Sepolgro di Agreppina, Neapolitan Guoache, 1790’s

Blue and yellow Neapolitan equestrian tile. Large equestrian-themed floor tile of bold blue and yellow design featuring mounted huntsmen, of Italian and Arabic riders with hunting ac...

Villa at Napoli. Vintage twenties chalk on paper view of a villa near Naples or Amalfi coast with characteristic umbrella pines and vibrant skies in a period gilt frame; signed lower...

A neapolitan gouache depicting a Vesuvius eruption, circa 1840. Inscription on frame verso detailing provenance from Collins family of New York: "Charles Bush Collins bought this pi...

Neapolitan School of the 17th Century Battle scenes between Christians and Turks (2) Oil on canvas, 52 x 71 cm Framed, 61 x 80 cm One genre that met with wide acclaim in seventeenth-century Neapolitan painting and flattering success among collectors was that of battle. The Parthenopean nobility loved to adorn the walls of their salons with battles depicting single acts of heroism or complex combats that exalted patriotism and warlike prowess, virtues with which members of the wealthy aristocracy of the time liked to identify. The Church, in the Neapolitan area, was also at the forefront of commissions, commissioning artists to depict the spectacular triumphs of Christendom over the infidels, such as the memorable naval battle of Lepanto in 1571, which marked a historical turning point with the great victory over the Turks, becoming a repeated iconographic motif imbued with devotional value, replicated several times through the interest of the Dominican order, which was very devoted to Our Lady of the Rosary, who benevolently followed earthly events from above in heaven. Other themes dear to the Church within the genre were drawn from the Old and New Testaments, such as Constantine's Victory at the Milvian Bridge or St. James at the Battle of Clodius. Among the leading Neapolitan artists of that period, several specialized in battle scenes: these include Francesco Graziani, known as Ciccio Napoletano, a battler active between Naples and Rome in the second half of the 17th century; Andrea De Lione, who lived in Naples from 1610 to 1685, a versatile narrator of battles without heroes, of horsemen assaulting or retreating, and of profane scenes immersed in a wild and primordial, yet already classicized, nature; and Carlo Coppola. The latter was active for more than twenty years, from 1640 to 1665, and his catalog, which is interesting because it bears witness to a particular historical moment and the tastes of private patrons, has yet to be defined, although many of his works are initialed. It is precisely to Coppola's corpus that these two paintings could come close: with the production of the Neapolitan battler the two paintings seem to share the smoky colors, the accentuated chiaroscuro and the marked dynamism of the scenes. Moreover, it is necessary to mention how that of the battle between Christians and Turks was an absolutely central theme in Coppola's pictorial production. Also close to the manner of the two paintings analyzed here is the production of one of Coppola's most celebrated pupils, Giovanni Luigi Rocco...