"Still Life with a carpet", c 1645-50, by Francesco Fieravino (also known as Francesco Noletti and "Francesco Maltese"). Private Collection

Oil on canvas, 110 × 147 cm
Wannenes Art Auctions, 30 November 2016
Sold for €40,000
Provenance: Milan, Sotheby’s, 30 May 2006, lot 33

Active primarily in Rome, the Maltese-born Noletti specialized in opulent still lifes. His posthumous obscurity stemmed in part from the misleading pseudonym "Francesco Maltese" and the longstanding critical neglect of so-called "minor genres." Nonetheless, Noletti was a highly prolific artist, admired in his time for his inventive compositions that combined oriental carpets, draperies, armor, crystallized fruit, and flowers into rich baroque tableaux. His distinctive style influenced numerous contemporaries, including Giovanni Domenico Valentini, Carlo Manieri, and Antonio Tibaldi.
This work's generous format, refined execution, and stylistic sophistication place it securely within Noletti’s mature period, aligning it with pieces in the Molinari Pradelli collection (Bologna) and the Musée Fesch (Ajaccio), both dated circa 1650 (see Sciberras 2005, figs. FN.12 and FN.15). Beyond decorative splendor, the iconography invokes the five senses: sight and touch through the painterly illusionism, hearing via the ticking clock, taste in the candied fruit, and smell through the citron resting on the cushion. Additionally, the composition carries Vanitas symbolism, with ephemeral objects—flowers, sweets, and fruit—serving as metaphors for life’s transience, underscored by the presence of the timepiece.
Accompanied by a critical catalogue entry by Alberto Cottino.