Neapolitan Folk Art /1A new, permanent exhibition in the Doll’s House Museum, Basel deals with the Neapolitan folk art of nativity-scene making. The exhibition with its typical everyday Mediterranean scenes conveys a unique insight in miniature of the day-to-day life of the citizens of 18th-century Naples.
People can be seen enjoying a meal, while women gossip on their balconies. Craftsmen are making pots, while Gennaro, the fish merchant, hawks his dried “baccalà” (stockfish) and other regional specialities. Fruit and vegetable vendors stand alongside copiously filled displays, while the lemonade salesman hopes for thirsty passers-by interested in his freshly pressed lemon juice. And while the bread and pizza baker Giuseppe heats up his oven once again, the cheese seller with his Neapolitan delicacies such as “provolone” and “caciocavallo” and the sausage seller with his hearty salami and tasty Parma ham endeavour to attract the attention of customers. Visitors are approaching in a painted coach, drawn by a horse carved from wood … The entire breathtaking scene spreads out beneath a hand-painted sky. The figures appear so realistic that you almost expect them to come to life any moment. | |
