Arcangelo

Sanniti

Vernissage samedi 10 àctobre 2026

du 10 octobre au 28 novembre 2026

It was only with the *Sanniti* series (2001–2005) that such a wealth of atmospheres and narratives entered a strictly Italian orbit. From a journey taking him from Monte Cassino to Benevento—passing through Puglia without ever touching the sea—Arcangelo created several paintings (2003) that merge his personal history (he is a native of Avellino, near Naples) with that of the earliest people to settle in the central Peninsula—a group gradually pushed inland toward the mountains. These were the Samnites, who vied with Rome for control of Campania in the early 5th century BCE; they were courageous fighters whose tactical skill, candor, and—ultimately—"generous desperation" were noted by the historian Mommsen. Thus, in several compositions from 2004, one recognizes the figure of the Warrior of Capestrano beneath an unusual, wide-brimmed, sombrero-like hat: building on earlier experiences, an imagery of memory was beginning to take shape in the artist's work.