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Nicola Vaccaro (Naples, 13 March 1640 – Naples, 25 May 1709) was an Italian painter, theatre director and opera librettist in Naples. He was known for his religious and allegorical paintings who created easel paintings as frescos. He was a specialist figure painter who regularly collaborated with specialist still life painters on decorative Baroque still lifes and garland paintings. Vaccaro attempted to adapt the stylistic features of 17th-century Neapolitan tradition to the new
Todi (PG), Tau Editrice, 2009,
He went for some time to Rome where he joined the studio of
Napoli 1742-44, III, pp. 152-154 Nicola Vaccaro married Anna Maria Manecchia, daughter of the painter Gian Giacomo Manecchia, on 10 October 1657.Maria Claudia Izzo, ''Il compianto di Adamo ed Eva sul corpo di Abele''
His wife was also active as a painter.
Through this marriage, he forged strong ties with well-known artists of the time such as Andrea Malinconico, Giovanni Do and
in: La Città
He later fell in love with Giulietta Zuffi, a singer of the theater with whom he had a scandalous relationship. To please her he took up the position of manager at the Teatro di San Bartolomeo, an opera house in Napels, active mainly in the 17th and 18th centuries. He was the administrator, librettist and set designer of the theatre from 1683 to 1689. His mistress Zuffi was during this period the protagonist of the theater seasons. His activity in the field of theater was not separate from his artistic and existential trajectory, but was inseparable from the rest of his pictorial production. He wrote libretti for the theatre productions. He designed the theatre sets for which he likely also painted some of the decorations. He devised a new system for changing the sets. The theatrical activity of Nicola Vaccaro coincided with the famous season of
at Dorotheum Vaccaro's first wife died around 1690 and he married a second time.
Nicola Vaccaro was a versatile painter, who covered a wide range of subjects including religious, historical and mythological themes. He was also able to integrate still lifes and landscapes in his paintings in collaboration with specialist painters such as
Nicola Vaccaro (Naples, 13 March 1640 – Naples, 25 May 1709) was an Italian painter, theatre director and opera librettist in Naples. He was known for his religious and allegorical paintings who created easel paintings as frescos. He was a specialist figure painter who regularly collaborated with specialist still life painters on decorative Baroque still lifes and garland paintings. Vaccaro attempted to adapt the stylistic features of 17th-century Neapolitan tradition to the new Classicist
Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...
and Baroque trends towards increasing Arcadian tendencies. He proposed his own specific form of Academism
Academic art, or academicism or academism, is a style of painting and sculpture produced under the influence of European academies of art. Specifically, academic art is the art and artists influenced by the standards of the French Académie d ...
, aimed at revitalizing the figurative culture in Naples.Maria Claudia Izzo, ''Nicola Vaccaro, 1640-1709. Un artista a Napoli tra barocco e Arcadia''Todi (PG), Tau Editrice, 2009,
Life
He was born in Naples as the son ofAndrea Vaccaro
Andrea Vaccaro (baptised on 8 May 1604 – 18 January 1670) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period. Vaccaro was in his time one of the most successful painters in Naples, a city then under Spanish rule. Very successful and valued in his li ...
and Anna Criscuolo and baptised with the name Tomaso Domenico Nicola. His father was a prominent history painter in 17th century Naples.Tuck-Scala, Anna Kiyomi, ''The Documented Paintings and Life of Andrea Vaccaro (1604-1670)'', Graduate Program: Art History Degree: Doctor of Philosophy, Dissertation, Date of Defense: August 20, 2003, The Pennsylvania State University He first studied drawing with his father. According to the Italian biographer Filippo Boni, Vaccaro liked the palette of Salvator Rosa's landscape paintings and was so successful in mimicking Rosa's style that some of his works were sold as works by Rosa.
He went for some time to Rome where he joined the studio of Nicolas Poussin
Nicolas Poussin (, , ; June 1594 – 19 November 1665) was the leading painter of the classical French Baroque style, although he spent most of his working life in Rome. Most of his works were on religious and mythological subjects painted for a ...
.B. de’ Dominici, ''Vite de’ Pittori, Scultori ed Architetti Napoletani non mai date alla luce da autore alcuno,dedicate agli eccellentissimi Eletti della fedelissima citta di Napoli''Napoli 1742-44, III, pp. 152-154 Nicola Vaccaro married Anna Maria Manecchia, daughter of the painter Gian Giacomo Manecchia, on 10 October 1657.Maria Claudia Izzo, ''Il compianto di Adamo ed Eva sul corpo di Abele''
His wife was also active as a painter.
Through this marriage, he forged strong ties with well-known artists of the time such as Andrea Malinconico, Giovanni Do and
Giacinto de Popoli
Giacinto de Popoli (died 1682) was an Italian painter of the Baroque painting, Baroque period, active near his natal city of Orta di Atella in the Province of Caserta. He was a pupil of Massimo Stanzioni.
References
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1682 deaths
17th-cen ...
