Luca Giordano Circle.

Circle of LUCA GIORDANO (Naples, 1634 - 1705).
"The apotheosis of San Jenaro".
Oil on canvas. Relined.
Measurements: 70,5 x 46 cm; 80 x 54 cm (frame).
This work follows the model of the church of the Spirito Santo dei Napoletani, realized by Luca Giordano. The huge painting of St. Jenaro was created interceding for the victims of the plague evokes the gloomy context of that period, which saw the largest city in southern Europe lose half of its population to the plague of 1656. Luca Giordano, for their part, did not attempt to soften the macabre appearance of the plague victims in the foreground, despite the fact that these were votive works intended to thank the saints who interceded to stop the plague. However, in this particular case the whole earthly area is not appreciated, but the saint becomes the protagonist in the center of the scene, which is filled by a break of Gloria. Legend has it that St. Gennaro (St. Jenaro), protector of Naples since his martyrdom in the early fourth century, had already saved the city from the eruption of Vesuvius in 1631, preventing lava and ashes from reaching the surrounding area. Once again, the saint interceded with the Virgin Mary twenty-five years later to eradicate the plague, saving Naples and becoming one of the most venerated saints in the Parthenopean tradition. A particularly laudatory and moving representation of this saint can be seen in Giordano's monumental altarpiece, commissioned by the viceroy himself. Saint Gennaro
Luca Giordano, the most outstanding Neapolitan painter of the late 17th century, and one of the main representatives of the late Italian Baroque. A painter and engraver, known in Spain as Lucas Jordan, Giordano enjoyed great popularity during his lifetime, both in his native Italy and in our country. However, after his death his work was often criticized for its speed of execution, opposed to the Greco-Latin aesthetics. It is believed that he was formed in the environment of Ribera, whose style he followed at first. However, he soon traveled to Rome and Venice, where he studied Veronese, whose influence has been felt ever since in his work. This trip was key to the maturation of his style, as well as the influences of other artists such as Mattia Preti, Rubens, Bernini and, above all, Pietro da Cortona. At the end of the 1670s Giordano began his great mural decorations (Montecassino and San Gregorio Armeno in Naples), which were followed from 1682 by other projects, including the mural paintings in the gallery and library of the Palazzo Medici Ricardi in Florence. In 1692 he was called to Madrid to carry out mural works in the monastery of El Escorial, where he worked from 1692 to 1694. Later he also painted the office and bedroom of Charles II in the Royal Palace of Aranjuez, and after these he undertook the paintings of the Casón del Buen Retiro (ca. 1697), the sacristy of the cathedral of Toledo (1698), the royal chapel of the Alcázar and San Antonio de los Portugueses (1699). However, royal commissions ceased with the arrival of Philip V in 1701 and the beginning of the War of Succession, so Giordano returned to Naples in 1702, although from there he continued to send paintings to Spain. Today Giordano's works are kept in the most important art galleries around the world, including the Prado Museum, the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, the Louvre in Paris, the Kunsthistorisches in Vienna, the Metropolitan in New York and the National Gallery in London.