Explore: Gallerie d’Italia Napoli
Continuing the artistic journey from Museo Nacional del Prado in Madrid, let us now venture 1,490 kilometers southeast to the Gallerie d’Italia in Naples.
I first visited Napoli in 2023 and even though it can be a little rough around the edges, it is worthy of a trip, particularly if you like cities with plenty of character.
Designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Naples boasts one of Europe’s largest historic city centers, while it only takes a short 40- minute train ride to visit the ancient ruins of Pompeii. A day tour of the Amalfi Coast is also a good option if you enjoy picturesque sea views.
Formerly serving as the Banco di Napoli headquarters, the new Gallerie d’Italia in Napoli was unveiled in 2022 following an architectural refurbishment. Presently, it hosts the exhibition “Naples in the time of Napoleon. Rebell and the Light of the Gulf”.
Featuring 73 works from major international cultural institutions, such as the Belvedere in Vienna, the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, the Austrian National Library, the Château de Fontainebleau and Versailles, as well as from the Intesa Sanpaolo collection, this exhibition offers a captivating journey through history and art (accessible by the public until 7 April 2024).
For those who have not had the opportunity to explore the exhibition, here are some paintings that caught my eye:
The Toulouse Judith Beheading Holofernes, attributed to Caravaggio or Louis Finson
The painting depicts a scene from the Book of Judith, a deuterocanonical text excluded from the Hebrew canon.
According to the book, Holofernes, an Assyrian general, was ordered by the Babylonian emperor Nebuchadnezzar to punish Israel for their refusal to provide assistance in his most recent war. Despite being warned against attacking the Jewish people by Achior, the leader of the Ammonites, Holofernes laid siege to the city of Bethulia. The general’s advance stopped the water supply to Bethulia, leading to its people encouraging their rulers to give in to Holofernes’ demands.
Judith, a Jewish widow, entered the camp of Holofernes, seduced him, got him drunk before beheading him, and returned to Bethulia with his severed head. The name Judith means “praised” or “Jewess” and is the feminine form of Judah.
Gaspare Traversi, The Secret Letter, c. 1755
One of the works in the Collezione Intesa Sanpaolo works, the painting depicts a young woman receiving a letter from a secret lover. She is observed by her two elderly parents and an older gentleman, possibly a suitor.
Gaspare Traversi was an Italian Rococo painter best known for his genre works (scenes from everyday life in a relatively realistic manner). It is typical for Traversi’s works to contain bourgeois characters compressed into an indoor pictorial space that can barely contain them. Some of the characters fix their gaze on the observer and women often find themselves in either a whimsical or ironic scenario.
Joseph Rebell, Vesuvius Eruption at Night with view of Scuola di Virgilio, 1822
Josef Rebell was a German/Austrian painter that spent a considerable portion of his career in Italy, masterfully capturing a variety of landscapes. Rebell’s paintings commanded admiration from art enthusiasts throughout Europe, garnering particular acclaim within aristocratic and royal circles.
The painting evokes imagery reminiscent of Tolkien’s realm of Mordor for me, with Vesuvius as Mount Doom.
Vincenzo Gemito, Scorpion Fish, 1909
Vincenzo Gemito was an Italian sculptor and artist, widely regarded as primarily self-taught despite apprenticing in esteemed studios across Naples, Rome and Paris. This autonomy contributed to the creation of his distinctive works for the time, replacing sentimentality with outstanding realism.
