Antiquity
Naples houses one of the most exceptional Greco-Roman collections in the world. The remains of Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabies have been moved to the Archaeological Museum of Naples for conservation reasons. As a reminder, the area around Naples was devastated by an earthquake in 62 AD and then by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79, which buried the cities under reconstruction under tons of ash and stone. Roman history unfolds through bronzes, frescoes and mosaics among a thousand everyday objects. The frescoes and mosaics once adorned the villas of ancient cities. The bronzes from the Villa of the Papyri in Herculaneum are a gallery of portraits that are truer than life: wrestlers, Scipio the African, the God Hermes are represented with striking realism. The mosaic of Alexander (late 2nd century BC) was found in the sumptuous House of the Faun. The fresco entitled Portrait of Paquius Proculus and his Wife (between 20 and 30 AD) is said to be of a baker and was intended for an election campaign. The museum also has a rich collection of Egyptian art, as well as the Farnese collection. In 1453, Alexander Farnese began to collect works acquired at his whim or commissioned from the most illustrious artists of his time. Paintings, sculptures, drawings, but also objects (coins, furniture, books, etc.) form the core of this collection. Raphael, El Greco, Titian and Flemish paintings are brought together in a Renaissance anthology.
Paint
Neapolitan painting flourished under the sign of the Baroque. Prior to this, pictorial evidence reveals a predominance of northern Italian influence, particularly from Florence, but also, during the Renaissance, an openness to various European trends.
In the Trecento (14th century), the first outstanding figure is Pietro Cavallini, a Roman painter influenced by Cimabue, who was called to Naples at the beginning of the 14th century. His frescoes in San Domenico Maggiore and Santa Maria Donnaregina Vecchia bear witness to his experiments in spatial representation. However, it is the figure of the Florentine Giotto who dominates the Neapolitan pictorial landscape. The artist went to Naples between 1328 and 1332 where he painted frescoes in the Basilica of Santa Chiara and the Palatine Chapel, which are unfortunately fragmentary. His influence was felt strongly by Neapolitan artists. Among them, Roberto d'Oderisio, author of the paintings of Santa Maria Incoronata, or the anonymous master of The Story of the Virgin
at San Lorenzo Maggiore. The Renaissance developed late in Naples. At the court of King Rene of Anjou, the Neapolitan painter Colantonio, future master of Antonello of Messina, was influenced by Flemish and Provençal painting. But the real impetus came from the Aragonese dynasty. From the second half of the 15th century, Naples became an artistic crossroads between the northern and central Italian, Flemish and Spanish schools. Antonello of Messina was the masterly result of this syncretism. The kings of Aragon, on excellent terms with the Medici of Florence, called upon the artists of the Florentine Renaissance.Baroque and Caravaggio
Naples welcomes many painters such as the Spaniard Jusepe Ribera (1591-1652), author of paintings in the Charterhouse of San Martino, the Calabrian Mattia Preti (1613-1699), and a woman painter, Artemisia Gentileschi, of Roman origin. But there are also many native artists. Giovan Battista Caracciolo, known as Battistello, Bernardo Cavallino, Aniello Falcone, Francesco Guarino and Massimo Stanzione. The bearers of a new language based on the revolution in composition and the luminous force of chiaroscuro - a typically Caravaggesque heritage - they modernized pictorial art. Luca Giordano (1634-1705) is the greatest representative of Baroque painting in Naples. A student of Ribera, he was influenced by many artists, notably Veronese, for his chromatic luminosity and airy clarity. Some of his numerous works adorn the church of Girolamini and San Gregorio Armeno... His prolific activity was not limited to the Parthenopean city: Luca Giordano also worked in Venice and Florence, and produced grandiose compositions in Spain, where he stayed for ten years. He exerted a great influence on Francesco Solimena, particularly in his mastery of light effects. See the works of Solimena in the church of Gesù Nuovo, the church of Santa Maria Donnaregina Nuova or the sacristy of San Paolo Maggiore.
