Watermelon Regatta
Artist
Master of the Fertility of the Egg
(Italian, active late 1600s - early 1700s)
Dateearly 1700s
CultureItalian
MediumOil on canvas
ClassificationPaintings
ProvenancePurchased in Venice around 1914 by George Peabody Eustis (formerly George Eustis Corcoran) (1864–1936), New York; by inheritance to his wife, Rosamund Eustis Corcoran, New York; purchased in 1950 by A. Everett Austin Jr., Sarasota, Florida; gift in 1951 to the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, Florida.
Credit LineGift of A. Everett Austin, Jr., 1951
Conservation was supported in part by the David A. Straz, Jr. Foundation, The Ringling Museum of Art Foundation, The Florida State University Foundation, and generous contributions received during the 2016 Sarasota Giving Challenge (with our gratitude to The Community Foundation of Sarasota County and The Patterson Foundation)
Object numberSN657
The Master of the Fertility of the Egg is the name used for an as-yet unidentified painter active in northern Italy around 1700. The Master’s works typically represent the world reversed, with animals doing things that humans do. His absurd compositions satirize the madness, vanity, and ridiculous folly of human life, but in a spirit of comic levity and fun. The Watermelon Regatta may be a madcap interpretation of actual boat races that took place on a regular basis in Venice. Two types of traditional Venetian watercraft are depicted here: gondolas (piloted only by human figures) and the lighter and smaller sandoli. But the most memorable "boats" are the ones made from watermelons, cantaloupes, and various types of shoes, which take center stage in the composition. While the artist has rendered the animal participants—which include birds, mammals, and crustaceans, some dressed in human clothing—with great attention to detail, the human figures, on the other hand, are caricatured, with mask-like facial features and unusual body proportions.
With the restoration of this monumental painting, we are now able to fully appreciate the artist's skill in creating an upside-down world, and to imagine the amusement it would have given to viewers of the period.
On View
Not on viewCollections
Image: 70 1/2 × 96 × 1 5/16 in. (179 × 243.8 × 3.3 cm)
last quarter of 1600s or first quarter of 1700s
Object/Object