Garden with Prickly Pears

(1867-1922)
The work belongs to the "Maiori gardens" series, in which Angelo Della Mura brightens his palette with luminous colors, moving away from analytical rigor to progress toward a new Verist sensibility. The focus is on the shade provided by the vegetation under the dazzling light of a summer afternoon, as also seen in On the Terrace (entry 39). Consistent with the realism dominant in European culture during the second half of the 19th century, nature is depicted as an alternative to urban life. It is part of Angelo Della Mura’s naturalistic austerity to accept even violent light, following the example of Gioacchino Toma or the Tuscan Macchiaioli, while the pictorial matter almost spills toward the viewer, reflecting a sensibility akin to contemporary French painters.