The 17th century sparked a golden age for art in Naples. It was a period of extraordinary achievement in painting characterized by a level of originality and quality that placed Naples at the center of international artistic taste and that left an indelible imprint on the history of European art.
Fierce Reality: Italian Masters from 17th Century Naples is the first major exhibition of European Old Master paintings organized by the Museum in several years. Major paintings in the exhibition include Mary Magdalene Lost in Thought by Jusepe de Ribera, Judith Slaying Holofernes by Artemisia Gentileschi, Sleeping Venus and Cupid Approached by a Satyr by Luca Giordano, vivid still-lifes by Giuseppe Recco (Still-Life with the Head of a Ram and Still-Life: Lobster, Cuttlefish, and Fish) and reknowned fruit and flower painter Luca Forte, works by Micco Spadaro depicting street scenes of the 1647 revolt, and two recently-restored oil sketches by Mattia Preti for the series of now-lost votive murals he was commissioned by the city to paint on the gates in order to escape the plague of 1656. Many of the paintings in the exhibition are of exceedingly large scale-sometimes as large as ten feet tall-and they all share a frank approach to emotion and the human form.
Nearly all the fifty-one paintings in the exhibition are coming on loan from eminent museums of the city of Naples. Among the major institution lending are the Museo di Capodimonte, the city's national museum and one of Italy's most spectacular treasure houses; the Museum and Charterhouse of San Martino-a defrocked Baroque architectural jewel that was redesigned entirely by Cosimo Fanzago and filled during the 17th century with major works by Jusepe de Ribera, Andrea Vaccaro, and others; the Banco di Napoli collection at the Villa Pignatelli; and the Quadreria dei Girolimini-the picture gallery of the Gerolimite monks located in the city's ancient core.
A fully-illustrated catalog accompanies the exhibition with essays by two major authorities on Neapolitan history and Neapolitan art--Professors Giuseppe Galasso and Nicola Spinosa--and will be available for purchase in The Museum Store.
This special exhibition will be available to museum patrons from December 10, 2006 to March 4, 2007, and regular pricing and hours apply. No special advance tickets are required.
Recorded Museum information is available 24 hours at 602-257-1222 or visit Phoenix Art Museum online for additional information.
Image and exhibition details provided courtesy of Phoenix At Museum. Supper at Emmaus, Matthias Stomer, c. 1633-37. Oil on canvas, 155 x 203 cm. Museo di Capodimonte.
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