The exhibition "Women in Spanish Naples. Another Seventeenth Century" thus invites the public to rediscover a century of art and female life in Naples, featuring previously unseen masterpieces and new research, offering a comprehensive and original look at the role of women in 17th-century art. The exhibition, organized under the patronage of the Spanish Embassy in Italy, the City of Naples, and in collaboration with the University of Naples L'Orientale, aims to highlight the role of women in 17th-century Neapolitan art, a role that has often remained in the shadows of art history.
The review presents sixty-nine works among paintings, drawings, manuscripts, sculptures and artifacts
All the works are from major Italian and international museums, including the Prado Museum in Madrid, the Spanish Royal Collections, the National Gallery in Washington, and the Fundación Casa Ducal de Medinaceli in Seville. Among the masterpieces on display is a work by Jusepe de Ribera, making an exceptional return to Naples. Public interest in gender issues in art history has grown in recent years, but until now, studies on seventeenth-century Neapolitan art have focused almost exclusively on Artemisia Gentileschi. This new exhibition broadens the scope to the entire century, highlighting protagonists and episodes previously confined to specialized literature. The project is based on new archival research, conservation recoveries, and dedicated photographic campaigns, and aims to serve as a starting point for future investigations. The exhibition itinerary begins with the rare presence in Naples of "foreign" female artists such as Lavinia Fontana e Faith Galicia, with paintings and altarpieces created in the early seventeenth century in parallel with Caravaggio's innovations, testifying to the city's cultural, social, and commercial ties. A crucial moment is represented by the stay of the Infanta Mary of Austria In Naples, between August and December 1630, a highly significant event marked the history of art and the genre. Among the pieces on display, the portrait of the Infanta of Diego Velazquez and Maddalena Ventura, the famous "bearded lady" of Abruzzo, created by Ribera for the viceroy Duke of Alcalá. The exhibition also explores the arrival of Artemisia Gentileschi, with works never exhibited in Italy coming from museums in Boston, Sarasota and Oslo, and the brief passage in Naples of Giovanna Garzoni. Ample space is reserved for Diana Di Rosa, known as Annella di Massimo, considered the Neapolitan equivalent of Artemisia. There are also sections dedicated to extraordinary figures of the city, such as the singer Andreana Basile e Giulia Di Caro, from prostitute to theatre impresario, a symbol of female emancipation and social redemption. Alongside the more famous names, the exhibition highlights lesser-known artists such as Teresa Del Po, painter, miniaturist and engraver, and the wax modeller Caterina De Julianis, with a dialogue between Neapolitan works and those of the Andalusian baroque sculptor Luisa Roldan, to underline the common Mediterranean culture of which Naples was a fundamental centre.
Michele Coppola, Executive Director of Art, Culture and Historical Heritage at Intesa Sanpaolo and General Manager of the Gallerie d'Italia, states: “The Gallerie d'Italia concludes its year-long program with a valuable exhibition, a project to rediscover extraordinary artists and works, the fruit of new studies, supported by top curators, accompanied by archival research and restorations, and enriched by exceptional loans thanks to collaboration with leading institutions in Italy and around the world. Another seventeenth century This internationally prestigious initiative begins with an in-depth exploration of a significant chapter in Naples' artistic history, once again underscoring the Gallerie d'Italia's pivotal role in promoting Italy's cultural heritage. This exhibition, along with our magnificent Caravaggio and the collections housed in the museum on Via Toledo, I believe is an unmissable event for anyone visiting Naples during the holiday season.
