Meiffren Conte or Comte, Still Lifes with Jugs and Shell, Oil on Canvases, 17th Century, Framed, Set of 2

Meiffren Conte or Comte (Marseille, France, 1630 – 1705)
Title: A pair of paintings, still lifes with magnificent jugs and shell
Year: 1690 ca.
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: without frame 96 x 68.5 cm each, with frame 103.8 x 77 x 4.5 cm each

Publications: from Sacro to Profano, the Giorgio Baratti art collection from Milan, exhibition catalogue curated by Daiva Mitrulevičiūtė, Giovanni Matteo Guidetti and Ileana Maniscalco, (16 February – 27 September 2020), Vilnius, National Museum - Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania, pp. 678-682; Il Barocco è Noto, exhibition catalogue curated by Pierluigi Carofano in collaboration with Tamara Cini, text by Ileana Maniscalco, (7 April – 29 October 2023), Noto, Convitto delle Arti Noto Museum, Italy, pp. 108-109; Michel Faré, Le grand siècle de la nature morte en France. Le XVII siècle, Office du livre, Paris 1974, pp. 218- 219.

Meiffren Conte or Comte (Marseille, France, 1630 – 1705) was a French painter, mainly known for his still lifes. He was born in Marseille, France, but he artistically trained in Rome, Italy.
The splendid objects are presented in an interior space, each standing on a stone slab against a brown background: one painting shows a silver jug with a handle in relief, on the centre of which a procession with a royal couple on horseback can be seen. The base is decorated with a mascaron and floral garland, the handle area with putti and floral decoration. On the right-hand side, there is also a reclining gold cup in relief, a fruit and an oversized shell in front of the branch of a white hollyhock in the background. On the left, on the corner of the table, a bright red velvet rug with gold-coloured fringes, a small snail and a lidded vessel. The other painting again shows a large jug in relief, probably made of pink agate, with a handle in the shape of a dog. On the right-hand side of the table, a bowl in relief, a small chest and a bright blue velvet rug with golden fringes, snails and shells on the left-hand edge, in front of a branch with pale pink peony blossoms rising up behind it. The richly embossed jugs are typical of Parisian and Flemish silversmiths, and they are highlighted by a strong chiaroscuro. A frequently recurring feature in Comte’s works is the use of precious fabrics with their gilt fringes, which fall towards the viewer as if they are showing off their opulence.