one that approached nearest to them was the Cav. Massimo Stanzioni,
considered by some the best example of the Neapolitan School, of which,
as we have observed, he compiled some memoirs. He was a scholar of
Caracciolo, to whom he bore some analogy in taste, but he availed
himself of the assistance of Lanfranco, whom in one of his MS. he calls
his master, and studied too under Corenzio, who in his painting of
frescos yielded to few. In portrait he adopted the principles of
Santafede, and attained an excellent Titianesque style. Going afterwards
to Rome, and seeing the works of Annibale, and, as some assert, making
acquaintance with Guido, he became ambitious of uniting the design of
the first with the colouring of the second, and we are informed by
Galanti, that he obtained the appellation of _Guido Reni di Napoli_. His
talents, which were of the first order, enabled him in a short time to
compete with the best masters. He painted in the Certosa a Dead Christ,
surrounded by the Maries, in competition with Ribera. This picture
having become somewhat obscured, Ribera persuaded the monks to have it
washed, and he purposely injured it in such a way with a corrosive
liquid, that Stanzioni refused to repair it, declaring that such an
instance of malice ought to be perpetuated to the public eye. But in
that church, which is in fact a museum of art, where every artist, not
to be surpassed by his rivals, seems to have surpassed himself, Massimo
left some other excellent works, and particularly a stupendous
altarpiece, of S. Bruno presenting to his brethren the rules of their
order. His works are not unfrequent in the collections in his own
country, and are highly esteemed in other places. The vaults of the Gesu
Nuovo and S. Paolo entitle him to a distinguished place among fresco
painters. His paintings were highly finished, and he studied perfection
during his celibacy, but marrying a woman of some rank, in order to
maintain her in an expensive style of living, he painted many hasty and
inferior pictures. It may be said that Cocchi, in his _Ragionamento del
Matrimonio_, not without good reason took occasion to warn all artists
of the perils of the wedded state.
The school of Massimo produced many celebrated scholars, in consequence
of his method and high reputation, confirming that ancient remark, which
has passed into a proverb, _primus discendi ardor nobilitas est
Magistri_. (The example of the master is the greatest incentive to
improvement). Muzio Rossi passed from his school to that of Guido, and
was chosen at the age of eighteen to paint in the Certosa of Bologna, in
competition with the first masters, and maintained his station on a
comparison; but this very promising artist was immaturely cut off, and
his own country does not possess any work by him, as the Tribune of S.
Pietro in Majella, which he painted a little time before his death, was
modernized, and his labours thus perished. This is the reason that his
works in the Certosa just mentioned, and which are enumerated by Crespi,
are held in great esteem. Another man of genius of this school, Antonio
de Bellis, died also at an early age; he painted several subjects from
the life of S. Carlo, in the church of that saint, which were left
imperfect by his death. His manner partakes somewhat of Guercino, but is
in fact founded like that of all the scholars of Massimo, on the style
of Guido.
Francesco di Rosa, called Pacicco, was not acquainted with Guido
himself, but under the direction of Massimo, devoted himself to the
copying of his works. He is one of the few artists commemorated by Paolo
de' Matteis, in one of his MSS. which admits no artists of inferior
merit. He declares the style of Rosa almost inimitable, not only from
his correct design, but from the rare beauty of the extremities, and
still more from the dignity and grace of the countenances. He had in his
three nieces the most perfect models of beauty, and he possessed a
sublimity of sentiment which elevated his mind to a high sense of
excellence. His colouring, though conducted with exquisite sweetness,
had a strong body, and his pictures preserve a clear and fresh tone.
These are frequently to be found in the houses of the nobility, as he
lived long. He painted some beautiful altarpieces, as S. Tommaso
d'Aquino at the Sanita, the Baptism of S. Candida at S. Pietro d'Aram,
and other pieces.
