• 

  Musée Granet

  Aix-en-Provence, France

  1 works

  Museum detailsMap

Plan your visit to see Massimo Stanzione →

• What is Massimo Stanzione known for?+

  Massimo Stanzione is known for dominating Neapolitan painting alongside Ribera for decades. He produced altarpieces and ceiling frescoes of classical composure. His reputation extended beyond Naples, as the papal knighthoods attest.
• What should I know about Massimo Stanzione's prints?+

  Massimo Stanzione (1585-1656) was a Neapolitan painter, sometimes called the Neapolitan Guido Reni because of his classicising style. Information about Stanzione's prints is scarce, but the printmaking milieu of his time is well documented. During Stanzione's career, many artists made prints after antique sculpture. The engraver Joachim von Sandrart, for example, arrived in Rome in 1629. He was commissioned by Marchese Vincenzo Giustiniani to engrave the ancient statues in his collection. Sandrart employed Pietro Testa to make drawings for these engravings; they appeared in two volumes entitled the Galleria Giustiniana. The Galleria Giustiniana included work by Cornelis Bloemaert, Renier Persin, Theodor Matham, Michael Natalis, Claude Mellan, and François Perrier. The prints were intended as a permanent catalogue of Giustiniani's collection. Editions were limited to 200, with proceeds benefiting the Marchese's Genoese family. Despite Giustiniani's intentions, the volumes later functioned as a sales catalogue when the collection was dispersed.
• What style or movement did Massimo Stanzione belong to?+

  Massimo Stanzione belonged to the Baroque movement, which broadly comprised 17th- and 18th-century European art. The Baroque followed Mannerism and is thought to derive from "barocco", the Portuguese word for a misshapen pearl. The style is characterised by emotion, dynamism, and drama, often with strong tonal contrasts. Originating in Rome, the Baroque spread to other Catholic countries in Europe. The style evolved partly as a result of religious tensions and the Counter-Reformation. The Council of Trent determined that religious art should encourage piety through directness, accuracy, realism, and logic. Baroque art aimed to be visually and emotionally appealing, focusing on Catholic doctrine to influence and educate. Baroque artists interpreted stories clearly and realistically but diversified from that starting point. The style inherited movement and emotion from Mannerism, while it took solidity, perspective, and classical lines from the Renaissance. Baroque art often features vivid contrasts of light and shadow, close observation of textures and details, and realistic figures, sometimes using ordinary people as models.
• What techniques or materials did Massimo Stanzione use?+

  Analysis of Massimo Stanzione's techniques reveals a painterly approach rooted in the traditions of his time. Examination of paint samples indicates the use of oil as a medium. In at least one instance, walnut oil, or a walnut-linseed mix, was preferred for the sky, while linseed oil was used elsewhere. Stanzione's application seems to have involved relatively thin paint layers. This suggests a direct method, in contrast to more laboured techniques involving multiple layers. Some artists built up compositions from an underlayer of colour, then left the painting for months before returning to add further touches. This is not necessarily the case with Stanzione. While direct evidence about Stanzione's studio practice is limited, the techniques identified place him within the broader context of 17th-century Italian painting. The choice of materials and the method of application align with practices employed by other artists of the period.
• What was Massimo Stanzione known for?+

  Massimo Stanzione (1585-1656) was a Neapolitan painter working in the Baroque style. The Baroque emerged in the early 1600s, and it spread from Italy to the rest of Catholic Europe. It was a style that infused emotion and drama with tonal contrasts. It was intended to strengthen the image of Catholicism. Baroque artists aimed to interpret stories clearly and realistically. Their work is exuberant and intense, with believable figures and human dramas. The style inherited movement and emotion from Mannerism, while it took solidity, perspective, and classical lines from the Renaissance. Two significant aspects of Baroque art were the portrayal of vivid contrasts of highlight and deep shadow, and the close observation of textures and details. Many Baroque artists portrayed realistic figures and situations, often using ordinary people as models. Relaxing harmonies were abandoned in favour of energetic and complex compositions. It was a direct, dramatic art, intended to tell stories with no chance of misinterpretation.
• When did Massimo Stanzione live and work?+

  Massimo Stanzione was an Italian painter of the Baroque period. He was born in Orto di Atella, near Naples, in 1585. Stanzione is believed to have died in Naples around 1656. Details of Stanzione's training are uncertain. Some sources suggest he studied with Fabrizio Santafede, a painter associated with the late Mannerist style. Others propose that he was a pupil of Battistello Caracciolo. Caracciolo was a follower of Caravaggio, and his influence is apparent in Stanzione's early naturalistic works. Stanzione's career centred largely on Naples. He received commissions for paintings in several Neapolitan churches, including San Paolo Maggiore, San Martino, and the Gesù Nuovo. He also completed works for private patrons. In the 1630s, Stanzione enjoyed considerable success, and he competed with Jusepe de Ribera and Domenichino for local patronage. He is known to have trained several artists in his workshop; among them were Bernardo Cavallino, Andrea Vaccaro, and Agostino Beltrano. The plague epidemic in 1656 greatly affected the artistic community in Naples, and it is thought to have caused Stanzione's death.
• Where can I see Massimo Stanzione's work?+

