The Sublime and the Terrible

Once Upon A Time There Was Naples exhibition in Rome's Palazzo Caffarelli

The gouaches, despite being highly sought after by antiquarians, have been largely ignored by art historians, who saw them more as craft than art. The historians' opinion remained unchanged until a few dedicated collectors, in the Sixties, managed to get the gouaches out of oblivion. This, in a nutshell, is the story of the gouaches. Now they are the subject of an exhibition entitled C'era una volta Napoli (Once Upon a Time There Was Naples), running until November 16 in the halls of Palazzo Caffarelli in Rome. "This confirms our city's longstanding commitment," explained Rome Mayor Walter Veltroni, "to using cultural events for promoting collaborations with other cities, regions and countries."
Following a thorough critical reassessment, gouaches have been recognized as a form of art holding considerable documentary worth. In the words of Gianni Borgna, Councillor in charge of Rome's cultural policies, "the gouaches illustrate Naples as it was in the 18th and 19th centuries; it's a city that no longer exists except in our collective memories."
This exhibition splits in three the emotions of a traveller of that age. The first section, Classical, contains the views of classical ruins and panoramas that travellers brought back with them as tangible souvenirs; the second section, Sublime, shows the spectacular eruptions of Mt. Vesuvius; the third one, Picturesque, tackles the complex relation between art and nature with folkloric scenes and views of the city.
The artists of the 1700s felt a strong attraction towards Naples and Campania, where they could find some of the cultural and spiritual issues of the time within the context of everyday reality. The archaeological sites at Herculaneum, Pompeii, and the Phlaegrean Fields, the mild climate, the bright light of the sun, and even the terrifying charm of the volcano all exerted a powerful pull. These factors induced gouache painters to depict the city and its gulf, rich in evocative power.
In the late 17th and early 18th century, a fundamental role was played by the work of Gaspar van Wittel, who revolutionized the idea of landscape by using a camera obscura, thus beating a path that was to be followed by numerous artists from every region of Italy and country of Europe, e.g. Tommaso and Juan Ruiz, Gabriele Ricciarelli, Saverio Della Gatta, and Thomas Jones. Also fundamental was the long stay in Naples of Philipp Hackert, who asserted the principle of documentary fidelity.
The gouaches on display depict many different points of view, but an accurate analysis will reveal that some recur more often: the city seen from the east with the Vigliena and Carmine forts dominating the horizon, the Marinella road, and Posillipo's beautiful; coastline. The latter is portrayed in a range of works attributed to Pietro Fabris that insist on several typical landmarks such as the famous inn "Lo scoglio di Frisio" overlooking the sea, with tables and dancers on the shore. The documentary value is most precise in four gouaches by Alessandro D'Anna: "Santa Lucia," "La Darsena dal Molo Grande," "La collina di San Martino dal Molo Grande," and "Il Mandracchio."
A crucial passage in the modern history of landscape views came at the turn of the century, when the Grand Tour increasingly lost its character of a voyage of cultural discovery and assumed those of romantic contemplation.
This itinerary through Naples, a primordial natural source of inspiration, can be described with Goethe's words: "We were looking out of a top floor balcony, right in front of Mt. Vesuvius; lava was flowing and the stream of fire was red hot, while flames lined the cloud of smoke in gold. Watching all this unfold, and the full moon rising behind the mountain completing the beauty of the scene, was something that rightly left me amazed."

Publication Date: 2003-11-16
Story Location: http://tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=3348