Goats, cows and sheep

The painting has long been believed to be a representation of Bourbon nativity scenes: in it, two cows, two sheep and a dark-coated goat act as the protagonists of a simple, idealised landscape.

It is known that the canvas came to Carditello after the Restoration, to replace some still lifes exhibited in 1792 and never relocated.

The work is signed by Giacomo Nani, an artist specialised in kitchen interiors and the leading representative in Carditello of a pleasant and colorful painting, which portrays the products of the “Terra di Lavoro” in ways that recall the frescoes found in Pompeii and Herculaneum.

Appreciated by Neapolitan collectors since the 1720s, Nani was also liked by Charles of Bourbon, who – to celebrate Campania Felix – invited the painter to reproduce his work on the ceramics of the Royal Factory of Capodimonte.

It is also known that the king sent 24 of the artist's works as a gift to his mother, Elisabetta Farnese.