Flemish or Italian artist, possibly Franz Werner von Tamm, 17th century.

Flemish or Italian artist, possibly FRANZ WERNER VON TAMM (Hamburg, 1658-Vienna, 1724); last third of the 17th century.
"Still life of hunting with cat, mushrooms and heathers."
Oil on canvas.
Measurements: 85 x 133 cm; 107 x 154 cm (frame).
This painting represents a hunting scene with a dramatic and dark composition. In the foreground appear hunted animals - a deer, hanging birds and vegetables, arranged in an almost theatrical space, with a strong contrast between lights and shadows. The attentive gaze of a cat, observing from the top of a wall, adds narrative tension, as if the viewer were witnessing a moment stopped in time.
The work relates to the style of Franz Werner von Tamm in its focus on still life and the realistic depiction of hunting, combining the Flemish tradition, visible in the minute detail of fur and feathers, with an Italian Baroque sensibility that emphasizes chiaroscuro and the scenographic arrangement of objects. The dense application of color and the somber atmosphere recall the influence of painters such as Giovan Battista Ruoppolo, while announcing the transition towards more balanced and luminous compositions typical of his time in Vienna.

In this canvas the author offers us a still life of classical style, rooted in the Spanish tradition of the genre, with a clear and orderly composition and an expressive treatment of light, which produces expressive shadows on the right side and enhances the volume of the various objects.
In this painting the author pays great attention to the precision of the brushstroke and the atmospheric and chromatic sensitivity of the author, nothing distracts the eye, which remains attentive to the smallest detail. However, despite this apparent austerity and economy of means, there remains a taste for the theatricality and deception typical of the Baroque, precisely in the naturalism of the image, so precise and perfect that it results in a deceptive illusionism.
Franz Werner von Tamm was an outstanding German Baroque painter, whose career led him to travel and work in Italy, where he consolidated his artistic style. He was born in Hamburg and received his early training in his hometown with the Baroque painters Dietrich von Sosten and Johann Joachim Pfeiffer. His early interest in flower and still life painting led him to join the Bentvueghels' society in Rome, where he became known as "Dapper".
In 1685 he moved to Rome, where he joined the circle of Flemish artists headed by Caspar van Wittel. There he continued his training in the workshop of Carlo Maratta, absorbing influences from both Roman classicism and the Flemish tradition. Among his main artistic references was the Flemish genre painter David de Coninck, whose influence is perceptible in the precision and vitality of his still lifes. Von Tamm, in turn, became Pietro Navarra's teacher, contributing to the diffusion of this style.
His painting combines the Nordic tradition of Frans Snyders and Jan Fyt with Italian stylistic elements. His works include still lifes, vases, fruits and floral arrangements arranged in open landscapes, as well as objects from classical antiquity, such as vases, reliefs and sculptures. His use of dark colors and thick application of paint recalls the compositions of Giovan Battista Ruoppolo.
From the mid-1690s, von Tamm settled in Vienna, where he worked as an imperial court painter. In this period, his style approached that of Jan van Huysum, with more luminous and detailed compositions. Although he occasionally traveled to Liechtenstein and Passau for specific commissions, he remained in the Austrian capital until his death in 1724.