Still Life, Bartolomeo Arbotori, 18th century

Already known to critics, the painting is unanimously indicated as a certain work by Arbotori, formerly of the Zanardi Landi collection in Piacenza.
The first to identify its paternity, after the initial one to Felice Boselli, was Arisi in Arte e Pietà, an attribution that scholars found in agreement. Lanfranco Ravelli (1998) indicates the representation not as a simple still life, but as an allegory of taste, a reading in his opinion suggested by the theme of the monkey that is painted in the act of tasting a fruit. Alberto Crispo (2000) underlines the Flemish character of the composition, with typical elements such as the monkey, the parrot and the metal furnishings.

Although these elements are presented with more dialectal terms, there are fearsome comparisons with two canvases that have similar characteristics, signed and preserved at the National Gallery of Parma.

The Piacenza painter, whose spelling of the surname is varied, specialized in the creation of still lifes, becoming an author widely appreciated and in demand in the local area, as evidenced by the inventories of the collections of wealthy families in the area, in which his works are present. in large numbers. Presumably the paintings had to be contextualized as architectural and illusive complements, such as over doors or wall panels. This function translates into perspectives with a lowered point of view and the sensation of a precarious balance, research aimed precisely at the illusory surrender.