125 - Gaetano Gigante (Naples, 1770–1840) *La tarantella*, 1825, oil on canvas, 23x31 cm

Gaetano Gigante (Naples, 1770–1840) *La tarantella*, 1825, oil on canvas, 23x31 cm Signed “Gigante” in the lower left. Provenance: Santangelo family collection, Naples. Exhibitions: *Balli d’amore. Tarantella and Saltarello: Between High and Popular Culture* (“Dances of Love: Tarantella and Saltarello between High and Popular Culture”), Gabriele d’Annunzio Birthplace Museum, Pescara, February–April 2018; Museo Nazionale d’Abruzzo, L’Aquila, July–September 2018 Literature: Exhibition catalog, *Balli d’amore. Tarantella e Saltarello tra colto e popolare*, Rome 2019, pp. 20–21, 56–57, ill. 16This painting, dated 1825, is presented here as a preparatory sketch for the central section of the large-scale work *Festa popolare della Madonna dell’Arco* (“Popular Festival of the Madonna dell’Arco”), on view at the Museo Nazionale di San Martino in Naples. Indeed, the figures depicted dancing *en plein air* to the accompaniment of a *calascione* (a long-necked lute) and a tambourine appear at the very center of the scene in the famous painting at San Martino. The work of Gaetano Gigante—the renowned father of Giacinto Gigante—is characterized by a fluid, straightforward style. It translates the late 18th-century tradition of genre painting—reminiscent of artists such as Fedele Fischetti—into a more popular idiom, drawing upon the rich anthropological heritage of festivals in the Campania region, rendered with a realistic approach and a striking, vibrant use of color. A student of Giacinto Diano, the elder Gigante was influenced by the late 18th-century style of Pietro Fabris and Alessandro d’Anna, evident in the elegant balance of his scenic compositions. This influence is combined with a particular focus on the Neapolitan tradition of sculptural nativity scenes (*presepi*)—a subject for which his family’s passion as collectors is well known (see Sergio Ortolani, *La pittura di paesaggio a Napoli e in Italia dal ‘600 all’800*, edited by Luisa Martorelli, published by Franco di Mauro, Naples 2009). CASA SANTANGELO COLLECTION