Pietro Bardellino

Pietro Bardellino ( born February 17, 1728 in Naples, † 1806 ) was an Italian painter of the Baroque. He was a pupil of Francesco De Mura ( 1696-1782 ).

Life

In his early phase under de Mura oriented as strongly to his teacher. Representative of the collaboration de Mura and Bardellinos are the ceiling fresco " Marco and the wounded warriors " (1750, Naples, Ospedale degli Incurabili ), the " Last Supper " (1764; Bitonto Cathedral ) - the on Francesco de Mura's " The Holy Family " ( version 1775; Gravina Cathedral ) is based - as well as the painting " The Virgin appears Pius V and Don Giovanni of Austria " (1778, Naples, S Giacomo degli Spagnoli ). The latter work has been a much freer and lighter design than the previous one. These properties Bardellino developed further, for example, in the painting " Apotheosis of Ferdinand IV of Naples and Maria Carolina of Austria " (1781, Naples).

Bardellinos free and decorative painting was heavily influenced by Corrado Giaquinto and the " broken flickering " (cf. Grove Dictionary of Art ) style of Giacomo del Pò ( 1654-1726 ). Therefore, it is not surprising that a Bozzetto the " apotheosis " originally del Pò was attributed.

Bardellino was from 1773 head of the Accademia del Disegno Napoletana and represented with his light painting the opposition to the neo-classical style in Naples popular becoming. Bardellino remained true to his style in his later creation phase. This purpose are the portrait of " Gaetano Barba " (1790; . Rome, Accad N. S Luca ) and the ceiling fresco for the Biblioteca dei Girolamini in Naples ( 1792) called.

The inclusion of Psyche to Olympus

The inclusion of Psyche to Olympus is the title of a painting created in 1780 by Bardellino, which is now kept in the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin. The Berlin picture is a Bozzetto for a ceiling fresco; point out in particular the two interlocking circles which frame the scene and suggest the vault. The different design of the characters, some are only hinted at, running other detail points to the function of the image as Bozzetto.

Bardellino developed in his paintings a dynamic, dramatic densely loaded image world in the upheaval of Psyche is mapped to divine status. The Olympus, shown here instead of a mountain range as the kingdom of heaven is inhabited by the race of gods, genii and countless cupids.

In the center sits Jupiter, which is bathed in a blinding light source, some of the gods, like Pallas Athene moves dramatically in bright light, while on the demigod Hercules in the foreground a deeper shadow falls and little more than his silhouette can be recognizable. A second light source outside the image illuminates the figure of Psyche, which is led by Mercury to the hand. The gods staff is dressed in billowing, mainly red, blue, green and white robes and sits on voluminous cloud formations. In the clouds, even the colors of the dresses are added: for all on the edge is shrouded in blue, the colors flow toward the center over red shades to almost blinding white.

Bottom left - outside of heaven opening - sits a colorless grisaillehaft designed figure whose meaning is not clear. The attributes of the " female figure with tower-like Kopfbekrönung, fasces, key, crown and lion [ ... ] could, however, also shown in Olympus on the Ceres suggest, the goddess of the earth, of marriage and of justice." About Hercules the god of shepherds, Pan outsourced to acknowledge his goat's feet and his flute. The playful Cupid to Pan's feet is instead to blow into the mouthpiece into the end of the flute. Behind Pan, half hidden in the shadow, keeps Neptune - god of the sea - his trident up. It sits Bacchus, on his right is Venus, goddess of love and beauty, with one of its attributes, the dove on his lap. Beside her perched Juno, wife of Jupiter, protectress of marriage and women, with her peacock and a headband. Her gaze is directed toward Jupiter, which sits right above her. His left hand points to the hand of his wife, his eye is on the right Amor directed by him, who committed to his mistress. Jupiter points to the goddess of marriage and demands - the Metamorphoses of Apuleius, according to - the marriage of Psyche and Cupid.