Home Online catalogues True to Nature. Open-air Painting 1780-1870 23. Anton Sminck Pitloo Arnhem 1790 – 1837 Naples Study of a Fallen Dead Tree, c. 1820-1830 An inscription on the back of this study identifies it as a work by “Anton Pitloo – Father of the modern Neapolitan school”. Also known as the School of Posilippo, it was not a formal school but a loose group of artists which gathered around Pitloo and his student Giacinto Gigante (1806– 1876). They advocated painting directly sur le motif in natural light, privileging the bright colours of the Italian south. Born in the Netherlands, Pitloo trained in Paris under Bidauld and Bertin between 1808-11 before settling in Italy. He lived first in Rome and then Naples, where he set up a private school and taught at the Academy, becoming professor of landscape in 1824. He painted many large panoramas and harbour scenes, but also made closeup nature studies in oils on paper. This fallen dead tree has been stripped of its bark, a valuable resource at the time used for making rope. The vague green background focuses our attention on the textures of the wood.
An inscription on the back of this study identifies it as a work by “Anton Pitloo – Father of the modern Neapolitan school”. Also known as the School of Posilippo, it was not a formal school but a loose group of artists which gathered around Pitloo and his student Giacinto Gigante (1806– 1876). They advocated painting directly sur le motif in natural light, privileging the bright colours of the Italian south. Born in the Netherlands, Pitloo trained in Paris under Bidauld and Bertin between 1808-11 before settling in Italy. He lived first in Rome and then Naples, where he set up a private school and taught at the Academy, becoming professor of landscape in 1824. He painted many large panoramas and harbour scenes, but also made closeup nature studies in oils on paper. This fallen dead tree has been stripped of its bark, a valuable resource at the time used for making rope. The vague green background focuses our attention on the textures of the wood.