GARGIULO, Domenico - b. ~1609 Napoli, d. ~1675 Napoli - WGA

GARGIULO, Domenico

(b. ~1609 Napoli, d. ~1675 Napoli)

Italian painter and draughtsman. He received the nickname Micco Spadaro because his father was a maker of swords (spade). He was trained from about 1628 in the workshop of Aniello Falcone, where Andrea di Leone (d. 1677) and Salvator Rosa were also studying; de Dominici recounts that Gargiulo and Rosa painted landscapes in the open air in the Neapolitan countryside. His early works were influenced by Paul Bril, who in 1602 had painted landscape frescoes in the atrium of Santa Maria Regina Coeli, Naples, and by the vivid realism of Filippo Napoletano’s small landscapes. The latter arrived in Naples in 1627-28 and may have stimulated Gargiulo’s interest in the etchings of Jacques Callot and Stefano della Bella.

It is probable that Gargiuolo spent time in Rome where he became familiar with the landscape painting then in full flower. He worked for the Carthusians in Naples over a period of more than twenty years. He began in 1637 with two frescoes in the atrium of the church of San Martino. These were followed between 1638 and 1640 with a lunette in the so-called Tesoro Vecchio. In 1640-42 he decorated the lay brothers’ choir in the Certosa di San Martino.

Gargiulo was in contact with the German painter Johann Heinrich Schönfeld, who sojourned in Naples from 1638 to 1643, who was also indebted to Callot’s engravings.

Moses and Aaron Collecting Alms for the Building of the Temple

The picture shows the lunette fresco in the Tesoro Vecchio in the Certosa di San Martino.

Gargiulo worked for the Carthusians in Naples over a period of more than twenty years. He painted the lunette in the so-called Tesoro Vecchio, whose subject, Moses and Aaron Collecting Alms for the Building of the Temple, reflects the function of the room. In this lunette Gargiulo already presents the compositional and stylistic features that would characterize his paintings in the lay brothers’ choir in the Certosa.

Send Postcard Learn More

Rebecca and Eliezer at the Well

The statuesque calm of the figures, the clear composition with special emphasis on the horizontal and vertical lines, and the measured colour scheme are all characteristic of Gargiulo who represents in Naples the classically tinged school with references back to Antiquity.

Send Postcard Learn More

View of the Lay Brothers' Choir

The Lay Brothers’ Choir in the Certosa was used by the unconsecrated members of the community who provided the physical labour required for housekeeping. Its sumptuous decoration makes it one of the more outstanding of the charterhouse’s common spaces. Striking accents of this room are the frescoes by Domenico Gargiulo covering all the walls with small-figure picture panels and the elegant choir stool made by Francesco d’Arezzo. Contributing to the harmonious impression of the overall space is the stucco decor in muted colours, which, like the richly adorned lavabo, harkens back to Cosimo Fanzago. It was Fanzago who was also responsible for the architectural arrangement of the space, which simulates a partially open loggia whose imaginary openings are hung with tapestries.

The fresco cycle, complex in its subject matter, is dominated by Old Testament scenes supplemented by small-format events from the New Testament. The six sham tapestries above the choir stool present scenes devoted to specific lay brothers or the role of the lay brothers in the community.

Send Postcard Learn More

Wall decoration

The picture shows the decoration on the wall of the Lay Brothers’ Choir in the Certosa.

The fresco cycle in the room, complex in its subject matter, is dominated by Old Testament scenes supplemented by small-format events from the New Testament. The sham tapestries above the choir stool present scenes devoted to specific lay brothers or the role of the lay brothers in the community. These pictures, with their scenic and figural richness and their particular charm owing to their landscape elements gave the lay brothers something to look at during their prayers that was as entertaining as it was instructive.

Send Postcard Learn More