In the Studio
Vincenzo Volpe, oil on canvas, cm 61x53
(1854-1929)
A favored pupil of Domenico Morelli, Vincenzo Volpe was a central figure and president of the Neapolitan Institute following the master's passing. Although his vast genre production occasionally indulged in anecdotal themes, his painting always remained of high caliber. A specialist in domestic interior scenes, Volpe here adopts a pearly brushwork that recalls the impartial, De Sanctisian analysis characterizing similar works by his friends Gaetano Esposito and Vincenzo Caprile. The painting, distinguished by pictorial fluidity and a profound spirit of observation, ennobles everyday life through a calm narrative and an executive quality that establishes it as one of the most significant expressions of Neapolitan Verism.
