Coming into the Accademia's possession through the Oberti Donation in 2000, the painting is one of four known preparatory studies for the large painting of L’imbarco dei Mille a Quarto (Departure of the Thousand from Quarto), completed by the beginning of 1911 and now housed at the Gallery of Modern Art in Novara. This historical event provides the pretext for an emotionally charged painting, characterised by the modelling effect of the colours which alternate between warm and cool tones, and by luminous, rippling strokes executed with his customary, exceptional talent.

This painting is part of a group of works relating to Mount Portofino and the village of San Fruttuoso, which the painter had chosen as the place of his hermitage. It is a testament to the artist's love for this corner of Mediterranean nature, filled with light and colour, scent and sound, which was to become the dominant, almost obsessive, subject of his paintings. The view of the Abbey of San Fruttuoso, surrounded by Aleppo pines and overhanging the sea, epitomises his pursuit and introspective vision of nature.

The depth of the sky looming over a horizon ablaze with the setting sun – like a blade of light – recalls the work of Tammar Luxoro, as well as the light of Fontanesi, who D’Andrade met in Geneva, along with Calame. The almost desert-like landscape, dominated by the low, distant horizon and marked by the slow pace of the figures, lends an epic air to this melancholic procession of workers returning from their daily labours in the fields, almost as if it were a biblical exodus.

Signed left: “ALFREDUS DE/ANDRADE/OLISIPONIENSIS/ME FECIT JANUA/A.D. DCCCLXIX”

This work is part of a nucleus of fifteen fresco fragments by Domenico Piola present in the Accademia Ligustica collections, most of which come from the church of San Leonardo, frescoed by Piola between 1683 and 1686. The subject addressed on the church vaulting – La Vergine dell’Immacolata Concezione con Gesù Bambino tra le braccia assiste alla cacciata di Lucifero (The Virgin of the Immaculate Conception holding the Infant Jesus witnesses Lucifer being cast out) – is documented by a preparatory study kept in the Department of Prints and Drawings in Palazzo Rosso.

The painting depicts one of the artist’s favourite subjects, which he tackled many times over his career and which forms part of a tradition of animal painting present in Genoa with the works of the Bassanos, Scorza, and Flemish painters such as the de Wael brothers or Jan Roos. The episode appears to be a pretext for the meticulous depiction of animals and household goods; a comparison with a drawing depicting the same subject, kept in the Royal Collection in Windsor Castle and dated by Blunt to 1648-1655, suggests it dates to his later years.

Donated to the Accademia by Marquis Marcello Durazzo, it is the sketch for the central image on the choir vault in the Genoese church of San Domenico, frescoed by Strozzi in the early 1620s and demolished between 1819 and 1821. The composition echoes that of the altarpiece by Pietro Sorri for the church of Sant’Agostino in Siena, while the dense brushwork, glowing and loaded with colour, recalls the teaching of Rubens, of which Strozzi was an interpreter.

Described as “the greatest nocturne of the 16th century in Italy”, the painting, dating to around 1575, is an outstanding example of the “candlelit” style which became widespread in the second half of the 16th century. From the collection of Vincenzo Giustiniani in Rome, it is one of the most representative works of Cambiaso's later output, imbued with a light which heightens the deeply dramatic nature of the scene and seems to anticipate some of the most brilliant output of 17th-century Europe.

Painted for the brotherhood of St. Erasmus around 1536 and kept in the oratory of the same name in Quinto, the polyptych was bought by the Accademia in 1870. The polyptych structure is linked to the commissioning brotherhood, and depicts the figures of Saints Erasmus, Peter and Paul in hieratic frontal poses; by contrast, the lunette, whose figures appear to extend beyond the limits of the panel, successfully unites the composition. The figures are formed through vivid fields of colour applied in delicate glazes, producing a three-dimensional effect.

Since the end of the 19th century, Nativity scenes set up by the Capuchin fathers have regularly featured in Genoese guides and news, a sign of the monks’ special connection with this tradition.

Over the years, the Capuchin Culturale Heritage Museum stores have gathered numerous nativity figurines from various Capuchin convents throughout the region. Over ten years ago a programme for the recovery and restoration of these prized artefacts was begun, with one of the most outstanding examples being the group of clothed mannequins from the Capuchin convent of Sarzana.

Of great artistic value is the majestic procession of the Magi attributed to the workshop of Anton Maria Maragliano (Genoa, 1664 - 1739). The celebrated sculptor, who is not recorded with any certainty as having made clothed mannequins, would make use of his pupils for their production, providing models as basis for their creation, while reserving for himself the production of processional statues and sculptures or much larger wooden groups.

The figurines by Pasquale Navone (Genoa, 1746 - 1791), one of the most illustrious followers of Maragliano’s work, are of particular value: his shepherds, peasants and commoners are recognisable due to their greater size compared to the other statues in the group, as well as the details and refinement of their features and skin tones.

The figure of the beggar, typical of Genoese Nativity scenes, deserves a special mention, standing out as it does in striking contrast to the splendour of the magnificent procession of the Magi. The figure is dressed in denim, the fabric used for jeans, whose etymology derives from the word Gênes: Genoa. The famous American fabric is none other than a direct descendent of the "bleu de Gênes", the cotton cloth produced and dyed in Genoa and used for the cargo of the ships setting sail for the New World.

The Nativity scene's long history begins in the ‘30s, and it is recorded that in 1947 it was put on display by its maker Franco Curti in his home town of Carmagnola. Over the years the Nativity began to gain fame throughout Piedmont and Liguria, and ten years later visitor numbers had risen to around 200,000. In 1976 Franco Curti donated his work to the Capuchins in Liguria, in the hands of Father Romano da Calice, who operated it from 1976 to 1983. In 1984 Father Romano made way for a younger fellow Brother, Father Andrea Caruso, who kept up the tradition of a travelling exhibit of the Nativity around the convents of Liguria until 2006.

In 2007 the nativity began its new life as part of the collection of the Capuchin Cultural Heritage Museum.

“If the recreation of this event, as simple as it is, still attracts this many visitors and can bring forth some of its divine message after two thousand years, I think I can say that the 12,000 hours I have spent building this Nativity have not been wasted”. So Franco Curti in 1972.

What cannot be seen when looking at the scene are the 7 motors which power its movements; 307 bulbs modify the light to create day, dawn and night; 205 ball bearings and 273 synchronised wheels, pulleys and cogs move the characters. The fastest wheel is that of the motors (1400 rpm), the slowest that of the lights (1 revolution every 3 minutes).

The houses of the Nativity are entirely made in fretwork, and most of the statues were hand-sculpted by craftsmen of the Val Gardena. There are over 150 moving figures and the central section is a 40 square metres triptych consisting of reconstructions of Bethania, Jerusalem and Bethlehem in the time of Jesus. Completing the evocative Nativity scene are waterfalls, Eastern panoramas, dimmable lighting effects and background music.

The work is completed by 5 mechanical scenes representing the Prophecies of the Prophets Isaiah, Micah and Malachi, the “Search for lodging”, and the ”Adoration of the Magi”.
Open to the public every Christmas.