This artist had a niece of the name of Aniella di Rosa, who may be
called the Sirani of the Neapolitan School, from her talents, beauty,
and the manner of her death, the fair Bolognese being inhumanly poisoned
by some envious artists, and Aniella murdered by a jealous husband. This
husband was Agostino Beltrano, her fellow scholar in the school of
Massimo, where he became a good fresco painter, and a colourist in oil
of no common merit, as is proved by many cabinet pictures and some
altarpieces. His wife also painted in the same style, and was the
companion of his labours, and they jointly prepared many pictures which
their master afterwards finished in such a manner that they were sold as
his own. Some, however, pass under her own name, and are highly
extolled, as the Birth and Death of the Virgin, at the Pieta, not
however without suspicion that Massimo had a considerable share in that
picture, as Guido had in several painted by Gentileschi. But at all
events, her original designs prove her knowledge of art, and her
contemporaries, both painters and writers, do not fail to extol her as
an excellent artist, and as such Paolo de' Matteis, has admitted her
name in his catalogue.
Three young men of Orta became also celebrated scholars in this academy,
Paol Domenico Finoglia, Giacinto de' Popoli, and Giuseppe Marullo. By
the first there remains at the Certosa at Naples, the vault of the
chapel of S. Gennaro, and various pictures in the chapter house. He had
a beautiful expression, fertility, correctness, a good arrangement of
parts, and a happy general effect. The second painted in many churches,
and is admired more for his style of composition, than for his figures.
The third approached so near to his master in manner, that artists have
sometimes ascribed his works to Massimo; and in truth he left some
beautiful productions at S. Severino, and other churches. He had
afterwards a dry style of colouring, particularly in his contours, which
on that account became crude and hard, and he gradually lost the public
favour. His example may serve as a warning to every one to estimate his
own powers correctly, and not to affect genius when he does not possess
it.
Another scholar who obtained a great name, was Andrea Malinconico, of
Naples. There do not exist any frescos by him, but he left many works in
oil, particularly in the church, de' Miracoli, where he painted almost
all the pictures himself. The Evangelists, and the Doctors of the
church, subjects with which he ornamented the pilasters, are the most
beautiful pictures, says the encomiast, of this master; as the attitudes
are noble, the conception original, and the whole painted with the
spirit of a great artist, and with an astonishing freshness of colour.
There are other fine works by him, but several are feeble and
spiritless, which gave a connoisseur occasion to remark that they were
in unison with the name of the painter.
But none of the preceding artists were so much favoured by nature as
Bernardo Cavallino, who at first created a jealous feeling in Massimo
himself. Finding afterwards that his talent lay more in small figures
than large, he pursued that department, and became very celebrated in
his school, beyond which he is not so well known as he deserves to be.
In the galleries of the Neapolitan nobility are to be seen by him, on
canvass and copper, subjects both sacred and profane, composed with
great judgment, and with figures in the style of Poussin, full of spirit
and expression, and accompanied by a native grace, and a simplicity
peculiarly their own. In his colouring, besides his master and
Gentileschi, who were both followers of Guido, he imitated Rubens. He
possessed every quality essential to an accomplished artist, as even the
most extreme poverty could not induce him to hurry his works, which he
was accustomed frequently to retouch before he could entirely satisfy
himself. Life was alone wanting to him, which he unfortunately shortened
by his irregularities.[115]
Andrea Vaccaro was a contemporary and rival of Massimo, but at the same
time his admirer and friend, a man of great imitative powers. He at
first followed Caravaggio, and in that style his pictures are frequently
found in Naples, and some cabinet pictures, which have even imposed upon
connoisseurs, who have bought them for originals of that master. After
some time Massimo won him over to the style of Guido, in which he
succeeded in an admirable manner, though he did not equal his friend. In
this style are executed his most celebrated works at the Certosa, at the
Teatini and Rosario, without enumerating those in collections, where he
is frequently found. On the death of Massimo, he assumed the first rank
among his countrymen. Giordano alone opposed him in his early years,
when on his return from Rome he brought with him a new style from the
school of Cortona, and both artists were competitors for the larger
picture of S. Maria del Pianto. That church had been lately erected in
gratitude to the Virgin, who had liberated the city from pestilence, and
this was the subject of the picture. Each artist made a design, and
Pietro da Cortona being chosen umpire, decided against his own scholar
in favour of Vaccaro, observing, that as he was first in years, so he
was first in design and natural expression. He had not studied frescos
in his youth, but began them when he was advanced in life, in order that
he might not yield the palm to Giordano, but by the loss of his fame, he
verified the proverb, that _ad omnem disciplinam tardior est senectus_.
