Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Aniello Falcone

Aniello Falcone
A Concert
ca. 1640
Prado

Aniello Falcone (1607-1656) was born in Naples to a family of workers with no artistic affiliations. Overwhelming natural talent combined with good luck directed him to the studio of Jusepe de Ribera (1591-1652), the expatriot Spanish painter seen here yesterday who had already absorbed Roman fashions for high contrast, heavy shadows and suspended motion as popularized by Caravaggio.

Aniello Falcone
Clash of infantry and cavalry
17th century
Pinacoteca Tosio Martinengo, Brescia

Aniello Falcone
Crusaders besieging Jerusalem
17th century
Pinacoteca Tosio Martinengo, Brescia

Aniello Falcone is said to have invented "the battle picture without a hero"  a variation on the standard battle painting that stressed Baroque patterns of motion and energy rather than the valiant deeds of famous individuals. Particularly for Spanish clients he also followed the popular practice of reconstructing scenes from the Roman Empire with conspicuous displays of archaeological accuracy.

Aniello Falcone
Roman Battle
17th century
Prado

Aniello Falcone
Mounted Roman soldiers
ca. 1640
Prado

Aniello Falcone
Roman athletes
ca. 1640
Prado

Aniello Falcone
The Anchorite
ca. 1650
Palazzo Barberini, Rome

Aniello Falcone
Figure study
17th century
drawing
Metropolitan Museum

Aniello Falcone
Figures Fighting
17th century
drawing
Morgan Library

Aniello Falcone
Deathbed Scene
17th century
drawing
Morgan Library

Aniello Falcone
Entombment
1640s
drawing
Cooper-Hewitt Museum

There is only the sketchiest information available about the three Falcone battle pictures below. All were sold at auction within the last five years and all entered private collections for modest sums without attracting the attention of institutions.




Falcone found a Neapolitan disciple of his own in the young Salvator Rosa (1615-1673). In Falcone's workshop, Rosa quickly mastered the battle picture (as below), but the younger painter soon went on to a career of much greater variety and extravagance and fame. Salvator Rosa (that "facile genius") is still today the focus of major publications and retrospectives, but Falcone has not yet found similar favor with posterity.

Salvator Rosa
Heroic Battle
ca. 1652-64
Louvre