Naples, 4 April 2024 - From 24 April 2024 to 14 July 2024, two masterpieces by Diego Velázquez will be on display at the Gallerie d'Italia - Naples, an Intesa Sanpaolo museum: Immaculate Conception and Saint John the Evangelist in Patmos, both coming from the National Gallery, London and here shown alongside two other paintings depicting the Immaculate Conception: one by Paolo Finoglio, from the Franciscan convent of San Lorenzo Maggiore in Naples, and the other by Battistello Caracciolo kept in the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Roccadaspide, Cilento.
The exhibition is part of The Distinguished Guest (L’Ospite Illustre), the exhibition cycle curated and promoted by Intesa Sanpaolo, which since 2015 has been exhibiting works on temporary loan from prestigious Italian and foreign institutions in its Gallerie d'Italia museums and around the city of Turin. This exhibition marks the 14th edition of The Distinguished Guest.
The arrival...of the works from the National Gallery is part of the ongoing collaboration with the prestigious museum in London, which on the occasion of its bicentenary, hosts from 18 April until 21 July 2024 the exhibition 'The Last Caravaggio', showcasing Caravaggio’s The Martyrdom of St. Orsola, on loan from Intesa Sanpaolo.
Michele Coppola, Gallerie d'Italia General Director, stated: “Two masterpieces by Velázquez from the National Gallery collection are shown here in Naples, while the painting by Caravaggio which is part of our collection is exceptionally showcased in London as part of an exhibition which celebrates the two hundredth anniversary of the prestigious museum. This is an extraordinary event that stems from a long bond of friendship and cooperation. This initiative highlights the recognition of the Bank's role as a major, international cultural player, attesting Gallerie d'Italia’s presence among the most important and active museums in Europe.”
The paintings will be displayed in the room dedicated to the first naturalistic paintings created between Rome and Naples, the room where Caravaggio’s Martyrdom of Saint Ursula is usually exhibited. The exceptional loan of the two early paintings by Velázquez aims at prompting a reconsideration of the Sevillian master's time in Naples and, more generally, of the similarities between Spanish and Neapolitan paintings of the first half of the 17th century.
Velázquez's presence in Naples was part of two Italian sojourns of the master: the first, motivated by study reasons, between the summer of 1629 and the end of 1630; the second, longer and officially linked to his role as superintendent of the works of art of the royal residences, between January 1649 and June 1651.
The painter's first passage through Naples is attested by a payment of 154 scudi, which Velázquez collected in person at the Banco di San Giacomo, i.e. in the same place where the Intesa Sanpaolo Gallerie d'Italia is located today.
The exhibition of these two early masterpieces by Velázquez makes it possible to find echoes of Caravaggio's naturalism in Seville, highlighting the importance that the works by Caravaggio and his followers had on the Spanish artist’s early practice.
The exhibition catalogue is produced by Edizioni Gallerie d'Italia | Skira.
Along with Gallerie d’Italia in Milan, Turin and Vicenza, Gallerie d’Italia in Naples is part of Intesa Sanpaolo’s museum project, led by Michele Coppola, Executive Director of Art, Culture & Heritage at the Bank.
Entrada actualizada el el 16 may de 2024
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