La Cantantrice - The Singer (1645-50) "Oil on canvas, 75 x 63 cm" [Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte, Naples, Italy] -- Bernardo Cavallino (Italian; 1616 - ca. 1656)

In the oval, a half-length young woman appears who, turning towards the spectator, with a charming gesture knots her long braid of hair, while hinting at the motif of a sweet melody. At least this is suggested by her open mouth, bowed head, half-closed eyes, her intense and enraptured expression.

 

Her elegant brown silk dress with splendid shiny reflections is in harmony with the bright red curtain in the background, which places the song in a theatrical and timeless dimension. In the foreground, her hands with tapered, mobile fingers are highlighted, caressed by a refined play of shadows, as well as her thick dark hair that is still a little disheveled. She is not an identifiable figure, perhaps the painter intended to represent vocal music, without resorting to symbolism, but with a spontaneous and natural language.

 

Bernardo Cavallino loved music and the theater and in the 1600s Naples was a highly spectacular city, a theater city, where every space, be it a clearing, a church, a palace, could become a scenography according to the various genres; even for the feast of 25 July 1685, on the occasion of the Queen Mother's name day, a maritime theater was set up. In the years in which Cavallino lived, Naples already had stable theatrical spaces, such as the public theater of San Giorgio dei Genovesi or that of San Bartolomeo, which the painter probably frequented.

 

Source: Berthe e dintorni

 

www.berthe-nell-arte.it/blog/la-cantatrice-bernardo-caval...

 

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