Of his scholars, Giacomo Farelli was the most successful, who by his
vigorous talents, and by the assistance of his master, painted a picture
in competition with Giordano. The church of S. Brigida has a beautiful
picture of that saint by Farelli, and its author is mentioned by Matteis
as a painter of singular merit. He declined however, in public esteem,
from wishing at an advanced age to change his style, when he painted the
sacristy of the Tesoro. He was on that occasion anxious to imitate
Domenichino, but he did not succeed in his attempt, and indeed he never
afterwards executed any work of merit.
Nor did Domenichino fail to have among the painters of Naples, or of
that state, many deserving followers.[116] Cozza, a Calabrian, who lived
in Rome, I included in that school, as also Antonio Ricci, called il
Barbalunga, who was of Messina, and well known in Rome. I may add, that
he returned to Messina, and ornamented that city with many works; as at
S. Gregorio, the saint writing; the Ascension at S. Michele; two Pietas
of different designs at S. Niccolo and the Spedale. He is considered as
one of the best painters of Sicily, where good artists have abounded
more than is generally imagined. He formed a school there and left
several scholars.[117]
I ought after him to mention another Sicilian, Pietro del Po da Palermo,
a good engraver, and better known in Rome in that capacity, than as a
painter. There is a S. Leone by him at the church of the Madonna di
Costantinopoli; an altarpiece which however does not do him so much
honour as the pictures which he painted for collections, some of which
are in Spain; and particularly some small pictures which he executed in
the manner of miniatures with exquisite taste. Two of this kind I saw in
Piacenza, at the Sig. della Missione, a Decollation of S. John, and a
Crucifixion of S. Peter in his best manner, and with his name. This
artist, after working in Rome, settled in Naples with a son of the name
of Giacomo, who had been instructed in the art by Poussin and himself.
He also taught a daughter of the name of Teresa, who was skilled in
miniatures. The two Pos were well acquainted with the principles of the
art, and had taught in the academy of Rome. But the father painted
little in Naples; the son found constant employ in ornamenting the halls
and galleries of the nobility with frescos. His intimacy with letters
aided the poetic taste with which his pictures were conceived, and his
varied and enchanting colours fascinated the eye of every spectator. He
was singular and original in his lights, and their various gradations
and reflections. In his figures and drapery he became, as is generally
the case with the machinists, mannered and less correct; nor has he any
claim as an imitator of Domenichino, except from the early instructions
of his father. In Rome there are two paintings by him, one at S. Angiolo
in Pescheria, the other at S. Marta; and there are some in Naples; but
his genius chiefly shines in the frescos of the gallery of the Marchese
Genzano, and in the house of the Duke of Matalona, and still more in
seven apartments of the Prince of Avellino.
A more finished imitator of Zampieri than the two Pos was a scholar of
his, of the name of Francesco di Maria, the author of few works, as he
willingly suffered those reproaches of slowness and irresolution which
accompanied the unfortunate Domenichino to the grave. But his works,
though few in number, are excellent, particularly the history of S.
Lorenzo at the Conventuals in Naples, and also many of his portraits.
One of the latter exhibited in Rome, together with one by Vandyke, and
one by Rubens, was preferred by Poussin, Cortona, and Sacchi, to those
of the Flemish artists. Others of his pictures are bought at great
prices, and are considered by the less experienced as the works of
Domenichino. He resembled that master indeed in every quality, except
grace, which nature had denied him. Hence Giordano said of his figures,
that when consumption had reduced the muscles and bones, they might be
correct and beautiful, but still insipid. In return he did not spare
Giordano; declaring his school "heretical, and that he could not endure
works which owe all their merit to ostentatious colour, and a vague
design," as Matteis, who is partial to the memory of Francesco, attests.
Lanfranco in Naples had contributed, as I have observed, to the
instruction of Massimo, but that artist renounced the style of Lanfranco
for that of Guido. The two Pos, however, were more attached to him, and
imitated his colouring. Pascoli doubts whether he should not assign
Preti to him, an error which we shall shortly confute. Dominici also
includes among his countrymen Brandi, a scholar of Lanfranco; collecting
from one of his letters that he acknowledged Gaeta for his native place.
