Vincenzo Campi

[2] While his brothers Giulio and Antonio worked closely within the Cremonese Mannerist style, Vincenzo was celebrated for his naturalism and 'descriptive mode of painting'[3] as described by Filippo Baldinucci in his Notizie as, '(a) good naturalist, keeping always to the imitation of the real.

It is suggested that it was through the loss of the stylistic guidance of his brother, and the influence of Pordenone's raw and expressive frescos, that Vincenzo began to merge the styles of Cremonese Mannerism and Lombard naturalism in his painting.

[9] Access to these works was made possible by the import of Flemish genre paintings, in particular those of Beuckelaer, from Antwerp to Cremona by wealthy merchants including the Affaitati banking family who had holdings in both cities.

[12] This development saw a move away from Mannerism towards an "Anti-Mannerist" naturalism[13] described by Art Historian Walter Friedlaender, as, 'A healthy down-to-earth spirit (coming) into existence, paralleling a vigorous treatment of form achieved through purposeful work and renewed contact with living reality.

[15] Campi's Fishmongers depicts its subjects eating beans, dark bread, and scallions, which were the exact foods listed as only suitable for the working classes in Bartolomeo Pisanelli's influential Trattato della natura de’ cibi et del bere published in 1585.

[19] Other artists working alongside Campi in Cremona between 1580 and 1585 include Bartolomeo Passarotti and his apprentice, Annibale Carracci who both made significant contributions to the development of northern Italian genre painting.