Viviano Codazzi (Bergamo c. 1604–1670 Rome) and Domenico Gargiulo, called Micco Spadaro (1609–1679)
Capriccio with a triumphal arch and a vernacular building,
oil on canvas, 123 x 95 cm, framed

We are grateful to Professor David Ryley Marshall for confirming the attribution after examining the painting in the original. We are also grateful to Professor Riccardo Lattuada for independently confirming the attribution after inspection of the original.

The present painting is a typical example of the collaboration between Viviano Codazzi and Domenico Gargiulo during the Neapolitan years of Codazzi, who arrived in Naples circa 1634, having most certainly trained in Rome. Marshall and Lattuada both date the present composition to circa 1640-1645, before Codazzi moved to Rome in 1647.

The present composition can be compared to other collaborative works by the two artists, such as the Palace with rustic Portico, and Baldacchino with Solomonic Columns, monogrammed and dated 1641 (Naples, Palazzo Reale; see D. R. Marshall, Viviano and Niccolò Codazzi and the Baroque Architectural Fantasy, Milano 1993, p. 96, no. VC21, ill. p. 97), or the Capriccio with abelisk (Milan, private collection; see Marshall, ibid., pp. 116-117, no. VC32), where classical architecture and modern buildings are similarly juxtaposed.

In the left foreground is a triumphal arch with a single Corinthian column and reliefs, attached to a wall which runs back to a vernacular building typical of the seventeenth century. The arch is inspired by one of the lateral fornices of the Arch of Constantine, with the addition of the rests of an aqueduct channel on the top, which can be found almost replicated in the Uffizi painting Triumphal Arch, with an Inn (see Marshall, ibid., 1993, p. 185, no. VC76). The rustic building at the centre is a variant of the Palace with rustic Portico, and Baldacchino mentioned above (Naples, Palazzo Reale), depicted with realistic detail such as the characteristic wooden staircase leading to the “mignano”, a sort of balcony, arcades as entrances for shops on the ground floor, and chimneys on the roof. The present painting is therefore a typical example of Viviano´s work: realistic motifs with architectural and decorative elements which were absorbed into the painter’s vocabulary and re-elaborated and combined in different compositions. Although many elements can be found in Codazzi’s works of the 1640’s, this specific composition is an original conception, and one which was not repeated by the artist.

Gargiulo’s figures give further liveliness to the picture and are typical example of his narrative talent.

The present unpublished painting is an important new addition to the oeuvre of Viviano Codazzi in collaboration with Domenico Gargiulo.