Compton Verney’s collection of paintings from Naples represent a cross-section of masterpieces from the ‘Golden Age’ of Neapolitan art from 1600 to 1800.
Naples was by 1600 one of the largest cities in Europe, second only to Paris and with a population three times as large as Rome. It was always a city of extremes, combining Catholic devotion with crime and poverty. After 1700, as Neapolitan art developed and flourished, the tradition of the Grand Tour rapidly established Naples on the itinerary of foreign visitors.
The collection includes religious and mythological scenes by Luca Giordano and Francesco Solimena, regarded as the most important Neapolitan artists of their generation, and paintings by artists such as Pietro Fabris, commissioned by the famous British envoy Sir William Hamilton.
They are seen alongside work by artists who were drawn to Naples by its thriving artistic community and worked there for many years, including Pierre-Jacques Volaire and Gaspare Vanvitelli. Also on display are luscious still life paintings by Ruoppolo and Porpora and decorative pieces in Trapani coral.
Featured image: van Wittel, Gaspar, Posillipo with the Palazzo Donn’Anna, About 1700-1702, Oil on canvas © Compton Verney
van Wittel, Gaspar, Posillipo with the Palazzo Donn’Anna, About 1700-1702, Oil on canvas © Compton Verney
This Collection is supported by…