Neapolitan Street Scene with Markets
Naples, 1750/1790
Heads terracotta with polychrome, limbs wood, carved and polychrome, textile clothing
Inv.-Nr. Krippenposition 100
Given by Max Schmederer, 1901
Gallery 147
Each of these busy crèches made for the Neapolitan aristocracy in the 18th century encompasses representations of three different scenes: the Adoration of the Shepherds, daily life in the bustling streets of Naples and, finally, the approaching procession and Adoration of the Kings. A wealth of exquisitely detailed miniature props and accessories (finimenti) makes the market and street scenes lively and lifelike: halves of pork at a butcher's stall, baskets of fruits and vegetables displayed under the vaults of the covered market, dogs and cats sniffing about, not to mention the figures of Neapolitans engaged in animated conversation. These figures, which have terracotta heads made by modellers working for the Capodimonte Royal Porcelain Factory, wear the typical dress of their time. Since their carved wooden arms and legs are atop an armature of wire, they are extremely flexible and can take on many different poses.
des Bayerischen Nationalmuseum
des Bayerischen Nationalmuseum
