Mattia Preti
![Mattia Preti - Dipinti antichi I Mattia Preti - Dipinti antichi I](/fileadmin/lot-images/38A210608/normal/mattia-preti-7203925.jpg)
(Taverna 1613–1699 La Valletta)
An Apostle - Saint James the Major or Saint Matthew (?),
oil on canvas, 97 x 73.5 cm, framed
Provenance:
art market, Portugal;
where acquired by the present owner
Exhibited:
Rome, Palazzo Barberini, Il trionfo dei sensi. Nuova luce su Mattia e Gregorio Preti, 22 February – 16 June 2019 (as Mattia Preti)
Literature:
Y. Primarosa, Il trionfo dei sensi. Nuova luce su Mattia e Gregorio Preti, ed. by Y. Primarosa, exhibition catalogue, Rome 2019, pp. 156-159, cat. no. 8 (as Mattia Preti);
K. Sciberras, Mattia Preti: Life and Works, Malta 2020, pp. 31-32, cat. no. 12, fig. 26 (as Mattia Preti)
The present painting has been dated to Mattia Preti’s early Roman period of the late 1630s and can be considered as one of the earliest and best resolved expressions of the young Calabrian artist’s interpretation of Caravaggesque naturalism (see K. Sciberras in literature). Indeed, Caravaggio’s pictorial language is clearly apparent in the use of the contrasted, raking light, falling across the features of the saint, reminiscent of the Lombard master.
The present canvas also reveals the influence of Jusepe de Ribera, who also created naturalistic images of saints and apostles, characterised by realism and highly contrasted lighting effects. Images of the apostles were favoured by the followers of Caravaggio, allowing for the pictorial depiction of humility and spirituality.
In the present painting the unusual pose of the saint and the subject’s evident humanity, combined with the dark pictorial handling of the work, are qualities rendered here by Preti with the same synthesis of light and colour which distinguishes his early work.
In his right hand, the saint portrayed holds a staff or halberd, which appears to have been modified by the artist as he worked (see fig. 1). The pose and features of the subject are similar to those in the figure of Saint Peter in Preti’s Christ and the Canaanite Woman in the Colonna collection, Rome. The painting is also stylistically comparable to the figure of Saint Andrew in his Tribute Money in the Galleria Doria Pamphilj, Rome, which also dates to the late 1630s.
The present work may have belonged to a now dispersed series of canvases representing the apostles. Sciberras has advanced a partial reconstruction of such a group, comparing the present work with the Saint James Major by Mattia Preti in the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart (inv. no. 2217 - see fig. 2). Furthermore, the present canvas is similar both in size and composition to the apostles painted by Mattia Preti and his elder brother, Gregorio, conserved in the episcopal palaces of Sutri and Nepi near Viterbo.
Mattia Preti was originally from Calabria but he received his early training in Rome, where he also collaborated with his brother Gregorio. Preti’s success was endorsed by the protection of powerful patrons, including Olimpia Aldobrandini and her sister-in-law Olimpia Maidalchini. The latter attained his nomination in 1642 as a Knight of Malta and also the commission to complete the decoration of Sant’Andrea della Valle, Rome, which had been started by Giovanni Lanfranco. In 1653 he moved to Naples where he contributed significantly to the development of painting in the region. From 1661 the ‘Cavaliere Calabrese’ lived on the island of Malta where he was called by the Grand Master of the Order to decorate the magisterial church of Saint John in Valletta. Through this work, Mattia Preti became the official painter of the Knights of Malta and executed paintings for the churches of the island. His production remained substantial throughout his time on Malta, and was of such quality, that he continued to receive both public and private commissions from throughout Europe.
