 main index © Jeff Matthews 2002-2012
Pitloo: the Castel dell'Ovo
That
changed when Anton Sminck Pitloo (1790-1837), a Dutch
painter, moved to Naples, became a lecturer at the Art Academy in Naples and
opened a studio in the Chiaia section of town. He
gathered around him a number of others painters to
found what is now called the “Posillipo School”—that
is, landscape painting done en plein air (outdoors) in natural
lighting, works with a more spontaneous, lively and
lighter approach, and one that used light and colors
in ways that anticipated Impressionism later in the
century.
Gigante: Amalfi
The
foremost of the Posillipo school is conceded to be one
of Pitloo’s students, Giacinto Gigante (1806-1876).
His early experience was with the Neapolitan Royal
Topographic Office, the office that turned out maps.
That interest stayed with him throughout his life; he
worked on the engravings for the well-known Viaggio pittorico nel
regno delle due Sicilie [Paintings of a Trip
in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies] published in the
early 1830s. He also became somewhat the court painter
for members of the Russian aristocracy during their
visits to Naples in the 1840s. Gigante did exhibit
briefly in Paris but generally did not travel much.
Most of his works are of the areas in or near Naples.
A substantial amount of Gigante’s work is in the
collections of the museums at Capodimonte and San Martino. There are
occasional exhibitions on the Posillipo School, the
most recent one in 2006 at the Villa
Pignatelli.
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