Title: Still Life with Bread

Artist: Giacomo Ceruti

Still Life with Bread, Salami, and Nuts Artist: Giacomo Ceruti (Italian, Milan 1698–Milan 1767) Date: About 1750–60 Medium: Oil on paper, laid down on canvas Text: Giacomo Ceruti captured with great intensity a slice of everyday life by depicting a few objects arranged on a wooden table. The painter elevated and conferred individuality on each ingredient, carefully rendering the distinctive textures of the tender salami (center), coarse bread, knobbly nuts, and polished pewter plate. Ceruti earned the nickname Il Pitocchetto (painter of the poor) for his sensitive representations of the life and labor of the impoverished. Here the artist concealed his initials (G. C.) on the shadowed side of the wine carafe.