His family was probably from thence, but he himself was born in
Poli.[118] I included him among the painters of Rome, where he studied
and painted; and I mentioned at the same time the Cav. Giambatista
Benaschi, as he is called by some, or Beinaschi by others. This
variation gave occasion to suppose, that there were two painters of that
name; in the same way there may be a third, as the name is sometimes
written Bernaschi. Some contradictions in his biographers, which it is
not worth our while to enter on, have contributed to perpetuate this
error. I shall only observe, that he was not born until 1636, and was
not a scholar of Lanfranco, but of M. Spirito, in Piedmont, and of
Pietro del Po, in Rome. Thus Orlandi writes of him, who had a better
opportunity than Pascoli, or Dominici, of procuring information from
Angela, the daughter of the Cavaliere, who lived in Rome in his time,
and painted portraits in an agreeable style. He is considered both by
Pascoli and Orlandi, as a painter of Rome, but he left very few works
there, as appears from Titi. Naples was the theatre of his talents, and
there he had numerous scholars, and painted many cupolas, ceilings, and
other considerable works, and with such a variety of design, that there
is not an instance of an attitude being repeated by him. Nor was he
deficient in grace, either of form or colour, as long as he trod in the
steps of Lanfranco, as he did in the S. M. di Loreto, and in other
churches, but aspiring in some others to a more vigorous style, he
became dark and heavy. He excelled in the knowledge of the _sotto in
su_, and displayed extraordinary skill in his foreshortenings. The
painters in Naples have often compared among themselves, says Dominici,
the two pictures of S. Michael, the one by Lanfranco, and the other by
Benaschi, in the church of the Holy Apostles, without being able to
decide to which master they ought to assign the palm of merit.
Guercino himself was never in Naples, but the Cav. Mattia Preti,
commonly called il Cav. Calabrese, allured by the novelty of his style,
repaired to Cento, to avail himself of his instructions. This
information we have from Domenici, who had heard him say, that he was in
fact the scholar of Guercino, but that he had, moreover, studied the
works of all the principal masters; and he had indeed visited almost
every country, and seen and studied the best productions of every
school, both in and beyond Italy. Hence in his painting he may be
compared to a man whose travels have been extensive, and who never hears
a subject started to which he does not add something new, and indeed the
drapery and ornaments, and costume of Preti, are highly varied and
original. He confined himself to design, and did not attempt colours
until his twenty-sixth year. In design he was more vigorous and robust
than delicate, and sometimes inclines to heaviness. In his colouring he
was not attractive, but had a strong _impasto_, a decided chiaroscuro,
and a prevailing ashy tone, that was well adapted for his mournful and
tragical subjects; for, following the bent of his genius, he devoted his
pencil to the representation of martyrdoms, slaughters, pestilence, and
the pangs of a guilty conscience. It was his custom, says Pascoli, at
least in his large works, to paint at the first conception, and true to
nature, and he did not take much pains afterwards in correction, or in
the just expression of the passions.
He executed some large works in fresco in Modena, Naples, and Malta. He
had not equal success at S. Andrea della Valle, in Rome, where he
painted three histories of that saint, under the tribune of Domenichino;
a proximity from which his work suffers considerably, and the figures
appear out of proportion, and not well adapted to the situation. His oil
pictures in Italy are innumerable, as he lived to an advanced age; he
had a great rapidity of hand, and was accustomed, wherever he went, to
leave some memorial of his talents, sometimes in the churches, but
chiefly in private collections, and they are, in general, figures of
half size, like those of Guercino and Caravaggio. Naples, Rome, and
Florence, all abound with his works, but above all Bologna. In the
Marulli palace is his Belisarius asking alms; in that of Ratti, a S.
Penitente, chained in a suffering position; in the Malvezzi palace, Sir
Thomas More in prison; in that of the Ercolani, a Pestilence, besides
many more in the same, and other galleries of the nobility. Amongst his
altarpieces, one of the most finished is in the Duomo of Siena, S.
