Marzio Masturzo

Marzio Masturzo, attr. (Active in Naples and Rome in the second half of the 17th century) Battle between cavalry and vessels with a fortified city on the left Oil on canvas, 113 x 172 cm, with frame .H126 – L186 – p 7 Price: private negotiation Object accompanied by a certificate of authenticity and expertise attached at the bottom of the page The painting depicts a bloody battle between two cavalry forces. The clash, described in the foreground, is characterized by strong dynamism and is set in the plain facing a fortified city, located by the sea. In the background, a wall is depicted with an imposing fortress, and in the distance, houses and churches of a town. The horizon is marked by some mountains, and a rock stands out precipitously over the gulf. On the right, a naval battle is in progress: one can see some warships with their sails hoisted which, close to the shore, are engaged in the clash. Smoke from gunshots and cannons participate in the dramatic description of the event. The painting's colors revolve around the balanced play of grays and ochres, where bright reds and blues stand out in the foreground, suggesting the crucial point of the conflict to the observer. The tormented sky, along with the vegetation in the very foreground on the left, helps to frame the painting. The complex and well-balanced composition, the broad descriptive space assigned to the setting, the chromatic palette, as well as the way the characters are described on the canvas, allow the painting to be attributed to a painter active in Naples in the mid-17th century. The genre of battle painting was extremely successful in the collections of the Italian and European nobility of the 17th and 18th centuries. The battles of the Italian Renaissance, in which the scene converged on a precise protagonist, evolved towards a type of combat "without a hero." The bloody realism of the details and the dynamic development of the narrative confuse the figure of the protagonist, when present, to give importance to the whirlwind of horses and armed combatants, among whom, moreover, a winner does not emerge. The battles of Neapolitan painters are often enhanced by intense chromatism, a vivid and marked brushstroke, very strong reds and blues, which reflect the harshness of the fighting and the animosity of the contenders. The war event is represented with great ferocity and dynamism, and the expressive force is enhanced by cries of pain and rage, expressive faces, rearing horses, wounded and dying people lying on the ground. The skies are also characteristic, where dark gray clouds, which announce a storm, participate in the tragedy of the conflict. The canvas refers to the pictorial outcomes of Marzio Masturzo's artistic production. The certain documents relating to Masturzo's life and movements are scarce; it has been equally difficult for critics to reconstruct a catalog of autograph works. Through paintings in private collections, in museums and paintings that have passed through the antiques market, it has been possible to identify a copious corpus of works that can be traced back to his hand. The work of art historians, together with that of antique dealers, in conferring correct attributions in order to better delineate the figure of Masturzo, continues, but studies are still in progress. In this sense, the work of Giancarlo Sestieri should certainly be noted, who investigated the artistic production of battle painters and Masturzo, thus allowing, with the comparison of the numerous photographic works reported, to identify the stylistic qualities that distinguish the corpus of paintings assigned to him today. The few details known about his life indicate that he apprenticed first with Paolo Greco, Salvator Rosa's uncle, and then in Aniello Falcone's workshop. The close friendship that binds him to Rosa prompts him to follow him to Rome, where he becomes a faithful imitator. Under the name of Marzio Masturzo, several battles linked by similar inventive, stylistic and pictorial correspondences have been brought together. The works of certain attribution (including the battle of the National Gallery of Rome) testify to the painter's closeness to Rosa, but also, according to Giancarlo Sestieri, to Cerquozzi and the initial phase of Jacques Courtois known as Borgognone. Masturzo proves to be a valid popularizer of the specific modules developed in Naples and Rome with a painting already open to a baroque interpretation. In his works, the main scene of the conflict is inserted into a landscape context with well-balanced backgrounds, in which fortresses, castles and fortifications with round or square towers appear, sometimes inspired by real buildings. The chromatic palette is articulated by the contrast between the gray-bluish notes and the lively tones of reds and blues. His swirling clouds that rise from the clash are characteristic. The canvas finds several possible comparisons with works belonging to his corpus, as can be seen in some of the images proposed here. Masturzo inserts elements of architecture inspired by real buildings into his works, then invents fortified citadels and architectural capriccios. An example of this is the Maschio Angioino, described several times with some interpretative variations. In the canvas in question, the uniqueness of the fortress of Castel del Monte stands out within the walls, surrounded by an imaginary urban fabric. Carlotta Venegoni