- Bernardo Cavallino
Bernardo Cavallino (1616–1656) was an Italian painter of the
Baroque period, working inNaples .Born in Naples, he likely died during the plague epidemic in 1656. While his paintings are some of the more stunningly expressive works emerging from the Neapolitan artists of his day, little is known about the painter's background or training. Of eighty attributed paintings, less than ten are signed. He worked through private dealers and collectors whose records are no longer available.
It is said that he trained with
Massimo Stanzione , befriended the painterAndrea Vaccaro , and was influenced byAnthony Van Dyck , but his paintings could also be described as equidistant fromCaravaggio andBartolomé Esteban Murillo in styles;tenebrism enveloped with a theatrical sweetness, a posed ecstasy and feeling characteristic of the high Roman baroque statuary. He is known to have worked in Neapolitan circles strongly influenced by Stanzione, which includedArtemisia Gentileschi ,Francesco Francanzano ,Agostino Beltrano andFrancesco Guarino .One of his masterpieces is the billowing maiden "Virgin" at the
Brera Gallery in Milan [ [http://www.wga.hu/html/c/cavallio/thebless.html Virgin at the Brera Gallery] ] . Passive amid the swirling, muscular putti, this Neapolitan signorina delicately rises from the fog, the updated Catholic baroque equivalent of aBotticelli 's Venus. His "The Ecstasy of St Cecilia" exists both as cartoon (Museo di Capodimonte , Naples) [ [http://www.wga.hu/html/c/cavallio/cecilia.html The Ecstasy of St Cecilia (Naples)] ] and final copy in thePalazzo Vecchio of Florence. Finally, his "Esther and Ahaseurus" hangs in theUffizi Gallery [ [http://www.wga.hu/html/c/cavallio/esther_a.html Esther and Ahaseurus (Uffizi, Florence)] ] .References
Literature
* "On Seicento Painting in Naples: Some Observations on Bernardo Cavallino, Artemisia Gentileschi and Others", Józef Grabski. (1985) Artibus et Historiae. p. 23-63.
*External links
* [http://www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artMakerDetails?maker=611&page=1|Getty Museum biography]
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