Splendori del barocco defilato
Arte in Basilicata e ai suoi confini da Luca Giordano al Settecento

edited by Elisa Acanfora

exhibition catalogue: Matera, Palazzo Lanfranchi, 9 July-1 November 2009; Potenza, Palazzo Loffredo, 11 July-18 October 2009

The exhibition held at the prestigious venues of the Palazzo Lanfranchi in Matera (the paintings, from 9 July to 1 November 2009) and the Palazzo Loffredo in Potenza (the sculptures, from 11 July to 18 October 2009) was preceded by an in-depth study conducted locally. Staged under the High Patronage of the President of the Italian Republic and supported by the University of Basilicata in collaboration with the Region of Basilicata and the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities, it presents a detailed and unprecedented investigation of a subject that is still largely unappreciated: the plastic and pictorial arts that developed in Basilicata at the height of the Baroque and Rococo. The works on display include obscure or previously unknown works by local masters, many of which restored for the occasion, alongside masterpieces by artists such as Luca Giordano, Paolo de Matteis, Francesco Solimena and Francesco De Mura, the finest representatives of the Neapolitan school, who powerfully influenced the region’s figurative culture. Wood was the preferred medium for the plastic arts, and these sculptures are typical of the local production. The catalogue opens with an essay by curator Elisa Acanfora, who outlines the coordinates and significance of the entire study. Through entries illustrating the 102 works on display and the 107 works at various local venues, and the biographies of 155 painters and sculptors, the book presents the first reconstruction of painting and sculpture in Basilicata from the late 17th century to the end of the 18th century. A fundamental and groundbreaking study instrument, it also offers a surprising overview of a little-known but magnificent school of art.