Mattia Preti Painting Reproductions 1 of 1
1613-1699
Italian Baroque Painter
Mattia Preti (February 24, 1613 - January 3, 1699) was a Italian Baroque artist who worked in Italy and Malta.
Born in the small town of Taverna in Calabria, Preti was sometimes called Il Cavalier Calabrese (the Knight of Calabria). His early apprenticeship is said to have been with the "Caravaggist" Giovanni Battista Caracciolo, which may account for his life-long interest in the style of Caravaggio.
Probably before 1630, Preti joined his brother Gregorio (also a painter), in Rome, where he became familiar with the techniques of Caravaggio and his school as well as with the work of Guercino, Rubens, Reni, Giovanni Lanfranco and Paolo Veronese. In Rome, he painted fresco cycles in Sant'Andrea della Valle and San Carlo ai Catinari. Between 1640 and 1646, he spent time in Venice. Returning to Rome in 1641-42, 1650-51, and 1660-61. He painted frescoes for the church of San Biago at Modena (1653-6) and participated in the fresco decoration of the Palazzo Pamphilj in Valmontone (1658-59), where he worked along with Pier Francesco Mola, Gaspar Dughet, Francesco Cozza, Giovanni Battista Tassi (il Cortonese), and Guglielmo Cortese.
During most of 1656-1660, he worked in Naples, where he was influenced by the other major Neapolitan painter of his era, Luca Giordano. One of Preti's masterpieces were a series of large frescoes, ex-votos of the plague (which were painted on seven city gates but have since been lost to the ravages of time), depicting the Virgin or saints delivering people from the plague. Two sketches are in the Capodimonte Museum in Naples. The bozzeto of the Virgin with the baby Jesus looming over the dying and their burial parties envisions a Last Judgement presided over by a woman. Preti's salary for the work was 1500 ducats. Preti also won a commission to supervise the construction, carving, and gilding for the nave and transcept of San Pietro a Maiella.
Having been made a Knight of Grace in the Order of St John, he visited the order’s headquarters in Malta in 1659 and spent most of the remainder of his life there. Preti transformed the interior of St. John's Co-Cathedral in Valletta, with a huge series of paintings on the life and martyrdom of St. John the Baptist (1661-1666). His increased reputation led to an expanded circle of patrons, and he received commissions from all over Europe.
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 in Naples, Valletta, and in his hometown of Taverna.
Born in the small town of Taverna in Calabria, Preti was sometimes called Il Cavalier Calabrese (the Knight of Calabria). His early apprenticeship is said to have been with the "Caravaggist" Giovanni Battista Caracciolo, which may account for his life-long interest in the style of Caravaggio.
Probably before 1630, Preti joined his brother Gregorio (also a painter), in Rome, where he became familiar with the techniques of Caravaggio and his school as well as with the work of Guercino, Rubens, Reni, Giovanni Lanfranco and Paolo Veronese. In Rome, he painted fresco cycles in Sant'Andrea della Valle and San Carlo ai Catinari. Between 1640 and 1646, he spent time in Venice. Returning to Rome in 1641-42, 1650-51, and 1660-61. He painted frescoes for the church of San Biago at Modena (1653-6) and participated in the fresco decoration of the Palazzo Pamphilj in Valmontone (1658-59), where he worked along with Pier Francesco Mola, Gaspar Dughet, Francesco Cozza, Giovanni Battista Tassi (il Cortonese), and Guglielmo Cortese.
During most of 1656-1660, he worked in Naples, where he was influenced by the other major Neapolitan painter of his era, Luca Giordano. One of Preti's masterpieces were a series of large frescoes, ex-votos of the plague (which were painted on seven city gates but have since been lost to the ravages of time), depicting the Virgin or saints delivering people from the plague. Two sketches are in the Capodimonte Museum in Naples. The bozzeto of the Virgin with the baby Jesus looming over the dying and their burial parties envisions a Last Judgement presided over by a woman. Preti's salary for the work was 1500 ducats. Preti also won a commission to supervise the construction, carving, and gilding for the nave and transcept of San Pietro a Maiella.
Having been made a Knight of Grace in the Order of St John, he visited the order’s headquarters in Malta in 1659 and spent most of the remainder of his life there. Preti transformed the interior of St. John's Co-Cathedral in Valletta, with a huge series of paintings on the life and martyrdom of St. John the Baptist (1661-1666). His increased reputation led to an expanded circle of patrons, and he received commissions from all over Europe.
