Giovanni Domenico Valentino, Pharmacist's Laboratories Interior, 1680, Oil on Canvas

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Giovanni Domenico Valentino (Rome 1630 - Imola 1708)
Signed with the monogram G.D.V. at center right, on a majolica vase
… Read more Giovanni Domenico Valentino (Rome 1630 - Imola 1708)
Signed with the monogram G.D.V. at center right, on a majolica vase
The Pharmacist in His Laboratory

Oil on canvas, 73 x 66 cm
In a gilded and lacquered frame, 86 x 80 cm

This work, depicting a charming laboratory interior with a pharmacist busy preparing medicines, is typical of the Roman artist Gian Domenico Valentini, also known as Giovanni Domenico Valentino (Rome 1630 - Imola 1708).

The canvas, which is signed with the monogram G.D.V. at center right on a majolica vase, is thought to have been painted in Rome, where the painter worked from 1662 until his death, except for 1680-1681, when he worked in Imola and Ravenna.

Inspiration from the Flemish artists who populated the Eternal City appears essential in the development of Valentini's painting.
The use of Nordic models in the development of this pictorial genre, featuring interior scenes and still life elements, had gained great popularity among Roman patrons, leading to an almost serial production, yet always highly evocative.

Giovanni Domenico Valentini stood out in the artistic panorama of the seventeenth century in Italy precisely for the uniqueness of his favorite subjects: they are predominantly kitchen interiors or, in this case, a laboratory, where countless objects are piled up in picturesque disarray: here, pharmacy utensils in copper and terracotta, metal and clay vases or pourers, majolica jars and jars, bottles, flasks, glasses, cauldrons, basins, and other containers in copper and terracotta, as well as an open oven.

The large back wall is occupied by a corner shelf holding apothecary jars and jars, all arranged in a row. In the foreground, the still life displays various pharmaceutical utensils, such as apothecary bottles, mortar bowls, jars, and vases with handles, as well as copper pots and containers. Particularly striking in terms of color, and a typical furnishing element of the painter, is the painting above the door frame, which depicts a landscape.

Valentini's interiors, of which our painting is a fine example, displaying large quantities of objects and furnishings, are expertly organized: everything depicted is arranged according to the dictates of a pre-arranged display and appears, so to speak, "on display," displayed and organized according to the highly personal intent of a painter who aims to ennoble everyday life and make it the emblem of his art.

The interior of our pharmacy is very similar to a monogrammed version housed in the Musée des Beaux-Arts, Palais Fesch, in Ajaccio (inv. 852-1-461) depicting a "Young Man Visiting a Pharmacy." The same elements, albeit varied, recur: the half-open cabinet, the charcoal, the basin, the pharmaceutical flasks and jars, the shelves, and the portrait above the door.

Other similar compositions:
- Finarte Auction, Rome, May 8, 1990, Giovanni Domenico Valentino, Interior of a Pharmacy
- Imola Savings Bank Foundation, Imola (Emilia-Romagna, Italy), Giovanni Domenico Valentino, Interior of a Pharmacy
- Palais Fesch Museum of Fine Arts (France), Giovanni Domenico Valentino, Interior of a Pharmacy
- Pandolfini Florence, Important Old Master Paintings April 19, 2016, Giovanni Domenico Valentino, Interior of a Pharmacy This piece is attributed to the mentioned designer/maker. It has no attribution mark and no
official proof of authenticity,
however it is well documented in design history. I take full responsibility for any authenticity



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