Gabriele Smargiassi (1798-1882) Caulking Boats

Gabriele SMARGIASSI
(Vasto 1798 – Naples 1882)
Caulking the Boats
Oil on paper mounted on canvas
H. 26 cm; W. 38 cm
Circa 1840

Born in Vasto, in the Abruzzo region, Smargiassi initially trained under his uncle, before continuing his apprenticeship in Naples, then a thriving artistic capital. Under the guidance of Giuseppe Cammarano and then Wilhelm Jakob Huber, he developed an aesthetic imbued with classicism while remaining sensitive to emerging romantic influences. In 1824, Smargiassi stayed in Rome, where contact with landscape circles, notably those gathered around Joseph Anton Koch and the neoclassical movement, refined his sensitivity to the natural sublime. However, it was in Naples that he reached his peak, succeeding Anton Sminck Pitloo as chair of landscape at the Academy of Fine Arts in 1841. His teaching and work contributed to the establishment of a Neapolitan school of landscape painting, marked by a quest for harmony between fidelity to reality and lyrical idealization. His canvases, with their balanced compositions and nuanced lighting, exalt the serene grandeur of southern landscapes, part of a tradition that preludes Italian realism. Sought after by Italian and foreign patrons, Smargiassi remained faithful throughout his life to a contemplative vision of nature, in which the meditative soul of his time shines through. His legacy endures as one of the most eloquent testimonies of the Italian Romantic landscape. Our composition, executed on paper, shows us workers on the beach, busy caulking two ships. In the background, numerous masts and sails of boats moored in the port can be seen.