Esperto: Mark MacDonnell
Mark MacDonnell
+43 1 515 60 403
old.masters@dorotheum.com
08.06.2021 - 16:00
- Stima:
-
EUR 200.000,- a EUR 300.000,-
Mattia Preti
(Taverna 1613–1699 La Valletta)
An Apostle - Saint James the Major or Saint Matthew (?),
oil on canvas, 97 x 73.5 cm, framed
Provenance:
art market, Portugal;
where acquired by the present owner
Exhibited:
Rome, Palazzo Barberini, Il trionfo dei sensi. Nuova luce su Mattia e Gregorio Preti, 22 February – 16 June 2019 (as Mattia Preti)
Literature:
Y. Primarosa, Il trionfo dei sensi. Nuova luce su Mattia e Gregorio Preti, ed. by Y. Primarosa, exhibition catalogue, Rome 2019, pp. 156-159, cat. no. 8 (as Mattia Preti);
K. Sciberras, Mattia Preti: Life and Works, Malta 2020, pp. 31-32, cat. no. 12, fig. 26 (as Mattia Preti)
The present painting has been dated to Mattia Preti’s early Roman period of the late 1630s and can be considered as one of the earliest and best resolved expressions of the young Calabrian artist’s interpretation of Caravaggesque naturalism (see K. Sciberras in literature). Indeed, Caravaggio’s pictorial language is clearly apparent in the use of the contrasted, raking light, falling across the features of the saint, reminiscent of the Lombard master.
The present canvas also reveals the influence of Jusepe de Ribera, who also created naturalistic images of saints and apostles, characterised by realism and highly contrasted lighting effects. Images of the apostles were favoured by the followers of Caravaggio, allowing for the pictorial depiction of humility and spirituality.
In the present painting the unusual pose of the saint and the subject’s evident humanity, combined with the dark pictorial handling of the work, are qualities rendered here by Preti with the same synthesis of light and colour which distinguishes his early work.
In his right hand, the saint portrayed holds a staff or halberd, which appears to have been modified by the artist as he worked (see fig. 1). The pose and features of the subject are similar to those in the figure of Saint Peter in Preti’s Christ and the Canaanite Woman in the Colonna collection, Rome. The painting is also stylistically comparable to the figure of Saint Andrew in his Tribute Money in the Galleria Doria Pamphilj, Rome, which also dates to the late 1630s.
The present work may have belonged to a now dispersed series of canvases representing the apostles. Sciberras has advanced a partial reconstruction of such a group, comparing the present work with the Saint James Major by Mattia Preti in the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart (inv. no. 2217 - see fig. 2). Furthermore, the present canvas is similar both in size and composition to the apostles painted by Mattia Preti and his elder brother, Gregorio, conserved in the episcopal palaces of Sutri and Nepi near Viterbo.
Mattia Preti was originally from Calabria but he received his early training in Rome, where he also collaborated with his brother Gregorio. Preti’s success was endorsed by the protection of powerful patrons, including Olimpia Aldobrandini and her sister-in-law Olimpia Maidalchini. The latter attained his nomination in 1642 as a Knight of Malta and also the commission to complete the decoration of Sant’Andrea della Valle, Rome, which had been started by Giovanni Lanfranco. In 1653 he moved to Naples where he contributed significantly to the development of painting in the region. From 1661 the ‘Cavaliere Calabrese’ lived on the island of Malta where he was called by the Grand Master of the Order to decorate the magisterial church of Saint John in Valletta. Through this work, Mattia Preti became the official painter of the Knights of Malta and executed paintings for the churches of the island. His production remained substantial throughout his time on Malta, and was of such quality, that he continued to receive both public and private commissions from throughout Europe.
Esperto: Mark MacDonnell
Mark MacDonnell
+43 1 515 60 403
old.masters@dorotheum.com
Hotline dell'acquirente
lun-ven: 10.00 - 17.00
old.masters@dorotheum.at +43 1 515 60 403 |
Asta: | Dipinti antichi I |
Tipo d'asta: | Asta in sala con Live Bidding |
Data: | 08.06.2021 - 16:00 |
Luogo dell'asta: | Wien | Palais Dorotheum |
Esposizione: | 29.05. - 08.06.2021 |