18 - Neapolitan school; XVII century.

Neapolitan school; XVII century. "Still life". Oil on canvas. Relined. Measurements: 81 x 102 cm; 96,5 x 118 cm (frame). Multitude of fruits of this still life are painted with meticulousness and realism with warm reddish and orange tones, in addition to some violet. The fruits are softly illuminated by a spotlight external to the frontal composition. This lighting, somewhat theatrical, makes them stand out against a practically monochrome background of earthy tones. The elements that make up the still life are placed on several levels, in a composition characteristic of the Baroque period and very popular in the development of the Neapolitan still life school. This is an aesthetic resource that brings great dynamism to the scene despite the relatively simple structure of the space. Moreover, this movement or dynamism is enhanced by the use of bright and metallic colors, such as the orange of the peaches and the blue of the grapes. Colors that in turn cause a great contrast with the rest of the canvas of tenebrist character, something typical of the Neapolitan still life. Highly appreciated within the antiquarian market, as well as among collectors and art historians, the Neapolitan still life school of the Baroque enjoyed a spectacular development, leaving behind the splendors of the 16th century and progressing within a fully Baroque and clearly identifiable style. Artists such as Tommaso Realfonso, Nicola Casissa, Gaspare Lopez, Giacomo Nani and Baldassare de Caro continued the local tradition by specializing in the painting of flowers, fruit, fish and game, thus satisfying the demand of a vast clientele characterized by a new taste typical of the 17th century. To these authors must also be added the minor figures, who are slowly emerging from an unjust oblivion, and some artists who worked between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, such as Francesco della Questa, Aniello Ascione, Nicola Malinconico, Gaetano Cusati, Onofrio Loth, Elena and Nicola Maria Recco, Giuseppe Ruoppolo and Andrea Belvedere. These Neapolitan still life painters, who worked during the 17th and early 18th century, are called "i generisti", and were important not only within their own environment but also, and especially, in Spain, where the development of the genre was clearly marked by Italian influence, specifically by the contribution of the Neapolitan school. Today this school is considered one of the most outstanding within the Baroque still life. The distinctive sign of Neapolitan Baroque painters was always their strong naturalistic character and their warm chromatism, with a dominance of reddish and earthy tones.