Offered by Antichità Castelbarco
Angelo Solimena (Canale di Serino 1629 - Barra, 1716)
Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes
Oil on canvas 60 x 102 cm Framed 76 x 116 cm
Work accompanied by an expert report by Prof. Emilio Negro
The painting depicts the miracle of the “Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes”, a biblical episode narrated in all four Gospels and one of the most emblematic events of Jesus' ministry.
The iconography used for our painting is inspired by St John (6:1-13), which recounts that Christ, accompanied by his disciples, arrived in Tiberias, where a crowd of over five thousand people who had been following him and were now exhausted were in urgent need of food.
The only provisions available were five barley loaves and two fish that a boy was keeping in a basket, too few to feed the whole crowd. Jesus asked him to bring them to him, ordered the people to sit down, took the five loaves, looked up to heaven, gave thanks and broke them. Then he ordered his disciples to distribute them to all those present, who miraculously ate their fill.
As regards the identification of the author of the painting, as pointed out by Professor Emilio Negro in his study of the work, we are in the presence of a depiction that highlights the stylistic features typical of Neapolitan Arcadian painting between the 17th and 18th centuries, derived from knowledge of the works of Francesco Guarino and, above all, those of Luca Giordano.
Our canvas replicates (albeit with variations: the flying angels are missing, the colours and the shape of the clouds are different, etc.) a similar, larger composition painted by Giordano in 1705 for the Neapolitan church of Santa Maria Donnaregina Nuova (link: https://www.museodiocesanonapoli.com/complesso-monumentale-donnaregina/moltiplicazione-dei-pani-luca... ).
The differences should come as no surprise, as it is well known that many artists used to replicate the most famous works of other masters, from whom they drew inspiration, with certain changes.
In particular, observing its stylistic characteristics, the canvas can be linked to the modus operandi of Angelo Solimena (Canale di Serino 1629 - Barra, 1716), the progenitor of a family of artists (father of Francesco Solimena, also known as Abate Ciccio).
He worked mainly in the Salerno area, but it was his move to Nocera that brought about the most interesting phase of his artistic career.
After receiving commissions from nobles and ecclesiastics, towards the end of his career he had the opportunity to work with his son Francesco, with whom he became acquainted with the dazzling pictorial solutions adopted by Luca Giordano.
His painting style is characterised by a unique way of painting with marked light effects and dry but effective drapery. This painting is emblematic of his style, which acts as an ideal link between the methods of his master Francesco Guarino and the Baroque and Neo-Venetian pictorial language of Luca Giordano and later Francesco Solimena himself.
Delevery information :
We take care of and organise the transport of the purchased works, both for Italy and abroad, through professional and insured carriers.
We take great care We personally take care of the packaging, to which we devote a great deal of care: each work is carefully packed, first with arti- cle material, then with a custom-made wooden box.
Should you have the desire to see this or other works in person, we would be happy to welcome you to our gallery in Riva del Garda, Viale Giuseppe Canella 18, we are always open by appointment only.
