Master of the Annunciation to the Shepherds
A Neapolitan painter who worked between 1620 and 1660 is referred to as the Master of the Annunciation to the Shepherds ( Italian Maestro dell'Annuncio ai Pastori ) . The artist, whose name is not certain, was given his emergency name after the picture he created of the Annunciation to the Shepherds , which is now kept in the City of Birmingham Museum .
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The picture shows three waking or sleeping shepherds in simple clothing or wrapped in blankets amid their sheep. In the night sky above them two brightly lit childish angels ( putti ) appear, which also act as a light source for the whole scene. The painter's color palette is deliberately reduced to dark gray-brown tones.
The master took up the motif of the Annunciation to the shepherds and their adoration of the baby Jesus several times and depicted it in a realistic manner. More of his pictures with this motif can be found in the Museo di Capodimonte in Naples or in the Museu de Arte in São Paulo . Like the eponymous picture in Birmingham, they also depict poor, ragged shepherds in harsh reality, whose weather-beaten faces invite the viewer to sympathize with the hope for improvement and redemption in this world or in the hereafter that resonates with the subject.
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The master of the Annunciation to the Shepherds is considered to be one of the most important baroque painters in Naples. He is the main representative of a generation of artists, including Francesco Fracanzano and Francesco Guarino , who want to depict not only religiosity but also the real social conditions of the city in a naturalistic and detailed style.
Hypotheses
It is possible that the master of the Annunciation to the Shepherds - like Jusepe de Ribera , who also worked in Naples until 1652 - originally came from Spain , as his work shows the influence of this painter. Stylistically, it shows not only the influence of Ribera but also parallels to the early work of the Spanish baroque painter Diego Velasquez .
It is proposed to identify the Master of the Annunciation to the Shepherds with Bartolomeo Bassante . But it could also be Giovanni Do or Nunzio Rossi . Next was Antonio de Bellis or Bernardo Cavallino suspected. However, all identification attempts remain controversial.
Other works
In the course of time, the Master of the Annunciation to the Shepherds was assigned a larger catalog of works, which in addition to pictures in Birmingham, Naples and São Paulo also contains works that are exhibited today in London, Madrid and Munich. Some works are still privately owned. Lately these works are mostly listed under the name of Bartolomeo Bassante, of whom only two signed pictures are known.
literature
- F. Bologna: Francesco Solimena . Naples 1958
- R. Causa: La pittura del Seicento a Napoli dal Naturalismo al Barocco . In: Storia di Napoli, V / II. Cava dei Tirreni 1972, pp. 915-994
- N. Spinosa: Il Maestro dell'Annuncio ai pastori, Bartolomeo Bassante, Antonio de Bellis o Bernardo Cavallino? Riflessioni e dubbi sul primo Seicento a Napoli . In: F. Bologna (ed.): Scritti in memoria di Raffaello Causa, Saggi e documenti per la storia dell'arte 1994-1995. Naples 1996.
- G. de Vito: Variazioni sul nome del Maestro dell'Annuncio ai pastori: studio comparativo di due dipinti su tela attribuibili al Maestro dell'Annuncio ai pastori . In: Ricerche sul Seicento napolitano. Saggi e documenti 1996-1997. Naples 1998. pp. 7-62
- F. Abbate: Storia dell'arte nell'Italia meridionale: Il secolo d'oro . Rome 2002
- N. Spinosa: Ancora sul Maestro dell'Annuncio ai pastori Bartolomeo Bassante e Antonio De Bellis . In: MG Bernardini et al. (Ed.): Studi di storia dell'arte in onore di Denis Mahon . Milan 2000, pp. 177-184
- N. Spinosa: Aggiunte al Maestro dell'Annuncio ai pastori, aka Bartolomeo Passante o Juan Thu . In: A. Henning et al. (Ed.): One could not dream of paradise more pleasantly - Festschrift for Prof. Dr. Harald Marx on February 15, 2009. Berlin 2009 pp. 84–91
- Respiro Barocco: Un viaggio nella Napoli del Seicento . Exhibition catalog Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica di Palazzo Barberini, September 24 - December 12, 2009, Bolzano 2009
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Master of the Annunciation to the Shepherds |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Maestro dell'Annuncio ai Pastori |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Neapolitan painter |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 16th century or 17th century |
| DATE OF DEATH | 17th century |