STILL LIFE WITH GUITAR AND RED DRAPE

Oil/Canvas, cm 96 x 133

Inscribed in the bottom right °29

Carlo Manieri was a painter long forgotten by the history of collectors, often confused with those of other similar artists of the period, in particular Mariano Fetti "Il Maestro della Floridiana" "SALV" and Francesco Noletti. Only following the recent studies in the 90’s has returned to the painter Carlo Manieri the prominent place he deserves in still life painting in Rome. Very prolific author, in terms of small- or large-scale paintings, was active for the main Roman families during the second half of the seventeenth century. The first studies on the artist were conducted by Eduard Safarik in 1991, recognizing in a pair of signed canvases C.M. and C.M.F, the works of Carlo Manieri, who until then was only a name registered in the inventories of the Roman family Colonna (1714- six paintings by his hand) by Benedetto Pamphily (1725- two paintings listed) and Valenti Gonzaga (two in 1756). While much of his biography remains unclear, his Roman activity is stable between 1662 and 1700, thanks to the documents that attest his mission in the prestigious Congregrazione dei Virtuosi al Pantheon (his name appears between 1660 and 1662). Despite the incomplete nature of the information we have received, it seems that his production is distinguished by sumptuous compositions adorned with fruits, flowers and birds, richly supported by curtains and cushions of brocade, silverware, musical instruments and trophies, often orchestrated with perspective views in a majestic architectural frame.