Cabal of Naples

The Cabal of Naples was a notorious triumvirate of painters in the city of Naples that operated during the early Baroque period from the late 1610s to the early 1640s. It was led by the Spaniard Jusepe de Ribera, who had established himself in Naples after fleeing creditors in Rome in 1616, and also consisted of the Neapolitan Battistello Caracciolo and Greek Belisario Corenzio. Its primary goal was to prevent competition from artists from other parts of Italy, particularly the masters. Its activities often targeted the followers of Annibale Carracci, but also any artist not native to Naples. It involved the triumvirate in leading the painters of the city to harass, expel, or poison any non-native painter, and only ended with the death of Caracciolo in 1641.

According to the art historian Bernardo de Dominici, no major commission for art in Naples could be executed without the consent of the three painters. Artists who did so would be persecuted or threatened with violence, and often their in-progress works would be destroyed or sabotaged. Many artists were invited to Naples for a commission to decorate the Cappella del Tesoro, the chapel of the Naples Cathedral. The chapel honours Saint Januarius and is considered the holiest shrine in Naples. It is known for The Blood Miracle, the reputed liquefaction of the saint's blood, which is stored in a phial and had purportedly been obtained by a woman named Eusebia just after the saint's death. Artists including Annibale Carracci, the Cavalier d'Arpino, and Guido Reni all accepted an invitation to work on the chapel. All of them found Naples inhospitable. In 1621, Reni's assistant was so badly wounded that he returned to Rome. Corenzio was arrested as a suspect in the crime, but released because of insufficient evidence against him. Carracci was so maligned that he could not obtain a commission in the city.

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