Permanent Collection

1600–1700

WORKSABOUT THE PERIODARTISTS

WORKS

Matteo Ghidoni

(Padua?, c. 1626 – Padua, 1689)

The Life of the Poor
circa 1680 (?), oil, canvas, 72 x 126,5 cm

NG S 2101, National Gallery of Slovenia, Ljubljana

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In the first painting we see a fete with music and dancing – an inn with guests sitting at tables, card players, smokers; in the upper left corner a whore is obviously being introduced to a customer.

The second picture is a dramatic illustration of the life of the masses of the poor and disinherited who thronged the streets and city squares day after day all over Europe in the second half of the 17th century, particularly after the Thirty Years’ War. These godforsaken people roamed the streets, sick and crippled, begging for alms, fed by monks, getting into fights.

Preservation: In the past the canvas was cut on all sides and lined with new canvas.
Restored: 1992, Kemal Selmanović.
Provenance: Unknown. On the relined canvas is a stamp: DOGANA / E. T. / VOLOSCA, on a label an inscription in ink: Attribuito: Cornelius von Wael / Fiamingo (!) nato 1592 Harlem, morto / anno 1662 a Genova / Lavorando in Venezia era diven / tato appassionato seguace del maestro Magniasco / Sue opere si trovano nei musei di / Roma, Genova, Berlino, Kassel / Braunschweig.– Government of Slovenia, furnishing of Brdo Castle near Kranj; entrusted to the Narodna galerija in 1986 by the Government of Slovenia.
Exhibition: 1993, Ljubljana, No. 29.
Lit.: Zeri and Rozman 1993, pp. 106, 147, Cat. No. 29, Fig. 25; Da Caravaggio, 1998, p. 479 (text Silvia A. Colombo).

ABOUT THE PERIOD

From Mannerism to Baroque

Although imported early-Baroque works prevailed in this period and those by itinerant artists, the 17th century paved the way for the future. The political circumstances in the region were relatively stabilized in spite of the Thirty Year War and the patronage gradually grew stronger. The arrival of the Jesuits in Ljubljana, the activity of the polymath Johann Weichard Valvasor, particularly his graphic workshop at Bogenšperk/Wagensperg Castle, and the foundation of the Academia operosorum at the end of the century were the key events of the time.

Characteristic of sculptural production on the Slovenian territory in the 17th century were the so-called “golden altars”. As a rule, these were gilded and polychrome carved wooden retables with rich ornamentation, first with crustaceous patterns which turned into vine and grapes that covered architectural framework until the achantus foliage took over and obliterated architectural structure completely. The making of golden altars included several branches of fine arts: prints, carving, gilding, painting. Religious painting of the first half of the century still contains Mannerist elements; in the second half also secular motifs became more numerous, particularly genre scenes and aristocratic portraits. The artworks mainly echo northern early-Baroque influences.

Noteworthy among the newcomers who settled in Carniola with their workshops were the painter and gilder Hans Georg Geiger von Geigerfeld in the mid-century, who had moved to Carniola from the region of the Central Alps, and the Fleming Almanach in the third quarter of the 17th century, known only by his nickname, who worked here only for a few years. The extraordinary productivity and skills of the latter are evidenced by his rare surviving works, mentions in Valvasor’s books, and aristocratic probate inventories.

ARTISTS

Owner	Birth - death
Francesco Pittoni	(Venice, ca 1654 − after 1724)
Joannes Almenak	(Antwerpen ?, ca 1640/45 – after 1684)
Anonymous	-
Alvise (Luigi) Benfatto	(Verona, 1554 – Venice, 1609)
Bartolomeo Bettera	(Bergamo, 1639 – ?, after 1688)
Antonio Calza	(Verona, 1653–1725)
Giovanni Andrea Carlone	(Genoa, 1639−1697)
Giacomo Francesco Cipper	(Feldkirchen, 1664 – Milan, 1736)
Giovanni Stefano Danedi	(Treviglio, 1618? − Milan?, 1690)
Giuseppe Diamantini	(Fossombrone, 1621–1705)
Felice Ficherelli	(San Gimignano, 1603 – Florence, 1660)
Frans Francken II	(Antwerp, 1581–1642)
Hans Georg Geiger von Geigerfeld	(?, c. 1610 – Zagreb, 1681)
Luca Giordano	(Naples, 1634–1705)
Janez Frančišek Gladič	(Rijeka, 1635 – Ljubljana?, 1663)
Jacob Jordaens	(Antwerp, 1593–1678)
Eberhart Keilhau	(Helsingør, 1624 − Rome, 1687)
Gregorio Lazzarini	(Venice, 1655 – Villabona Veronese, 1730)
Pietro Liberi	(Padua, 1605 – Venice, 1687)
Maestro Jacopo	-
Pieter Mulier	(Haarlem, 1637 – Milan, 1701)
Jacob Pynas	(Haarlem, c. 1585 − after 1650)
Carl Ruthart	(Danzig, c. 1630 – L'Aquila, c. 1703)
Jacob van Kerckhoven	(Antwerp, c. 1637 – Venice, after 1712)
Peter van Kessel	(Antwerp, ? – Ratzeburg, 1668)
Otto van Veen	(Leiden, 1556 – Brussels, 1629)
Herman Verelst	The Hague, 1641/1642 − London, 1702)
Giuseppe Vicenzino	(active 2nd half 17th cent.)