Monsù Desiderio is the name formerly given to an artist believed to have painted architectural scenes in a distinctive style in Naples in the early seventeenth century.[1] The term monsù, a corruption of the French monsieur, was often used by Neapolitan historians to denote a painter of foreign origin.[2]

Explosion in a Cathedral by François de Nomé.

In the mid-twentieth century, art historians identified the works previously attributed to "Desiderio" as being by at least three different painters: François de Nomé and Didier Barra, both originally from Metz, and a third artist, whose name is unknown. Nomé's works were described by Rudolf Wittkower as "bizarre and ghostlike paintings of architecture, often crumbling and fantastic".[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b Wittkower, Rudolf (1973) [1958]. Art and Architecture in Italy. The Pelican History of Art (First paperback ed.). Harmondsworth: Penguin Books.
  2. ^ "Didier Barra". Painting in Naples: From Caravaggio to Giordano. Exhibition Catalogue. London: Royal Academy. 1982. p. 108.