Designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598/1680)
Prime
example of a room designed for civilian use with elliptical transversal plan
In the four
niches ancient sculptures “Palémon”, “Igeia”, “Hour” and “Athlete”
The busts
in the upper part are of uncertain identification
“This room
is peculiar expression of the climate of Neoplatonic speculation to which
Cardinal Francesco Barberini adhered. He organized in this very hall meetings
with distinguished scholars. From here, guests, exiting through the large
doorway on the opposite side to the Hall of Pietro da Cortona, could enjoy the
beauty of the private gardens” (Official website of the Barberini Gallery -
www.galleriabarberini.beniculturali.it)
SECOND
FLOOR
Room
XXV - Painters in Naples from Ribera to Luca Giordano
“St. James”
by Jusepe de Ribera aka Spagnoletto (1591/1652)
“Portrait of his wife Lucretia” about 1657, “Poetry” and “Music” by
Salvator Rosa (1615/73)
“Having
abandoned the sense of clarity and balanced tone of the first works, he later
invented the genre of the fantastic view: landscapes with ruins with dark
scenes of magic or alchemy. Inspired from iconographic and stylistic
experiences of the Flemish and the Germans, the artist proposes unconventional
subjects, polemic against the official culture and painting and expresses a taste
of horror that alludes to a world in crisis” (Carlo Bertelli, Giuliano
Briganti, Antonio Giuliano)
“Pietà” by Massimo Stanzione
(1585/1656)
“His
Caravaggio influence is more allied to that of Simon Vouet, Carlo Saraceni and
Artemisia Gentileschi than that of G.B. Caracciolo and Ribera. In his best
works that belong to the decade 1635/45, he exhibits a sharp sense for the
refined chromatic values, melodic lines, figures built with grace as well as
gentle and lyrical expressions. Stanzione became known as the Neapolitan Guido
Reni” (Rudolf Wittkower)
“St. Peter and the centurion Cornelius” about 1647 and “Departure of Tobias”
by Bernardo Cavallino (1616/about 1656)
“A pupil of
Massimo Stanzione strongly influenced by Caravaggio and Artemisia Gentileschi,
Cavallino made his best paintings in small format. His work is in a class by
itself; great colorist, his tenderness, elegance, grace and finesse are
unparalleled at this time” (Rudolf Wittkower)
“Aeneas and Anchises” about 1635, “The Dinner of the Rich
Glutton” and “Resurrection of Lazarus” about 1655 by Mattia Preti (1613/99)
“With Enea
and Anchises Preti shows to have gone beyond subjects suggested by the
'Manfredi methodus' i.e. interior scenes with players and musicians, where the
Caravaggio matrix is evident (...) and chose a historical dimension of broad
influence influenced by Poussin and by Vouet (Vodret 1999). The emergence of
the group in diagonal from the shadows into the light (...) is as a powerful
dramatic effect, stressing the ultimate meaning of history: the escape from a
world in ruins towards a new destiny of salvation and glory” (Angela Negro)
“St. Onuphrius” by G.B. Caracciolo aka
Battistello (1570/1637)
“He learned
first the lesson of Caravaggio and initiated a renewal of the local language
that gave birth to a new figurative school. He enriched his draughtsmanship
culture of research in the use of light offering a personal capacity of reading
Caravaggio's experience. If for Caravaggio light was the main component of the
things themselves, for Battistello is a formal means to give vision to clear
and statuesque forms” (Carlo Bertelli, Giuliano Briganti, Antonio Giuliano)
“Hermit follower of S. Bruno” by Aniello
Falcone (1607/56)
“Allegory of Time (Chronos and Love)” and “Saul and the witch Endor” by Johann
Heinrich Schoenfeld (1609/83)
“The Philosopher Crates” about 1559, “Self Portrait” and “Foreman”
by Luca Giordano (1634/1705)
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