A FINE ITALIAN MICROMOSAIC PLAQUE DEPICTING A FLOWER STILL-LIFE

In the first half of the 19th century especially, mosaicists sought to demonstrate their skill by choosing obviously painterly subjects to trick the eye of the viewer into thinking on first sight that they are looking at an oil on canvas. The complexity of rendering naturalistic flowers of assorted types resulted in the relative rarity of large flower pictures in comparison to the more common Grand Tour and pastoral scenes.
Another mosaic of similar composition is the collection of the Royal Palace of Aranjuez, inv. 10012899 (illustrated in A. Gonzalez-Palacios, Las Colleciones Reales Espagnolas de Mosaicos y Piedras Duras, Museo Nacional del Prado, 2001, cat. 73, page 309). The present mosaic, as well as the one in the Prado, are probably drawn from still lifes painted by the Ferrarese painter, active in Rome, Alessandro Mantovani (1814-1892).