Attilio Pratella Lot n° 36

Obelisk of Piazza Mercato in Naples Oil on pressed cardboard cm 28x38 - Piazza Mercato is one of the symbolic places of the urban history of Naples. It was built at the behest of the Angevins at the end of the fourteenth century to organize the activities of the small artisan workshops. Following a disastrous fire in 1781, King Ferdinand IV of Bourbon decided to start a major renovation project, giving the square the appearance it retains today Attilio Pratella, who moved to Naples from his native city, without any guidance or protection, supported himself for the first few years by decorating views of Naples on pastry boxes with "gouache", without ever leaving out small landscapes which he then sold to art dealers. The theme of Pratella's vast pictorial production ranged from Neapolitan landscapes to the city's historic sites, sometimes painting them in a scrupulous and precise way, sometimes immediately and synthetically. Bibliography: Roberto Rinaldi "Pittori a Napoli nell'Ottocento", Napoli, 2001, pag. 216