Giuseppe Recco 24. Scorpion Fish, two Sea Bass and a Squid
A Squid, Oysters, and Razor Clams oil canvas, 13 ³/₈ × 18 ¹/₈ in ₍34 × 46 cm₎ each private collection ₍formerly paris, galerie canesso₎
literature. Damian, 2002, pp. 26-27; Scarpa, in Florence, 2003, pp. 218-219; Scarpa, in MadridSalamanca, 2005, pp. 64-65. exhibitions. Florence, 2003, pp. 218-219; Madrid-Salamanca, 2005, pp. 64-65.
The tight composition and close-up focus of these two little pictures is surprisingly modern, with drama and poetry closely intertwined. They are at the heart of the Neapolitan fish still life tradition, inherited by the artist from his supposed uncle Giovan Battista Recco as well as from the early work of Paolo Porpora. Giuseppe Recco’s realism is still tinged with naturalism here – something worth noting at such a late stage in the seventeenth century. Scarpa (2003, p. 218) dated these paintings to the period 1670-1680, suggesting convincing stylistic parallels with two compositions of Fish and Copper Containers (Naples, private collection; Middione, in Munich-Florence, 2002-2003, pp. 208209), and even more closely with Fish and Copper Pot, one of a pair of canvases (Naples, private collection; Middione, in Naples, 1984-1985, p. 394, no. 2.187a). These paintings share the same arrangement of a rough-hewn stone supporting a limited number of items, and a parsimonious use of light. Our canvases are particularly inventive and courageous, though, describing solely the fruit of the sea without the support of the utensils or containers that conventionally accompany still lifes of this kind and relate them to kitchen scenes. Indeed we
would be at a loss to define the locations here: placed on stone ledges, fish and seafood are set against a neutral background, lit by a soft ray of light from the left that directly recalls the world of Caravaggio. The reflections assume material form through generous applications of pure white pigment as the artist obviously seeks to make the moisture and sparkle of the scales emerge from the penumbral background. The extraordinary brushwork and surreal tonalities that swirl around the insides of the oysters almost seem abstract, yet they reflect a directness and fidelity of observation that lingers on the expressive qualities of form and colour, and the touches of blue and red become artistic hallmarks. While these works are not Recco’s most theatrical or Baroque, they do illustrate one of his most intimate and lyrical moments. The sobriety of the image and its compactness go hand in hand with the descriptive vigour of the powerful silvery reflections. What we see is a decisive search for an intense depiction of the “truth”, and the combination of visual acuteness and painstaking study of pictorial effects enables Giuseppe Recco to bring new life to the genre. vronique damian