Pietro Bardellino

(Napoli, 1732 - Napoli, 1806)

The refined painting under discussion reveals clear influences from the art of Paolo De Matteis and, above all, Francesco De Mura, reinterpreted through a more markedly elegant Rococo sensibility. Characterised by a pervasive luminosity and centred upon the Holy Family, around which all the other figures are arranged in a circular composition, the scene displays a distinctly De Mura-inspired structure, at once lucid and far from conventional. Every figure is captured in motion, each engaged in a specific action, while the rustic and domestic atmosphere, imbued with an almost familial intimacy, perfectly conveys the spirit of the narrative recounted in the Gospel of Luke (2:8–20). The brightness of the chromatic range, the graceful elegance of the composition, and the gently theatrical tone that animates the narrative all point to the youthful production of Pietro Bardellino, the most gifted among De Mura’s pupils. Comparable examples may be found in the pair of paintings Shepherds at a Campfire and Shepherds Preparing Ricotta, now in the National Museum of Basilicata in Matera (from the Camillo d’Errico Collection at Palazzo San Gervasio).