N. 29 - Capri

THE SEA IN PAINTING
by Ludovico Pratesi
Coastlines, beaches, waves,
rocks. Seascapes have always
been a source of inspiration for
the great artists
In a country like Italy, a peninsula
surrounded by water, it is not surprising
that many artists have celebrated the
sea as a principal feature of the landscape.
Ever since the Renaissance, seascapes
have featured in paintings from as early
as the first view of the city of Naples in the
mysterious Tavola Strozzi, a brush painting
by a Neapolitan artist around the middle
of the fifteenth century, depicting Naples
overlooking the bay. And it is not by chance
that the luminous landscapes painted in the
century of the Grand Tour, by artists such as
Gaspar Van Wittel, Salvator Rosa, Antonio
Joli and Jakob Philipp Hackert, interpreted so
intensely and strikingly the luminosity of the
waters of the Gulf with the islands of Ischia,
Procida and Capri rising from the water. The
rocks, coastlines, beaches and cliffs all stand
out as extraordinary sources of inspiration for
painters of the nineteenth century who sought
to interpret the beauty of the Neapolitan
landscape. So while the masters of the
Posillipo School, such as Filippo Palizzi
and Giacinto Gigante, carried out their work
between the Chiaia coast and San Martino,
some of their colleagues devoted themselves
specifically to the magic of Capri, such as
the Sicilian painter Antonino Leto (1844-
1913) who settled permanently on Capri in
1882, in order to paint the most beautiful
corners of the island. Another great fan of the
Faraglioni is Giuseppe Garelli (1858-1921),
who was mainly interested in the quality of
the Mediterranean light which he transferred
onto the canvas with a frayed, mellow painting
style similar to that of his Neapolitan colleague
Carmine Giardiello (1871-1916), who was
fascinated by the daily life of the fishermen,
which he depicted with a vibrant and vigorous,
almost impressionist, style. He had this
technique in common with Fausto Pratella
(1888-1964), who painted a charming view of
the Capri harbour, livened by the waves on a
slightly choppy sea. Karl Wilhelm Diefenbach
(1851-1913), who lived like a hermit in a cave
among the rocks on Capri for thirteen years,
saw the island in a wilder, more romantic
light. “Capri would suffice me all my life, with
these rough crags that I love, and the terrible,
beautiful sea,” wrote this artist, who loved the
island and the bright blue glinting sea more
than any other artist.
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