Neapolitan school, 17th century, Peasant with hoe

Neapolitan school, 17th century Peasant with hoe Oil on canvas, 86 x 69 cm With frame, 108 x 90 cm The realistic description, devoid of any idealization, of this man, probably a peasant as evidenced by the rumpled clothes he wears equipped with a shovel or hoe, refers to a pictorial trend that began to develop in the seventeenth century, reaching its maximum expression in the following century. This was the tendency to represent, with great attention to the truth, the lower social strata, from peasants to beggars, often depicted in their daily activities. Sometimes these subjects could be a vehicle for allegorical meanings and sometimes, as in the case under examination, the artists did not fail to trace their psychological profile, weaving a relationship of emotional sharing with the viewer. This pictorial trend started from Michelangelo Merisi known as Caravaggio who, with a desecrating tone, used to include the humblest people in the religious episode, depicted with an adherence to reality completely far from academic idealization. As is known, Caravaggio did not have a real school but many artists were closely influenced by him. Among these is Jusepe de Ribera, also known as Lo Spagnoletto because of his origins and to whose works the author of the painting in question may have looked, who shows the subject half-length and immersed in the shadows. The Neapolitan matrix of the painting, fully confirmed by the particular faded emotional state that permeates the canvas, at the same time alludes to the solutions of the so-called Master of the Annunciation to the Shepherds, active in the Neapolitan territory around the first half of the seventeenth century. The artist, who owes his name to the homonymous painting now kept at the Birmingham Museum, gained notoriety for the marked use of chiaroscuro, darkly lying on the figures and no longer torn by a directional light as in Caravaggio. The object is in good condition With Ars Antiqua it is possible to postpone all amounts up to a maximum of €7,500 at ZERO RATE, for a total of 15 INSTALLMENTS. Ex. Tot. €4,500 = Monthly installment €300 for 15 months. Ex. Tot. €3,600 = Monthly installment €720 for 5 months. For amounts exceeding €7,500 or for a longer extension of time (over 15 installments), we can provide a personalized payment. Contact us directly to get the best quote. LIVE TV – SUNDAY 19.00 – 23.00 Dig.terr. 126 + 809 SKY - THURSDAY 21.00 - 24.00 Dig.terr. 134 + 809 SKY – Streaming on our website www.arsantiquasrl.com and on our social media Facebook and Youtube All the works offered by Ars Antiqua are sold with a certificate of authenticity in accordance with the law and an accurate in-depth sheet. It is possible to see the works directly at the Milan showroom gallery, in via Pisacane 55 and 57. We personally organize transports and deliveries of the works, both for Italy and abroad.