NAPOLI IN BERGAMO
17th century painting in the De Vito collection and in the city

The exhibition, curated by Elena Fumagalli and Nadia Bastogi, will disclose to the audience the special relationship between Bergamo and Neapolitan painting of the 17^th Century, of which a significant chapter was written in the city thanks to the contributions of Luca Giordano (Naples, 1634 – 1705) and his pupil Nicola Malinconico (Naples, 1663 – 1726) in the decoration of Santa Maria Maggiore and the Duomo.

Napoli in Bergamo explores the wonders of painting in between Naturalism and Baroque, its excesses and contradictions through more than forty pieces of art, with custom made restorations and new research. The core of paintings, from the Fondazione Giuseppe e Margaret De Vito, is complemented by unpublished canvases from the Accademia Carrara collection and works on loan from churches in the city and the Bergamo area.

The exhibition takes into consideration the production going from an early Neapolitan follower of Caravaggio, Battistello Caracciolo (1578 – 1635), to the Classicism of Massimo Stanzione (1585 – 1656), from the Tenebrismo of Jusepe de Ribera (1591 – 1652) to the grandeur of Baroque painting by Mattia Preti (1613 – 1699), Luca Giordano – present with more than twenty works – and his pupil Nicola Malinconico.