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Mattia Preti

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Mattia Preti
Self-portrait in the paintingPredica di San Giovanni Battista
Born(1613-02-24)24 February 1613
Taverna, Calabria,Kingdom of Naples
Died3 January 1699(1699-01-03)(aged 85)
Valletta,Hospitaller Malta
NationalityItalian
StyleBaroque painting
Signature

Mattia Preti(24 February 1613 – 3 January 1699) was an ItalianBaroqueartist who worked inItalyandMalta.He was appointed a Member of theOrder of Saint John.

Life

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St George on Horseback,St. John's Co-Cathedral,Valletta

Born in the small town ofTavernainCalabria,Preti was calledIl Cavalier Calabrese(the Calabrian Knight) after appointment as a Knight of the Order of St. John (Knights of Malta) in 1660.[1]His early apprenticeship is said to have been with the "Caravaggist"Giovanni Battista Caracciolo,which may account for his lifelong interest in the style ofCaravaggio.

Probably before 1630, Preti joined his brother Gregorio (also a painter), inRome,where he became familiar with the techniques of Caravaggio and his school as well as with the work ofGuercino,Rubens,Guido Reni,andGiovanni Lanfranco.In Rome, he painted fresco cycles in the churches ofSant'Andrea della ValleandSan Carlo ai Catinari.Between 1644 and 1646, he may have spent time in Venice,[2]but remained based in Rome until 1653, returning later in 1660–61. He painted frescoes for the church ofSan Biagioat Modena (app. 1651–2) and participated in the fresco decoration of thePalazzo PamphiljinValmontone(documented 1660–61), where he worked along withPier Francesco Mola,Gaspar Dughet,Francesco Cozza,Giovanni Battista Tassi(il Cortonese), andGuglielmo Cortese.

During most of 1653–1660, he worked in Naples, starting with aSaint Nicholas.There he was influenced by another prominent painter of his era,Luca Giordano.Preti's major works include a series of large frescoex-votosdepicting theVirginor saints delivering people from the plague, which were painted on seven city gates and are now lost - two sketches for them are in theCapodimonte Museumin Naples,[3]including abozzettoof the Virgin with the baby Jesus looming over the dying and their burial parties which envisions aLast Judgementpresided over by a woman.[4]Preti also won a commission to supervise the construction, carving, and gilding for the nave and transept ofSan Pietro a Maiella,along with producing aJudith and HolofernesandSaint John the Baptist,both still in Naples.

Having been made a Knight of Grace in theOrder of St John,he visited the order's headquarters inMaltain 1659 and spent most of the remainder of his life there. Preti transformed the interior ofSt. John's Co-CathedralinVallettawith a huge series of paintings on the life and martyrdom ofSt. John the Baptist(1661–1666). In Malta one also can find many paintings of Preti in private collections and in parish churches. His increased reputation led to an expanded circle of patrons, and he received commissions from all over Europe.[5][6]

Preti was fortunate to enjoy a long career and have a considerable artistic output. His paintings, representative of the exuberant late Baroque style, are held by many great museums, including important collections inNaples,Valletta,and in his hometown ofTaverna, Calabria.

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References

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  1. ^John T. Spike,Mattia Preti: I Documenti,Florence: 1999.
  2. ^Wittkower, 360
  3. ^James Clifton, "Mattia Preti's Frescoes for the City Gates of Naples,"Art Bulletin(1994), 479–501
  4. ^Clifton, 480. Preti's salary for the work was 1500 ducats.
  5. ^Bonello, Giovanni(2000).Art in Malta – Discoveries and RecoveriesArchived2016-08-28 at theWayback Machine.Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti. p. 69-102.ISBN99909-959-7-4.ISBN99909-959-8-2.
  6. ^Alessandro Cosma.Paintings for the Knights of Malta. Mattia Preti and the Celebration of Martyrdom.Actual Problems of Theory and History of Art: Collection of articles. Vol. 6. Eds: Anna V. Zakharova, Svetlana V. Maltseva, Ekaterina Yu. Stanyukovich-Denisova. St. Petersburg, NP-Print Publ., 2016, pp. 468–473. ISSN 2312-2129.
  7. ^"The Marriage at Cana".The National Gallery.Retrieved2019-11-26.

Further reading

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  • Spike, John(1997).Mattia Preti e Gregorio Preti a Taverna. Catalogo completo delle opere.Centro Di.
  • Spike, John(1999).Mattia Preti. Catalogo Ragionato dei Dipinti.Florence.{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • Wittkower, Rudolf(1993). "Art and Architecture Italy, 1600–1750".Pelican History of Art.1980. Penguin Books Ltd. pp. 330–331.
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