Mario Nuzzi, or Mario de’ Fiori as he is better known, was the most celebrated flower painter in 17th century Italy. So famous was he that a street was named after him even during his lifetime. He came from Penna Fermana to Rome where he studied with his uncle Tommaso Salini, an important still-life painter. In 1634 Mario Nuzzi is recorded in the Academy of St Luke and in 1659 he was involved in a major commission of the Four Seasons for Cardinal Flavio Chigi. These Four Seasons remain in the Chigi collection, Rome, and the best known, ‘Spring’ shows Nuzzi at his easel. Mario Nuzzi had a large number of pupils and followers who spread his manner of painting to other parts of Italy, and also to Spain where the influence of Nuzzi is marked in artists like Arellano.

The present example had been in the collection of Spetchley Park, Worcestershire, since at least 1750. The painting recently underwent its first cleaning, revealing the original vibrant colours for the first time in over 300 years. The painting is framed in its original 17th century frame.