SHARRYLAND
In Barletta, invitation to Casa De Nittis
The life of the Apulian painter who enchanted Belle Époque Paris is a novel
Where is
What it is and where it is
Barletta is a beautiful city in Adriatic Apulia, with a spectacular Romanesque-Gothic cathedral and a church dedicated to the Holy Sepulcher, harking back to the time when people embarked for the Crusades from here. Then there is the famous Disfida, launched by Hector Fieramosca in 1503 and revived in a famous 19th-century novel, now raised to literary park status. The wonder that remains to be discovered is the Pinacoteca di palazzo Marra dedicated to Giuseppe De Nittis, a Barlettano who made his fortune in the Paris of the Impressionists.
Why it is special
Not to be missed
"Breakfast in the Garden" is considered De Nittis' most significant work: exhibited in 1884, the year of the artist's sudden death, it is considered a kind of his artistic testament. The painting, which revisits a cherished theme of en plein air painting, is set in the garden of the painter's Parisian home. Surrounding the laid table are his wife Leontine and son Jacques. Everything, even the objects arranged on the tablecloth, is functional in recreating the sense of bourgeois sophistication that was the author's most characteristic feature.
A bit of history
Contributing to De Nittis' affirmation was undoubtedly his wife Leontine. Indeed, it was she who favored his inclusion in the Parisian high society by keeping a salon that was distinguished by Saturday night receptions with music and delicacies. It was frequented by the most famous painters of the time, but gradually the parterre expanded in an increasingly worldly sense, thanks especially to the favors of Princess Matilda Bonaparte (depicted in another famous painting preserved in the Pinacoteca di Barletta).
Curiosities
Barletta's collection also includes a self-portrait of the painter, made inside his Parisian home in 1884, that is, shortly before his sudden death from a cerebral stroke at the age of only 38. Looking at it, one shares the meaning of the epitaph written for him by the author of "The Lady of the Camellias," Alexandre Dumas son: "Here lies the painter Giuseppe De Nittis, who died in full youth, in full love, in full glory. Like heroes and demigods."
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Where is