Caravaggio (1573-1610), master par excellence of Baroque painting, left Rome when he was accused of murder. He went into exile in Naples in 1607, and again in 1609 and 1610, where he painted The Seven Works of Mercy, The Flagellation, The Resurrection, and The Denial of Saint Peter. The artist turned pictorial theory on its head, denying ornaments and good manners, practicing a strong painting, all contrasts, chiaroscuro, ordered from a diagonal design that gives a very lively animation to his paintings. Many Italian and European disciples, the Caravaggio painters, followed in his wake. The artist can be found at the Museum of Fine Arts in Capodimonte. There is a gallery of Neapolitan art from the 13th century to the Baroque period, works by Masaccio and Bruegel the Elder, as well as a department of contemporary art enriched with paintings by Warhol. A pictorial journey of several centuries awaits you in this palace surrounded by a park on top of a hill.Sculpture
From the Middle Ages onwards, sculpture occupied a prominent place in Naples with, in the forefront, the Sienese artist Tino di Camaino (1285-1337). After working in the workshop of Giovanni Pisano, Camaino went to Naples where he worked at the court of the Angevins. There, he made a name for himself with numerous funerary monuments, such as that of Queen Mary of Hungary, visible in Santa Maria Donnaregina Vecchia (1325), and those of Charles of Calabria (1332-1333) and his wife Mary of Valois (1333-1337) in the Basilica of Santa Chiara. He also participated in the creation of the central portal of the Duomo in Naples. His sculptures and bas-reliefs reflect the influence of Florentine art.
During the Quattrocento (15th century), Naples also welcomed several sculptors from Florence and the north of Italy, bearers of the artistic language of the Renaissance. Thus, we can admire, in bulk, works by Antonio Rossellino and Benedetto da Maiano in the church of Sant'Anna dei Lombardi; the funerary monument of Cardinal Brancaccio by Michelozzo and Donatello in the church of Sant'Angelo a Nilo; the sculptures of the triumphal arch of Castel Nuovo, due to several hands, including those of Laurana.
Another major sculptor, this time from the Parthenopean city, is Sanmartino (1720-1793), the most significant representative of the late Baroque. This modeler of figures for the cribs shows in his sculptures a realism pushed to the extreme. He combined pathetic accents with technical prowess, as can be seen in his masterpiece The Veiled Christ (1753), carved from a single block of marble, and which lies in the Sansevero Chapel. The face of Christ is veiled by a transparent shroud that allows a glimpse of his features. The realism and technical prowess of this work have been the talk of the town since its creation. Legend has it that a body was hidden under the veil, or that Prince Raimondo di Sangro was petrified and then laid under a cloth. Added to this is the location, for the Chapel of San Severo is one of the most sumptuous churches in Naples. The interior decoration, as well as the statues that adorn the eight chapels (The Chastity or The Disenchantment
) are also worth seeing. The same artist executed The Allegory (1757) in the Certosa San Martino and numerous funerary monuments and statues in various churches in Naples.Nowadays
The religious theme continues to permeate contemporary art, especially in the streets. For in Naples, street art is a way of life. The city attracts the great names of world street art. More than 200 works embellish the sometimes decrepit walls of the neighbourhoods. Committed, humorous or poetic art enhances the urban fabric. The profits generated by the Parco dei Murales de Ponticelli (Mural Park) finance the reintegration of young workers in the east of the city. ZED1 and Jorit Agoch participated in this project.
The Quartieri Spagnoli (Spanish quarters) are brought back to life with stencils and aerosols. The pictorial effervescence is led by masters of the genre, such as Banksy (Madonna with a gun
in Piazza Gerolomini), BLU, Jorit Agoch, Roxy in the Box, Cyop & Kaf, Zemi and Raffo. In the historic centre of Naples, the first collages of the 1980s were signed Ernest Pignon-Ernest.Other genres promoted by Naples' galleries and contemporary art centres are photography, pop art and Arte Povera. This movement was born in Italy at the end of the 1960s and used poor materials to protest against the developing consumer society. The must-see place for contemporary art lovers is undoubtedly the MADRE or Museum of Contemporary Art of Donnaregina, established in a palace in the historic heart of Naples. Its rich collection includes works created in situ:
a fresco by Francesco Clemente, as well as spaces occupied by Sol LeWitt, Anish Kapoor, Giulio Paolini, Jeff Koons, Rebecca Horn and Mimmo Paladino. If you want to meet the next generation, head for the Galleria Dino Morra. This exhibition space acts as a platform to boost the regional talents of tomorrow. A preview..
