Vincenzo Caprile (1856–1936) - Scorcio veneziano

VINCENZO CAPRILE
(Napoli, 1856 – 1936)
Venetian Corner
Oil on panel, 49 x 35 cm
Signed and dated “V. CAPRILE ‘85” at lower right
Frame size approx. 67 x 45 x 5 cm.

NOTE: Publication catalog of works from the Intermidiart collection (Pdf). Work signed and dated. Guarantee certificate and Legitimate Provenance. Work with gilded and worked frame (defects):

This work, titled Scorcio veneziano (Venetian Sight), is attributed to the painter Vincenzo Caprile (Napoli, 1856–1936), Neapolitan artist known for landscapes, genre scenes and popular subjects, characterized by a fresh and luminous brushwork.
The artist, linked to the Scuola di Resìna culture and close to a verismo and luministic painting, alternated Neapolitan views with lagoon landscapes during his stays in Venice. The canvas depicts a close view of an inner Venetian canal, dominated by imposing architectures and the portals of historic palaces that overlook the canals. In the foreground, the choppy water is rendered with strong material texture, through green tones and brown reflections. In the background a gondola with a few barely sketched figures can be seen.
The style of the work shows the meeting of Neapolitan verismo and the luministic sensibility developed by the artist during his stays in the lagoon. The Venetian view is built through calm tones and a balanced, orderly composition in which colors are distributed without extreme contrasts. It results in an atmosphere of quiet, typical of those more secluded Venetian views distant from the places most frequented by tourism, a subject Caprile tackled several times.
In his painting color assumes a truly constructive function: brushwork and color matter contribute to defining space, restoring on the canvas the natural alternating of light and shadow and contributing to the rendering of atmospheric depth. His Venetian views are distinguished by the sobriety of the palette and the skilled use of light, elements that allow the creation of a suspended atmosphere and a particularly evocative perception of space, as clearly evident in this canvas too.
Vincenzo Caprile was born in Naples in 1856 to a well-to-do family, which allowed him to devote himself to painting from a young age. He studied under Gabriele Smargiassi and Achille Carrillo at the Institute of Fine Arts of Naples and completed his training under Domenico Morelli. Thanks to the contacts with Alceste Campriani and Federico Rossano, he entered the environment of the Scuola di Resìna, approaching a painting from nature attentive to the atmospheric rendering of the landscape and the natural depiction of light.
From 1873 until the end of the 1920s he regularly participated in the Naples Promotrice exhibitions, also holding important positions: he was a member of the artistic jury and the permanent committee between 1890 and 1894 and served as vice president in 1911. He debuted at the Promotrice in 1873 with the painting A Posillipo; in 1874 he exhibited Strada alle paludi, in 1875 Il crepuscolo d’autunno and, the following year, A Torre Annunziata and Ricordo di Torre del Greco.
Caprile took part in numerous national and international exhibitions, including Milan, Melbourne, Venice, Rome and Berlin. In 1888 he was named honorary professor of the Institute of Fine Arts of Naples; in the same year he stayed in Buenos Aires, where he received numerous commissions for portraits from important figures of local politics.
Returning to Naples in 1890, he dedicated himself mainly to landscape painting and also pursued an intense portrait activity, eventually being considered a portraitist of the House of Savoy. In the last years of his life, major solo exhibitions were dedicated to him at the Permanente in Naples in 1924, in Milan in 1933 and in Livorno in 1934. In 1927 he exhibited with Vincenzo Genito and Vincenzo Migliaro at the Galleria Pesaro. Vincenzo Caprile died in Naples on 23 June 1936.
As for the state of preservation, the painted surface shows an aged varnish. Moreover, under raking sunlight, the characteristics of the applied color and brushstroke are evident. The dimensions of the work are 49 x 35 cm. The painting is enriched by a beautiful gilded and ornate frame, with a strong decorative impact (size approx. 67 x 45 x 5 cm, with defects).
"The frame shown in the photos above has been added to the artwork by the seller or a third party. The frame is provided to you at no additional cost so that it is ready for display as soon as it arrives. The frame is included as a courtesy and is not considered an integral part of the artwork. Therefore, any potential damage to the frame that does not affect the artwork itself will not be accepted as a valid reason to open a claim or request order cancellation."

PROVENIENCE: Private Collection

PUBLICATION:
- INEDITA QUADRERIA, General catalog of the paintings in the Intermidiart Gallery collection by Andrea Maggio, 2026 (pdf).

In case of sale outside Italian territory, the buyer must await the processing time for export procedures.