attribuito a Pietro Fabris (Napoli, 1740 – 1792)

Private collection, Naples

These two canvases depict interior scenes featuring figures dressed in traditional attire typical of Southern Italy. 

Fabris’s known body of work spans the period from 1756—the date inscribed on a *Neapolitan Scene* (London, Trafalgar Galleries; cf. Spinosa, 1987, p. 162)—to 1792, the year he executed *Pilgrimage to the Sanctuary of the Madonna dell'Arco* (formerly with Matthiesen, London; published in Spinosa, 1987, fig. 410). His output includes numerous oil paintings, gouaches, and drawings inspired by Neapolitan views and landscapes, as well as many depictions of folk life, festivals, traditional costumes, and Southern Italian interiors. His signed and dated works have made it possible to reconstruct his artistic career; the two pieces presented here fit into this body of work, given their thematic consistency with his various illustrations of festivals, *tarantella* dances, outdoor meals, and interior or genre scenes—all executed in relatively modest formats that appealed to the tastes of collectors and foreign travelers. Significant series of such works, dating to the 1770s and 1780s, are held in the Royal Palace of Caserta and the Museo di San Martino in Naples.