Cecily Brown's Triumph of Death exhibited at the Capodimonte Museum and Royal Woods

On display at the Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte will be The Triumph of Death (2019), the monumental canvas of more than five meters by Cecily Brown (London, 1969), from February 10 to May 1, 2022. The work, one of her largest, was completed after a trip to Sicily in 2019, during which she was able to admire the mid-15th-century fresco of The Triumph of Death, which is at the Regional Gallery of Palazzo Abatellis in Palermo.

Curated by Sergio Risaliti and produced by the Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte in collaboration with the London-based Thomas Dane Gallery and its Neapolitan branch, the exhibition also features a series of drawings made by the artist after he finished the painting.

In both its original and the artist’s reworked version, The Triumph of Death presents Death as an apocalyptic knight riding a ghostly white horse, eliminating the living he encounters along the way. One of the most striking elements in Cecily Brown’s canvas is the symbol of the cross that formally divides the painting into four panels, thus recalling the monumental Palermitan fresco (6 x 6.40 meters), detached from the courtyard of the Sclafani palace after bombing damage in 1944, and divided into four panels for restoration, before being transferred to Palazzo Abatellis. Unfortunately, the cut made its edges fragile, which deteriorated over time. Cecily Brown integrates this scar into her work and conceptually links it to contemporary concerns such as destruction, recovery, and reconstitution.

Cecily Brown is known for her exuberant brushwork, rich palette, and the intense energy of her painting. She often finds inspiration in iconic works, as in the case of The Triumph of Death, as a means of exploring contemporary issues of great relevance.

Image: Cecily Brown, The Triumph of Death, detail (2019; oil on canvas, 535.94 x 535.94 cm) © Cecily Brown. Courtesy of the artist and Thomas Dane Gallery. Photo by Genevieve Hanson.

Cecily Brown's Triumph of Death exhibited at the Capodimonte Museum and Royal Woods

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