Still life with fish and kitchen utensils
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The Artist
Elena Recco was one of two daughters to Giuseppe Recco, and the year of her birth is unknown [1]. Elena’s sister Nicola Maria Recco was also a still life painter, with even less known about Nicola than Elena. Elena worked as a still life painter in the Recco family workshop under the training of her father Giuseppe. There is very little information about Elena’s life, but she is most well known for her still life paintings of marine life, similar to her father Giuseppe [2]. As stated by Raffaello Causa, there are only two works that are known for certain to be Elena’s, both of which are paintings that depict fish. Scholars state that a lightness of brushwork and a shining whiteness are characteristics that are often present in Elena’s paintings [3]. Similar to her father Giuseppe, Elena was invited to work as a painter for the Spanish court of King Charles II in Madrid starting from 1695 [4]. While in Madrid, Elena worked for the countess of Santo Stefano, who was the wife of the viceroy [5].
Still life with fish and kitchen utensils
Still life with fish and kitchen utensils is an oil on canvas painting created by Elena Recco between 1695 and 1705 [6]. The painting measures 95.5 by 132 centimeters and shows Elena’s skilled ability to render marine life. The foreground of the painting is filled up by an arrangement of marine animals including various fishes, lobster, crustacean, a stingray, and even two birds. Elena skillfully illustrates various surfaces, textures, and volumes of the creatures in the painting, with bright white highlights shining off the scales of the fish and the slick skin of the stingray. Arranged atop a stone slab, the animals are spread out amongst kitchen utensils including a copper pot. The setting of the painting appears to be a rocky coast along a seashore, with a forested shoreline in the background of the painting. Overall, the painting utilizes a muted color palette in combination with dim lighting of the general scene.
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Works Cited
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Middione, Roberto. “Recco Family.” Oxford Art Online, 2003. https://doi.org/10.1093/gao/9781884446054.article.t071027.
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Causa, Raffaello. La Natura Morta a Napoli Nel Sei e Nel Settecento. 5. Vol. 5. Storia Di Napoli. Napoli, Italia: Società editrice storia di Napoli, 1969.
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Causa, Raffaello. La Natura Morta a Napoli Nel Sei e Nel Settecento. 5. Vol. 5. Storia Di Napoli. Napoli, Italia: Società editrice storia di Napoli, 1969.
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Causa, Raffaello. La Natura Morta a Napoli Nel Sei e Nel Settecento. 5. Vol. 5. Storia Di Napoli. Napoli, Italia: Società editrice storia di Napoli, 1969.
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Causa, Raffaello. La Natura Morta a Napoli Nel Sei e Nel Settecento. 5. Vol. 5. Storia Di Napoli. Napoli, Italia: Società editrice storia di Napoli, 1969.
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“MNAC - Museu Nacional D'Art De Catalunya.” Still life with fish and kitchen utensils | Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya. Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya. https://www.museunacional.cat/en/colleccio/still-life-fish-and-kitchen-utensils/elena-recco/005685-000.
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