Oil on canvas, 95.25cm by 72.5cm. A pair to PIC102.
The painting was purchased by John, 5th Earl of Exeter (1648-1700) whilst on the Grand Tour.
It appears in the 1688 Burghley Inventory which records in the North End Chamber: ‘2 pictures of ffruite & flowers over the Doores done by ___}.
The 1763 Burghley Inventory also records them, in the distinctive hand of Brownlow, 9th Earl of Exeter (1725-1793): ‘Queen Elizabeths room … two pieces of fruit and flowers by Michael Angelo Bonorota.’
Attributions have always been open to change.
The artist was born and died in Naples, where, with his brother Giuseppe and Giuseppe Recco (1634-1695), he formed the Neapolitan School of Still Life Painting.
