Angelo Solimena (Canale di Serino 1629 - Barra, 1716)
The Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes
Oil on canvas
60 x 102 cm - Framed 76 x 116 cm
Artwork accompanied by expertise from Professor Emilio Negro
Full painting details (click HERE)
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 draws inspiration from John (6:1-13), which recounts how Christ, accompanied by his disciples, arrived in Tiberias, where a crowd of over five thousand people following him, exhausted, were in urgent need of food.
The only available provisions were five barley loaves and two fish that a boy kept in a basket, too little to feed such a crowd: Jesus asked him to bring them to him, ordered the people to sit down, took the five loaves, and looking 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.
Regarding the identification of the painting's author, as specified by Professor Emilio Negro in the study dedicated to the work, we are in the presence of a representation that highlights the stylistic features of Neapolitan Arcadian painting between the 17th and 18th centuries, derived from the knowledge of the works of Francesco Guarino and, above all, those of Luca Giordano.
Our canvas, in fact, replicates (albeit with variations: the flying angels are missing, the colors are different, the shape of the clouds, 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 not be surprising, as it is known that many artists used to replicate the most famous works of other masters with certain changes, from which they drew potential inspiration.
In particular, observing its stylistic characteristics, the canvas is attributable to the modus of Angelo Solimena (Canale di Serino 1629 - Barra, 1716), the progenitor of a family of artists (father of Francesco Solimena, also known as l'Abate Ciccio).
He worked mainly in the Salerno area, but it was the move to Nocera that brought to maturity the most interesting phase of his artistic career which, after receiving commissions from nobles and ecclesiastics, towards the end of his career had the opportunity to work together with his son Francesco, with whom he opened up to the knowledge of the fiery pictorial solutions adopted by Luca Giordano.
In his painting, we find this singular way of painting with marked bursts of light and a dry but effective drapery: this painting constitutes an emblem of his painting, which therefore stands as an ideal link between the ways of his teacher Francesco Guarino and the Baroque and Neo-Venetian pictorial language of Luca Giordano and then of Francesco Solimena himself.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
The artwork is sold complete with a gilded wooden frame and is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity and a descriptive iconographic sheet.
We handle and organize the transport of purchased artworks, both for Italy and abroad, through professional and insured carriers. It is also possible to see the painting in the gallery in Riva del Garda; we will be happy to welcome you to show you our collection of works.
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