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 in Naples, Valletta, and in his hometown of Taverna.
14 Mattia Preti Paintings
Judith n.d.
Oil Painting
$3032
$3032
Canvas Print
$50.59
$50.59
SKU: PRM-5747
Mattia Preti
Original Size: unknown
National Museum of Capodimonte, Venice, Italy
Mattia Preti
Original Size: unknown
National Museum of Capodimonte, Venice, Italy
Vanity c.1650/70
Oil Painting
$2951
$2951
SKU: PRM-5748
Mattia Preti
Original Size: 93.5 x 65 cm
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence, Italy
Mattia Preti
Original Size: 93.5 x 65 cm
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence, Italy
Young St. John the Baptist n.d.
Oil Painting
$2852
$2852
SKU: PRM-5749
Mattia Preti
Original Size: unknown
Galleria Doria Pamphilj, Rome, Italy
Mattia Preti
Original Size: unknown
Galleria Doria Pamphilj, Rome, Italy
The Penitent Magdalene n.d.
Oil Painting
$2693
$2693
SKU: PRM-5750
Mattia Preti
Original Size: unknown
Galleria Doria Pamphilj, Rome, Italy
Mattia Preti
Original Size: unknown
Galleria Doria Pamphilj, Rome, Italy
Daniel Interpreting Nebuchadnezzar's First Dream n.d.
Oil Painting
$3631
$3631
SKU: PRM-5751
Mattia Preti
Original Size: 153 x 196 cm
Private Collection
Mattia Preti
Original Size: 153 x 196 cm
Private Collection
The Adoration of the Shepherds n.d.
Oil Painting
$6552
$6552
SKU: PRM-5752
Mattia Preti
Original Size: unknown
Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, United Kingdom
Mattia Preti
Original Size: unknown
Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, United Kingdom
The Martyrdom of St. Peter c.1656/60
Oil Painting
$3142
$3142
SKU: PRM-5753
Mattia Preti
Original Size: 194.5 x 194.3 cm
Barber Institute of Fine Arts, Birmingham, United Kingdom
Mattia Preti
Original Size: 194.5 x 194.3 cm
Barber Institute of Fine Arts, Birmingham, United Kingdom
The Queen of Sheba before Solomon n.d.
Oil Painting
$7866
$7866
SKU: PRM-5754
Mattia Preti
Original Size: 230 x 309 cm
Private Collection
Mattia Preti
Original Size: 230 x 309 cm
Private Collection
Saint Veronica with the Veil c.1655/60
Oil Painting
$2816
$2816
Canvas Print
$57.30
$57.30
SKU: PRM-5755
Mattia Preti
Original Size: 100.3 x 75 cm
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, California, USA
Mattia Preti
Original Size: 100.3 x 75 cm
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, California, USA
St. John the Baptist Preaching 1667
Oil Painting
$5059
$5059
Canvas Print
$98.27
$98.27
SKU: PRM-5756
Mattia Preti
Original Size: 217.2 x 170.2 cm
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, California, USA
Mattia Preti
Original Size: 217.2 x 170.2 cm
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, California, USA
The Tribute Money n.d.
Oil Painting
$3059
$3059
Canvas Print
$67.89
$67.89
SKU: PRM-5757
Mattia Preti
Original Size: 157.5 x 140 cm
Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Canada
Mattia Preti
Original Size: 157.5 x 140 cm
Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Canada
Concert c.1630
Oil Painting
$3142
$3142
SKU: PRM-5759
Mattia Preti
Original Size: 110 x 147 cm
The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia
Mattia Preti
Original Size: 110 x 147 cm
The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia
The Marriage at Cana c.1655/60
Oil Painting
$14839
$14839
SKU: PRM-5760
Mattia Preti
Original Size: 203.2 x 226 cm
National Gallery, London, United Kingdom
Mattia Preti
Original Size: 203.2 x 226 cm
National Gallery, London, United Kingdom
St. Paul the Hermit c.1660
Oil Painting
$3357
$3357
Canvas Print
$61.76
$61.76
SKU: PRM-5761
Mattia Preti
Original Size: 125 x 101 cm
Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain
Mattia Preti
Original Size: 125 x 101 cm
Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain