Francesco Solimena, Italian, 1657-1747
Title: Allegory of Winter
Date: 1680s
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions:
62 x 107 cm
Credit Line: Presented, Mr A.H. Buttery, 1911
Object Number: NGI.626
DescriptionThe theme illustrated here is allegorical. An old man is intent on warming himself near a brazier. He lies in a sort of alcove with his dog beside him, and wine and vegetables rest on a shelf above him. Meanwhile a servant appears ready to bring in more logs. In artistic literature, winter was symbolically identified as a melancholic, cold, old man resting after an year of labour. The picture was perhaps part of a series of ‘Seasons’ painted for an unknown patron.
Solimena was a prolific artist, and extremely famous in his day. For many years he dictated the visual taste of Neapolitan society, and his reputation was equally high all over Europe. He became a painter after having initially studied law and, after his training with Francesco Guarino, found his sources of inspiration in Mattia Preti and Luca Giordano. He soon exploited, with great ability, the illusionistic effects offered by the Baroque style, and created some of the most grandiose compositions of the period, using a technique of strong contrasts and vivid colours in both oil and fresco.
March 2016
Solimena was a prolific artist, and extremely famous in his day. For many years he dictated the visual taste of Neapolitan society, and his reputation was equally high all over Europe. He became a painter after having initially studied law and, after his training with Francesco Guarino, found his sources of inspiration in Mattia Preti and Luca Giordano. He soon exploited, with great ability, the illusionistic effects offered by the Baroque style, and created some of the most grandiose compositions of the period, using a technique of strong contrasts and vivid colours in both oil and fresco.
March 2016
ProvenancePrivate collection; Christie's, 1 December 1906, lot 48; Mr A. H. Buttery, London; presented Mr A.H. Buttery, 1911
Exhibition HistorySpanish Old Masters, Grafton Gallery, London, October 1913 - January 1914
Label TextIn this allegorical painting winter is personified as an old man who attempts to stay warm beside a fire burning in a brazier. He is wearing many layers of clothing to protect against the cold and, in the background, another man is shown carrying more wood for the fire. Solimena was the leading painter in Naples in the eighteenth century. His exuberant baroque style of painting made him a favourite of royal patrons. This painting, from early in his career, displays his dramatic handling of light and shadow, and his use of bold colours.