Francesco Francazano

FRANCESCO FRANCAZANO (Monopoli, 1612 - Naples, 1656).
"St. Peter."
Oil on canvas. Relined of the XVIII century.
Measurements: 92 x 67,5 cm; 110 x 86,5 cm (frame).
Trained in the workshop of José de Ribera, Francanzano assimilates here the fundamental principles of the caravaggista naturalism, the dramatic use of the light, the rotund corporeity of the figures and the exaltation of the physical truth, to transform them into a personal language, more contained and reflexive in his maturity.
The figure of the apostle is represented in a dark space and without accessory narrative references, concentrating all the attention on the bust and the gesture. The light falls strongly on the aged face and the white beard, modeling the features with a controlled rawness that reveals both the imprint of time and the spiritual density of the character. The chiaroscuro, a direct heir of Ribera, is here not merely descriptive, but profoundly psychological: the contrast between the illuminated area and the penumbra reinforces the inner tension of the saint, suspended between the awareness of his apostolic authority and the memory of his human frailty.
From the technical point of view, Francanzano demonstrates a sure and material painting, visible in the construction of the face and in the treatment of the folds of the mantle, resolved with broad brushstrokes and a warm chromatic range, already softened with respect to his first works. This tonal softening, perceptible in the tempered ochers and blues, connects both with the neo-Venetian atmosphere present in the Naples of the 1630s and with a possible indirect assimilation of Roman models, without this implying a renunciation of the riberesque heritage.
Francanzano does not present the apostle as a triumphant figure, but as a mature man aware of the weight of his mission, in an interpretation that links with the spiritual sensibility of Neapolitan naturalism.
An Italian painter trained with José de Ribera, he developed a painting of great expressiveness and a clear Caravaggist heritage, although over time he softened his palette under the influence of the Roman environment and Neo-Venetian Neapolitanism. He especially cultivated genre scenes and bacchanals. He died in the plague of Naples in 1656. The Prado conserves Baco beodo and a satyr, work attributed to Francesco Fracanzano and representative of his riberesco style.