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| Saint John the Baptist Preaching Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC Photos by New York Scugnizzo |
Mattia Preti was born on February 24, 1613 in Taverna, a small town on the slopes of la Sila Piccola in Calabria. In 1630 the young artist followed his older brother Gregorio to Rome (who arrived two years earlier), where they studied painting at the Accademia di San Luca. There, he became familiar with the works of Caravaggio and his followers. His initial paintings are reminiscent of the dramatic chiaroscuro style of the Lombard master.
The success of Preti's early works opened up many opportunities for him and he soon acquired important commissions in the Duchy of Modena, most notably the frescoes for the apse and dome of San Biagio. In 1641 or '42 Urban VIII admitted him into the Order of St. John of Malta as a Knight of Obedience. This earned him the moniker Il Cavaliere Calabrese, or the Knight from Calabria. According to his often-quoted biographer Bernardo De Dominici, Preti also traveled to Venice, Spain and the Netherlands, broadening his techniques and developing his skills. Many historians, however, doubt the validity of these travels.
Nevertheless, it is generally agreed that it was in Naples (1653-60) that the artist reached the zenith of his career. After the plague of 1656 wiped out approximately sixty percent of the city's inhabitants—including many of Naples' eminent artists (e.g. Bernardo Cavallino)—Preti was commissioned to paint massive votive frescoes for the city's seven gates. Now lost in time, only two bozzetto, housed in the Capodimonte Museum, give us a glimpse at the illustriousness of these works. |
| Pilate Washing His Hands, Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC |
The same year Preti painted five canvases, including the powerful Christ Thundering Satan Down from the High Mountain (Museo di Capodimonte) for the important Neapolitan patron, Diomede Carafa, Duke of Maddaloni. His crowning achievement during this period in the southern capital was a series of ten paintings for the church ceiling of San Pietro a Maiella. Despite the fact that local artist like Luca Giordano were critical of Preti and other "foreigners" the Calabrian's influence on Neapolitan art is unquestionable.
In 1661 Preti settled in Malta where he worked diligently for nearly forty years. He became a Knight of the Order of Jerusalem and was commissioned to do many projects, including the monumental decorative series for the ceiling of the Cathedral of St. John in Valletta. Tradition has it that his baroque masterpiece in the Cappella di Aragona of Saint George and the dragon (painted in Naples) was a test to see if he was worthy to paint the vault.
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| Detail of Our Lady of the Rosary, Museo Civico di Castel Nuovo, Napoli |
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| Turkish Boy Cutting a Block of Tobacco, Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC |
His time on the beautiful isle of Melita was among the artist's most prolific. From the tiny Mediterranean jewel he continued to supply his patrons in Naples and his hometown of Taverna (to which he returned on occasion) with plenty of art.
Mattia Preti died on January 3, 1699 in Valletta, Malta.
Mattia Preti died on January 3, 1699 in Valletta, Malta.
