Vincenzo Camuccini

(Roma, 1771 - 1844)

This superb painting was executed by Vincenzo Camuccini in connection with one of the most important and monumental commissions received by the artist in the 1790s, by the will of Lord Bristol. Alongside the Death of Virginia, the commission also included the Death of Caesar: two episodes from Roman history that clearly embody the concept of exempla virtutis. The grand canvases were completed in 1804, but the patron of both works died in 1803; it was therefore Gioacchino Murat who negotiated their purchase on behalf of the Neapolitan crown, although in fact it was King Ferdinand I of Naples, recently reinstated after the fall of Napoleon, who finalised the acquisition. Counted among the absolute masterpieces of the painter, the two works are today preserved in the so-called Camuccini Hall at the Museo Nazionale di Capodimonte in Naples. Numerous preparatory studies and bozzetti for the Death of Virginia are known, but, due to its perfect finish and brilliant painterly execution, the present example may be considered the final model prepared for submission to the patron’s judgment.

COMPARATIVE LITTERATURE:

G. PIANTONI DE ANGELIS, Vincenzo Camuccini (1771–1844). Bozzetti e disegni dallo studio dell’artista, exhibition catalogue, Rome 1978, pp. 27–37.