Fine Art PR Publicity Announcements News and Information
Fine Art PR Publicity Announcements News and Information

Saint Bartholomew by Bernardo Cavallino to go on display at The National Gallery London

The recently acquired ‘Saint Bartholomew’, a 1640–45 work by Bernardo Cavallino (1616–1656?) will go on display alongside other Italian Baroque masterpieces in Room 32 of the National Gallery on Tuesday 11 April 2023.

The painting was last exhibited in public in 1993 (at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in in New York), so the public will be able to enjoy it for the first time in 30 years.

The National Gallery purchased the life-size 178.8 x 127 cm painting by auction at Sotheby’s New York back in January from the Fisch Davidson collection – one of the most important collections of Baroque art ever to appear on the market. The cost was $3.9 million (hammer $3.2m), with funds coming from the American Friends of the National Gallery.

It has long been a desire of the National Gallery to acquire an important painting by Cavallino in order to represent the full glory of the Neapolitan Baroque and Caravaggio’s influence in Naples.

The National Gallery has one other work by Cavallino – Christ driving the Traders from the Temple – which is a beautiful example of the poetic handling that earned Cavallino the nickname ‘the Poussin of Naples’, but it is relatively small and does not show the full emotional power of the artist’s greatest works.

This depiction of Saint Bartholomew, one of the most splendid works Cavallino ever painted, dates to the 1640s, when the Neapolitan artist was at the height of his artistic powers.

The National Gallery is one of the greatest art galleries in the world. Founded by Parliament in 1824, the Gallery houses the nation’s collection of paintings in the Western European tradition from the late 13th to the early 20th century. The collection includes works by Artemisia Gentileschi, Bellini, Cézanne, Degas, Leonardo, Monet, Raphael, Rembrandt, Renoir, Rubens, Titian, Turner, Van Dyck, Van Gogh and Velázquez. The Gallery’s key objectives are to care for and enhance the collection and provide the best possible access to visitors. Admission free.

More information: nationalgallery.org.uk

Bernardo Cavallino, ‘Saint Bartholomew’, 1640–45 © The National Gallery, London