  Paintings by Massimo Stanzione can be found in collections around the world. In Europe, his work is held at the Hermitage Museum (St Petersburg), the Prado (Madrid), the National Gallery (London), and the Kunsthistorisches Museum (Vienna). You can also find his paintings in the Galleria Sabauda (Turin). Other European locations include private collections in France and Switzerland, and the Sammlung Oskar Reinhart in Winterthur, Switzerland. Outside of Europe, Stanzione's paintings are held at the Museu de Arte (São Paulo), the National Gallery of Victoria (Melbourne), the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts (Moscow), the National Gallery of Art (Washington, D.C.), the M. H. de Young Memorial Museum, and the Art Gallery of Toronto. His work is also in the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art (Sarasota), and in private collections in Texas.
• Where was Massimo Stanzione from?+

  Massimo Stanzione went to Naples, which, at the time, was quite outside his circle of acquaintances. This decision would take him deep into Spanish Italy and determine everything that happened to him thereafter. Naples was unlike Rome, which had a cosmopolitan community and sophisticated market. Smaller ducal courts of the north were run by dukes and princes who were eager to build prestige by cultivating the new. Naples was not state of the art, but it had its own surprises. Naples happened to be where Don Marzio Colonna, lord and duke of Zagarolo, mainly lived; he was the first to give Stanzione refuge. Colonna was a member of the vicerealm’s collateral commission, and five years earlier, he had been the mayor of Naples who presided over the celebrations for the birth of the infanta of Spain. Felipe III had made him a knight of the golden fleece. Seven years later, Marzio Colonna would die in Naples. The duke of Zagarolo had influence in Naples and could give safe conduct through bandit territory and put him in touch with the right people upon arrival.
• Who did Massimo Stanzione influence?+

  Massimo Stanzione's studio in Naples became a centre for artists. He had a substantial impact on Neapolitan painting. His classicising style and painterly technique affected many artists. Among those influenced were Bernardo Cavallino, Andrea Vaccaro, Agostino Beltrano and Francesco Guarino. These artists adopted aspects of Stanzione’s approach to composition, colour and form. Cavallino is perhaps the most well-known of Stanzione's artistic circle; he developed a lyrical style that shows Stanzione's influence, particularly in his early works. Vaccaro, who was active as a painter into the late 17th century, absorbed Stanzione's grand manner. Beltrano and Guarino also show clear stylistic connections to Stanzione. Stanzione's impact extended beyond his immediate pupils. His work contributed to the development of the Neapolitan Baroque style. This style is characterised by its dramatic lighting, emotional intensity and classical ideals. Stanzione's art helped to shape the artistic direction of Naples during a particularly active period.
• Who influenced Massimo Stanzione?+

  Massimo Stanzione's artistic development occurred during a period of considerable stylistic change in Italian art. The Baroque style was emerging, and artists were grappling with the legacies of the Renaissance masters, as well as the more recent examples of the Carracci and Caravaggio. Nicolas Poussin, who arrived in Rome around the same time, provides a useful comparison. Poussin, according to early biographers, particularly admired Domenichino's *Flagellation of St Andrew*. This work, along with classical antiquity, was a significant influence during Poussin's early years in Rome. Poussin also studied geometry and perspective, referencing Alberti and Dürer, and Leonardo's manuscripts. While specific influences on Stanzione are not detailed in the provided texts, the artistic climate of the time suggests that he, like Poussin, would have been exposed to a range of styles and artists, including the Renaissance masters, the Carracci, and the emerging Baroque. The impact of Caravaggio and his followers was also a factor in the artistic developments of the period.
• Who was Massimo Stanzione?+

  Massimo Stanzione (1585-1656) was an Italian painter who introduced the Roman Baroque style into painting in Naples. Stanzione's work, along with that of Caravaggio, triggered the development of the new style in art. Other linked artists include Guiseppe Ribera, Salvatore Rosa, Mattià Preti (known as Il Calabrese), Luca Giordano, Lanfranco, and Monrealese. Ribera and Rosa gained inspiration from Caravaggio in Naples, which allowed them to create their naturalistic etchings in the style of genre paintings. This helped them gain independence from the Bolognese School, more so from a technical point of view than a thematic one. Stanzione's impact can be seen in the artistic maturity displayed in his works. His style, developed in the paintings of Saint Matthew in San Luigi dei Francesi, took on an authoritative quality.
• Why are Massimo Stanzione's works important today?+

  Massimo Stanzione (1585-1656) was a leading painter in Naples during the first half of the 17th century. He is important because he combined elements of Roman classicism with the more dramatic and emotive style of Neapolitan painting. Stanzione's art provides a valuable link between different Italian artistic traditions. He initially trained with mannerist painters, but he later absorbed influences from Annibale Carracci and his followers in Rome. These influences led him toward a more balanced and idealised style. At the same time, Stanzione incorporated the naturalism and tenebrism popularised by Caravaggio, which was particularly influential in Naples. His ability to synthesise these diverse elements made him one of the most sought-after painters in Naples. He secured numerous commissions for churches and private collections. Stanzione's paintings are still admired for their technical skill, their harmonious compositions, and their emotional power. His work offers insights into the artistic and cultural climate of Naples during a period of significant artistic development.