Birds with an Upturned Basket of Fruit ~ Giovanni Agostino Cassana

Abate, or Giovanni Agostino Cassana (c.1658 – 6 May 1720) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period. He was a son of Giovanni Francesco Cassana and an elder brother of Niccolò and Giovanni Battista.

He was born at Venice, and was initially instructed by his father. In 1670 he worked at the court of Ferdinando de’ Medici in Florence and travelled regularly between the two cities, but spent at least the years 1718-1720 in Genoa, where he later died.

He painted portraits with some success, but preferred painting animals in the style of Antonio Maria Vasallo, Benedetto Castiglione, and Joannes Fyt, a style which he learned from Jacques van de Kerckhove in Venice. Paintings of still life subjects are found in the collections at Florence, Venice, and Genoa.

Provenance: Bonhams, London. Old Master Paintings, 25 oct 2017. Lot # 201.

Gallery note: The canvas of this charming painting was laid down on thick uneven panel in the late 19^thcentury, and had a dull, flattened surface when our gallery acquired the work post Bonhams sale. Our restorers painstakingly removed the panel from the canvas over several months, and re- lined on a new support canvas to bring the painting back to the original stretchered state when the artist painted it. Presented in a new bespoke gilt frame.