{"product_id":"a-pair-of-neapolitan-fish-still-lifes-19th-century","title":"A Pair of Neapolitan Fish Still Lifes, 19th Century","description":"\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDinner is served.\u003c\/strong\u003e Or rather — dinner is \u003cem\u003earranged\u003c\/em\u003e, dramatically, in the dark, by candlelight, sometime in 19th-century Naples.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eA wonderful pair of \u003cstrong\u003emoody still lifes\u003c\/strong\u003e in the great Neapolitan tradition: the day's catch, alongside the props of a kitchen — a fat terracotta \u003cem\u003epignatta\u003c\/em\u003e, a dented copper pot, a wicker basket of little fish staring back at you, a cabbage, a bundle of asparagus, and always, catching the last of the light, \u003cem\u003ea cut lemon.\u003c\/em\u003e It's \u003cem\u003ecucina povera\u003c\/em\u003e \u003cstrong\u003epainted like grand opera.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eWe can't tell you who held the brush — they're \u003cstrong\u003eunsigned\u003c\/strong\u003e, and the Italian trade keeps its secrets \u003cem\u003e(as it always has).\u003c\/em\u003e What we can tell you is that they're a genuine pair, they've earned every crack and every soft loss along the edges, and the atmosphere is completely intoxicating. This is the kind of painting that doesn't decorate a room so much as \u003cem\u003ehaunt\u003c\/em\u003e it,\u003cem\u003e beautifully!\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eHang them where the mood is low and the cooking \u003cem\u003eis serious\u003c\/em\u003e — a dark kitchen, a dining room with candles, a hallway that wants \u003cem\u003ea little Caravaggesque swagger\u003c\/em\u003e. They ask for very little and give back everything.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eA few honest notes: the canvas is thin and delicate with age, there's some paint loss at the edges, and the old varnish is glossy enough to throw the odd reflection. None of it dims the drama. These are decorative pieces with real presence, not gallery-fresh — \u003cem\u003eand that's precisely the charm!\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTwo of them. More or less matched. B\u003cspan\u003eeautifully weathered. 19th Century. \u003c\/span\u003eImpossible to replace once they're gone.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eChe bello.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Wildschut Antiques","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57561255575925,"sku":"Paint-Italian-Fish-Pair","price":3280.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0843\/7930\/4236\/files\/Wildschut_Antiques_Italian_Fish_Paintings-DEF-2.jpg?v=1788975212","url":"https:\/\/wildschut-antiques.com\/products\/a-pair-of-neapolitan-fish-still-lifes-19th-century","provider":"Wildschut Antiques","version":"1.0","type":"link"}