(Rome circa 1631/32–circa 1675)
A still life with an elaborately decorated helmet, a cuirass, a shield and a flag,
oil on canvas, 101.5 x 80 cm, framed

We are grateful to Gianluca Bocchi for suggesting the attribution of the present painting (written communication).

The present still life of a ceremonial armour is a characteristic work by the Roman painter Antonio Tibaldi, an artist who was overlooked until 2005, when his life and works were examined in an essay by Gianluca and Ulisse Bocchi (see Pittori di natura morta a Roma. Artisti italiani 1630–1750). The discoveries of a painting inscribed “Il Tibaldi. Romano” on the spine of a book and of a further painting signed “Ant. Tibaldi” prompted in-depth research into the municipal and church archives of Rome. Starting with the artist’s first name, family name, and profession, the investigations concentrated on local parishes that were known to have been frequented by artists. Through this method, it was finally possible to locate Antonio Tibaldi in Santa Maria del Popolo’s so-called Stati delle anime of 1675, where the artist is mentioned as having been forty years old. Judging from this age, he would have been born in 1635. Based on further references to Tibaldi in pertinent sources, his year of birth was subsequently calculated more precisely as circa 1631-32.

The stylistic analysis of his oeuvre began with the distinction between the hands of Antonio Tibaldi and Francesco Maltese, to whom most of Tibaldi’s autograph works had previously been assigned. Tibaldi’s artistic production is characterised by a number of recurring stylistic features: a tendency to fill the pictorial space to the largest possible degree was frequently realised by placing heavy rugs or brocade fabrics over stone tables decorated with antique motifs. On these tables, arrangements of armours, clocks, earthenware, musical instruments, cushions, boxes, books, and sugary sweets are spread out, depending on what suited the subject of the picture. Tibaldi mostly used heavy textiles trimmed with golden borders or tassels to frame his compositions. Due to the coats-of-arms the artist added to such still life elements as precious fabrics and armours it is known that he worked for two of the most powerful Roman families: the Barberini (Pope Urban VIII) and the Chigi (Pope Alexander VII). From the inventory of the collection of Prince Lorenzo Onofrio Colonna, it is known that the artist also painted small pictures on copper featuring birds and pieces of fruit.