Bernardino preaching to and converting the people. In Naples, besides
the soffitto of the church de' Celestini, he painted not a little; less
however than both he himself and the professors of a better taste
desired, and in conjunction with whom he resisted the innovations of
Giordano. But that artist had an unprecedented popularity, and in spite
of his faults triumphed over all his contemporaries, and Preti was
himself obliged to relinquish the contest, and close his days in Malta,
of which order, in honour of his great merit as a painter, he was made a
commendatore. He left some imitators in Naples, one of whom was Domenico
Viola; but neither he, nor his other scholars passed the bounds of
mediocrity. The same may be said of Gregorio Preti, his brother, of whom
there is a fresco at S. Carlo de' Catinari, in Rome.
After this enumeration of foreign artists, we must now return to the
national school, and notice some disciples of Ribera, It often happens
that those masters who are mannerists, form scholars who confine their
powers to the sole imitation of their master, and thus produce pictures
that deceive the most experienced, and which in other countries are
esteemed the works of the master himself. This was the case with
Giovanni Do, and Bartolommeo Passante, in regard to Spagnoletto,
although the first in progress of time softened his manner, and tamed
his flesh tints; while the second added only to the usual style of
Spagnoletto, a more finished design and expression. Francesco Fracanzani
possessed a peculiar grandeur of style, and a noble tone of colour; and
the death of S. Joseph, which he painted at the Pellegrini, is one of
the best pictures of the city. Afterwards however his necessities
compelled him to paint in a coarse manner in order to gratify the
vulgar, and he fell into bad habits of life, and was finally, for some
crime or other, condemned to die by the hands of the hangman, a
sentence, which for the honour of the art, was compounded for his secret
death in prison by poison.[119]
Aniello Falcone and Salvator Rosa are the great boast of this school;
although Rosa frequented it but a short time and improved himself
afterwards by the instructions of Falcone. Aniello possessed an
extraordinary talent in battle pieces. He painted them both in large and
small size, taking the subjects from the sacred writings, from profane
history, or poetry; his dresses, arms, and features, were as varied as
the combatants he represented. Animated in his expression, select and
natural in the figures and action of his horses, and intelligent in
military affairs, though he had never been in the army, nor seen a
battle; he drew correctly, consulted truth in every thing, coloured with
care, and had a good impasto. That he taught Borgognone as some have
supposed, it is difficult to believe. Baldinucci, who had from that
artist himself the information which he published respecting him, does
not say a word of it. It is however true, that they were acquainted and
mutually esteemed each other; and if the battle pieces of Borgognone
have found a place in the collections of the great, and have been bought
at great prices, those of Aniello have had the like good fortune. He had
many scholars, and by means of them and some other painters his friends,
he was enabled to revenge the death of a relation and also of a scholar,
whom the Spanish authorities had put to death. On the revolution of Maso
Aniello, he and his partisans formed themselves into a company called
the Band of Death; and, protected by Spagnoletto, who excused them to
the Viceroy, committed the most revolting and sanguinary excesses; until
the state was composed, and the people reduced to submission, when this
murderous band fled, to escape the hands of justice. Falcone withdrew to
France for some years, and left many works there; the remainder fled to
Rome, or to other places of safety.
The most celebrated of the immediate scholars of Falcone was Salvator
Rosa, whom we have elsewhere noticed, who began his career by painting
battles, and became a most distinguished landscape painter; and Domenico
Gargiuoli, called Micco Spadaro, a landscape painter of merit, and a
good painter in large compositions, as he appears at the Certosa, and in
other churches. He had an extraordinary talent too in painting small
figures, and might with propriety be called the Cerquozzi of his school.
Hence Viviano Codagora, who was an eminent landscape painter, after
becoming acquainted with him, would not permit any other artist to
ornament his works with figures, as he introduced them with infinite
grace; and this circumstance probably led to their intimate friendship,
and to risking their lives in the same cause as we have before related.
The Neapolitan galleries possess many of their pictures; and some have
specimens of _capricci_, or humourous pictures, all by the hand of
Spadaro. He indeed had no equal in depicting the manners and dresses of
the common people of his country, particularly in large assemblies. In
some of his works of this kind, the number of his figures have exceeded
a thousand. He was assisted by the etchings of Stefano della Bella, and
Callot, both of whom were celebrated for placing a great body of people
in a little space; but it was in the true spirit of imitation, and
without a trace of servility; on the contrary, he improved the principal
figures (where bad contours are with difficulty concealed) and corrected
the attitudes, and carefully retouched them.