Gaspare Traversi (c. 1722 – 1 November 1770) was an Italian
Rococo painter best known for his
genre works. Active mostly in his native city of
Naples, he also painted throughout Italy, including a stay in
Parma.
Gaspare appears to have been born to a Genoese merchant living in Naples.
[Intorno all'ambiente familiare di Gaspare Traversi (1722-1770): documenti inediti dagli archivi napoletani RR Terrone - Kronos, 2009] He appears to have been baptized on February 15, 1722, in the church of
Santa Maria dell'Incoronatella
Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring children gifts during the late evening and overnight ...
in Naples under the name Gasparro Giovanni Battista Pascale Traversa. He trained under
Francesco Solimena
Francesco Solimena (4 October 1657 – 3 April 1747) was a prolific Italian painter of the Baroque era, one of an established family of painters and draughtsmen.
Biography
Francesco Solimena was born in Canale di Serino in the province of ...
. He was a contemporary of other Solimena pupils,
Giuseppe Bonito (1707–1789), also a genre painter, and
Francesco de Mura
Francesco de Mura (21 April 1696 – 19 August 1782) was an Italian painter of the late- Baroque period, active mainly in Naples and Turin. His late work reflects the style of neoclassicism.
Life
Francesco de Mura, also referred to as ''Fran ...
(1696–1784). He was active mainly between 1732 and 1769.
Traversi can be described as a Neapolitan
Hogarth,
Steen or
Longhi, working in a
Caravaggist style. Traversi's satirical paintings typically depict animated groups of bourgeois protagonists that seem compressed physically into an indoor pictorial space that can barely contain them.
Even his religious canvases have foreshortened crowding. Facial expressions are lively and varied; some of the characters, often children, stare at the viewer. Women are often situated in either a foolish or ironic situation, or engage in a pulchritudinous talent, while men leer or participate with other intentions in mind. One could view these as elaborations of moralistic tales, such as Caravaggio's
''The Fortune Teller'', a topic which Traversi also depicted, but Traversi's living rooms are more densely populated, and the emotions, as well as the situations, teeter awkwardly with imbalance.
Although he had no pupils, his influence was significant, and can be seen in the works of
Lorenzo de Caro
Lorenzo de Caro (baptised 29 May 1719 – 2 December 1777) was an Italian painter, active in the late Baroque style in his native city of Naples.
Biography
Decaro's biographical information is sparse, and many canvases refer to painter of Neapol ...
,
Giuseppe Bonito and
Orazio Solimena
Orazio Solimena (1690–1789) was an Italian painter. He was the nephew of Francesco Solimena and became his pupil and successor.
Confusion emerged about Orazio's relation to Francesco. Orazio was traditionally accepted as the nephew of Francesc ...
.
[Oxford Art Online: "Gaspare Traversi"]
Traversi was a focus of a monograph by
Roberto Longhi.
Gallery
Traversi Wahrsagerin.jpg, Fortune-teller & Pickpocket
Traversi Operation.jpg, Surgeon inspects Wound
Traversi Konzert.jpg, The Concert
Gaspare Traversi.jpg, The Drawing Lesson
Traversi - La Séance de portrait 02.jpg, Sitting for Portrait
Gaspare Traversi - Reading a Letter - WGA23052.jpg, Reading a Letter
Gaspare Traversi - Old Man and a Child - WGA23051.jpg, Old beggar with Urchin
Traversi Job mocked by his wife.jpg, Job mocked by his Wife
Traversi Ermordung Amnons.jpg, Absalom murders Amnon
G. Traversi - Margherita da Cortona.JPG, St Margaret of Cortona
Traversi Fra Raffaello.jpg, Portrait of Fra Raffaello da Lugagnano
Gaspare Traversi-Portrait de Gian Lorenzo Berti-Musée des Beaux-Arts de Strasbourg.JPG, Portrait of Gian Lorenzo Berti
Traversi Salome.jpg, Judith with Head of Holofernes
Partial anthology of works
Notes
References
*
*
*Naples Exhibition in 2005 was titled ''Gaspare Traversi. Napolitans of the 1700s between Misery and Nobility'
*Stuttgart Exhibition: ''Gaspare Traversi Amusement in the Shade'
*Parma Exhibition:''Luminary of the 1700s: Gaspare Traversi and his painting in Emilia'
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Traversi, Gaspare
1722 births
1770 deaths
18th-century Italian painters
Italian male painters
Italian genre painters
Painters from Naples
Rococo painters
18th-century Italian male artists