, for whom he appears often as a witness at weddings or as a godfather at the baptism of their children. The couple's second son Andrea became also an artist and inherited his father's precious collection of drawings. Nicola attended the drawing classes of the Accademia del Nudo (Academy of the Nude), established in Naples in 1664 and of which his father, Andrea, was director and, at the same time, treasurer. Through these classes Nicola acquired good expressive ability in the representation of the anatomy of the human body, gestures and physiognomy.Gerardo Pecci, ''Il dipinto poco noto di Nicola Vaccaro al Museo Diocesano''in: La Città
He later fell in love with Giulietta Zuffi, a singer of the theater with whom he had a scandalous relationship. To please her he took up the position of manager at the Teatro di San Bartolomeo, an opera house in Napels, active mainly in the 17th and 18th centuries. He was the administrator, librettist and set designer of the theatre from 1683 to 1689. His mistress Zuffi was during this period the protagonist of the theater seasons. His activity in the field of theater was not separate from his artistic and existential trajectory, but was inseparable from the rest of his pictorial production. He wrote libretti for the theatre productions. He designed the theatre sets for which he likely also painted some of the decorations. He devised a new system for changing the sets. The theatrical activity of Nicola Vaccaro coincided with the famous season of Alessandro Scarlatti
Pietro Alessandro Gaspare Scarlatti (2 May 1660 – 22 October 1725) was an Italian Baroque composer, known especially for his operas and chamber cantatas. He is considered the most important representative of the Neapolitan school of opera.
...
, an important moment for the history of music in Naples. Vaccaro ensured the collaboration of the great musician throughout the course of his management, thus demonstrating a modern managerial sensitivity. Vaccaro produced 18 shows during his tenure. All the works were first performed at the Royal Palace and then at the public Teathre of San Bartolomeo. He was kept so busy that his output as a painter was significantly reduced. Despite his hard work his tenure as manager of the theatre was not successful.Nicola Vaccaro (Naples 1640–1709), ''Adam and Eve with the Infants Cain and Abel''at Dorotheum Vaccaro's first wife died around 1690 and he married a second time.
Work
Nicola Vaccaro was a versatile painter, who covered a wide range of subjects including religious, historical and mythological themes. He was also able to integrate still lifes and landscapes in his paintings in collaboration with specialist painters such as Abraham Brueghel
Abraham Brueghel (baptised 28 November 1631 – c. 1690) was a Flemish painter from the famous Brueghel family of artists. He emigrated at a young age to Italy where he played an important role in the development of the style of decorative Baroq ...
, Francesco Della Quosta, Aniello Ascione
Aniello Ascione (''fl'' 1680 –1708) was an Italian painter of still lifes. He is regarded as an important representative of the Flemish style of Baroque still life painting and a follower of the Flemish painter Abraham Brueghel who worked in Na ...
and Andrea Belvedere
Abate Andrea Belvedere (born 1646) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period.
Life and Work
It is believed that the painter was born not in 1646, as De Dominici reported, but around 1652, based on the discovery, by Prota Giurleo, of the ac ...
. He painted on various carriers including wood panels, copper, brass and crystal, and also practised fresco painting.
Like his father, his work is characterised by its eclecticism. Among the Neapolitan artists, he can be regarded as an alternative to the trends represented respectively by Luca Giordano
Luca Giordano (18 October 1634 – 3 January 1705) was an Italian late-Baroque painter and printmaker in etching. Fluent and decorative, he worked successfully in Naples and Rome, Florence, and Venice, before spending a decade in Spain.
Ear ...
and 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 ...
. Vaccaro attempted to adapt the stylistic features of the 17th-century Neapolitan tradition to the new Classicist and Baroque trends with their emphasis on Arcadian landscapes.
His work can be regarded as an expression of a new academism in art. With Francesco Di Maria
Francesco di Maria (1623–1690) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in Naples. He was a pupil of the painter Domenichino. Maria was an early mentor of Francesco Solimena, Giacomo del Pò, and Paolo de Matteis
Paolo de ...
, Giacomo Farelli
Giacomo Farelli (1629 in Naples – 26 June 1706) was an Italian painter active in Naples.
Biography
He trained under Andrea Vaccaro, whose style he at first followed, but he afterwards imitated with more success that of Guido Reni and Luca Gio ...
and Andrea Malinconico, he regarded the starting points of their working method as the practice of drawing, the knowledge of human anatomy and the study of the great masters of the past. In addition they relied on their thorough knowledge of the classics, to achieve an original interpretation of their subjects. His style gradually lost its initial formal rigidity and academic composure of the beginnings in favor of a language based on the grace of gestures, the serenity of the mood, on the studied compositional proportions.
His clientele was of two kinds: the religious institutions of his region and private clients.
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vaccaro, Nicola 17th-century Neapolitan people Italian Baroque painters Fresco painters 17th-century Italian painters Italian librettists Italian male painters Scenographers 18th-century Italian painters Painters from Naples 1709 deaths 1640 births 18th-century Neapolitan people 18th-century Italian male artists