dead game and fish in his compositions (see for example one in a private collection, illustrated in L. Salerno, Nuovi studi su la natura morta Italiana, Rome, 1989, p. 157, no. 154; and two others in private collections, for which see M.S. Pronio, Giuseppe Francesco Cipper, detto 'Il Todeschini', Soncino, 1994, nos. 11 and 36).