Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes, Angelo Solimena (Canale di Serino 1629 – Barra, 1716)

Angelo Solimena (Serino Canal 1629 – Barra, 1716)
Multiplication of the loaves and fishes

Oil painting on canvas
60 x 102 cm. – In frame 76 x 116 cm.

Work accompanied by expertise of Prof. Emilio Negro

Full details of the painting (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 St. John (6, 1-13), which tells that Christ, accompanied by his disciples, arrived in Tiberias, where a crowd of over five thousand people who were following him, now exhausted, urgently needed to be fed.

The only supplies available were five barley loaves and two fish that a boy kept in a basket, too few to feed all that crowd. Jesus asked him to bring them to him, ordered the people to sit down, took the five loaves, and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks, and broke them. Then he instructed his disciples to distribute them to all 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 seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, derived from knowledge of the works of Francesco Guarino and, above all, those of Luca Giordano.

Our canvas in fact replicates (although with variations: the flying angels are missing, the colours are different, the shape of the clouds, etc.) a similar composition on a larger scale 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, since it is well known that many artists used to replicate, with certain changes, the most famous works of other masters, from which they drew possible inspiration.

In particular, observing its stylistic characteristics, the canvas can be linked to the modus of Angelo Solimena (Canale di Serino 1629 – Barra, 1716), founder of a family of artists (father of Francesco Solimena, also known as Abbot Ciccio).

He worked mainly in the Salerno area, but it was his move to Nocera that brought the most interesting phase of his artistic career to fruition. After receiving commissions from nobles and ecclesiastics, towards the end of his career he had the opportunity to work alongside his son Francesco, with whom he became acquainted with the dazzling pictorial solutions adopted by Luca Giordano.

In his painting we find this singular way of painting with marked flickering 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 methods of his master Francesco Guarino and the Baroque and neo-Venetian pictorial language of Luca Giordano and then of Francesco Solimena himself.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

The work is sold complete with a gilded wooden frame and is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity and descriptive iconographic card.

We take care of and organize the transport of the purchased works, 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.

Contact us, without obligation, for any additional information.

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