Filippo Napoletano
Encyclopedia
Filippo Napoletano (c. 1587 – November 1629) was an Italian
artist, with a peculiar output, mainly landscape and genre scenes
and also drawings or etchings of diverse, often particular, items such as exotic soldiers, skeletons of animals, or cityscapes.
He began his career in his native city, Naples
(1600-1613) and moved to Rome in 1614-1617), where he appears to have encountered and felt influenced by the successful Flemish landscape painters such as Paul Bril, Goffredo Wals, and Adam Elsheimer
.
In 1617 Cosimo II de’ Medici
summoned him to Florence
, where he worked closely with Jacques Callot
. From notebooks, Filippo is known to have made hundreds of sketches of Tuscan landscapes and towns.
Starting in 1620 he reproduced in etchings part of his collection of animal skeletons owned by Johann Faber
, a Bavarian physician-naturalist residing in Rome and a member of the scientific Accademia dei Lincei
. In 1622, Napoletano published twelve etchings of caprices (capprici) and military uniforms (which he signed as signed Teodor Filippo de Liagno).
He is described by Giovanni Baglione
as possessing a collection, a Wunderkammer of bellissime bizzarrie ("beautiful bizarre objects"), including among the objects exotic weaponry; fossilized plants; tiger, lion, and turtle skulls; oriental porcelain and sculpted crockery; a vest made of human skin; a harness for dragging whales on ice; a three-legged flea, Persian uniforms, and antiquities such as Roman coins, bronze lamps, and a few statuettes. After Napoletano’s death at Rome in 1628, bidding for such material was made by collectors such as Cardinal Ippolito Aldobrandini (future Clement VIII) and Cassiano dal Pozzo
.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
artist, with a peculiar output, mainly landscape and genre scenes
Genre painting
Genre works, also called genre scenes or genre views, are pictorial representations in any of various media that represent scenes or events from everyday life, such as markets, domestic settings, interiors, parties, inn scenes, and street scenes. Such representations may be realistic, imagined, or...
and also drawings or etchings of diverse, often particular, items such as exotic soldiers, skeletons of animals, or cityscapes.
He began his career in his native city, Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
(1600-1613) and moved to Rome in 1614-1617), where he appears to have encountered and felt influenced by the successful Flemish landscape painters such as Paul Bril, Goffredo Wals, and Adam Elsheimer
Adam Elsheimer
Adam Elsheimer was a German artist working in Rome who died at only thirty-two, but was very influential in the early 17th century. His relatively few paintings were small scale, nearly all painted on copper plates, of the type often known as cabinet paintings. They include a variety of light...
.
In 1617 Cosimo II de’ Medici
Cosimo II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany
Cosimo II de' Medici was Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1609 until 1621. He was the elder son of the then incumbent Grand Duke and Christina of Lorraine. He married Maria Magdalena of Austria, and had eight children....
summoned him to Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
, where he worked closely with Jacques Callot
Jacques Callot
Jacques Callot was a baroque printmaker and draftsman from the Duchy of Lorraine . He is an important figure in the development of the old master print...
. From notebooks, Filippo is known to have made hundreds of sketches of Tuscan landscapes and towns.
Starting in 1620 he reproduced in etchings part of his collection of animal skeletons owned by Johann Faber
Giovanni Faber
Giovanni Faber was a German papal doctor, botanist and art collector, originally from Bamberg in Bavaria, who lived in Rome from 1598. He was curator of the Vatican botanical garden, a member and the secretary of the Accademia dei Lincei. He acted throughout his career as a political broker...
, a Bavarian physician-naturalist residing in Rome and a member of the scientific Accademia dei Lincei
Accademia dei Lincei
The Accademia dei Lincei, , is an Italian science academy, located at the Palazzo Corsini on the Via della Lungara in Rome, Italy....
. In 1622, Napoletano published twelve etchings of caprices (capprici) and military uniforms (which he signed as signed Teodor Filippo de Liagno).
He is described by Giovanni Baglione
Giovanni Baglione
Giovanni Baglione was an Italian Late Mannerist and Early Baroque painter and art historian. He is best remembered for his acrimonious involvement with the artist Caravaggio and his writings concerning the other Roman artists of his time.-Early life:A pupil of Francesco Morelli, he worked mainly...
as possessing a collection, a Wunderkammer of bellissime bizzarrie ("beautiful bizarre objects"), including among the objects exotic weaponry; fossilized plants; tiger, lion, and turtle skulls; oriental porcelain and sculpted crockery; a vest made of human skin; a harness for dragging whales on ice; a three-legged flea, Persian uniforms, and antiquities such as Roman coins, bronze lamps, and a few statuettes. After Napoletano’s death at Rome in 1628, bidding for such material was made by collectors such as Cardinal Ippolito Aldobrandini (future Clement VIII) and Cassiano dal Pozzo
Cassiano dal Pozzo
Cassiano dal Pozzo was an Italian scholar and patron of arts. The secretary of Cardinal Francesco Barberini, he was an antiquary in the classicizing circle of Rome, and a long-term friend and patron of Nicolas Poussin, whom he supported from his earliest arrival in Rome: Poussin in a letter...
.