Neapolitan school of the XVII century. "St. Joseph with child". Oil on canvas.

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Jul 14, 2021

Set Reminder 2021-07-14 06:30:00 2021-07-14 06:30:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : OLD MASTERS https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/setdart-auction-house/old-masters-7202
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• Lot Description
  Neapolitan school of the XVII century. "St. Joseph with child". Oil on canvas. With labels of the Ministry of Public Instruction-Central Board of the Artistic Treasure and the Ministry of National Education-Service of Defense of the National Artistic Heritage on the back. Measurements: 73 x 57 cm; 89 x 74,5 cm (frame). In this canvas the author captures an image of devotional character, stripped of practically all the iconographic attributes, in order to project a close and naturalistic image, which moves the spirit of the faithful and is close to reality, thus emphasizing the humanity of Jesus. The Child appears in the arms of Saint Joseph, to whom he looks directly, integrating him into the composition. Both characters are represented on a neutral background that enhances their corporeality, thus avoiding any aspect that distracts the viewer. At the formal level we find a great influence of the Italian Baroque, especially of the Neapolitan school and its followers. Hence the treatment of faces and flesh tones and the contrasting chromatism derived from Caravaggio. The profound influence of the naturalistic Baroque on the Neapolitan school is due to the presence of Caravaggio himself, who stayed in Naples between 1606 and 1607 and, shortly thereafter, between 1609 and 1610. His direct influence precipitated the stylistic change, and led the painters of this school to leave behind the tardomanierism prevailing in those years. The reference work was "The Seven Works of Mercy", which Caravaggio painted in 1607 for the main altar of the church of Monte Bella Misericordia. The new language was reaffirmed in Naples with the arrival in 1616 of the Valencian Jusepe de Ribera. Endowed with an accurate sensitivity and a crude interpretation of reality bordering on aggressiveness, Ribera broke with his doughy and expressive brushstroke the formal idealism that dominated at the time, playing a decisive role in the spread of naturalism in both Naples and Sicily. Another important renovator, among the first to follow Caravaggio, was Giovanni Battista Caracciolo, who painted a work for the same church of Monte Bella Misericordia. Neapolitan Caravaggism will therefore start from Caracciolo and Ribera, and will be reinforced by the presence of Caravaggio's work and by the arrival, in 1630, of Artemisia Gentileschi, so it enjoyed a very long development in time, although totally autonomous. Gentileschi opened the way to a more incisive and tenebrous Caravaggism, which around the same time was combined with the introduction in Naples of the novelties of Roman-Bolognese classicism, through the presence of Reni, Domenichino and Lanfranco.
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