About the Artist
Mattia Preti, sometimes called "Il Cavalier Calabrese" (the Knight from Calabria), was born in the small town of Taverna in Calabria in 1613.
Preti joined his brother Gregorio (who was also a painter) in Rome. Here he painted fresco cycles in the churches San Andre della Valle and San Carlo ai Catinari. After a brief spell in Venice, between 1640 and 1646, he returned to Rome for sporadic periods up until 1661, and painted frescoes for various other churches.
Preti spent most of 1656 – 1660 in Naples. Here, he was influenced by some of the major contemporary Neapolitan artists and produced one of his masterpieces, the large frescoes of ‘ex-voto’ of the plague. These were once painted on seven city gates, but have been lost over the years. The paintings depicted the Immaculate Conception or saints delivering the people from the plague. Two sketches are housed in the Capodimonte Museum in Naples.
In 1659, Preti, having been made a Knight of magistral obedience, came to Malta most probably attracted to the island by the possibility of gaining the Knights’ patronage. He was soon commissioned by Grand Master Martin de Redin to paint a new altar piece for the chapel of the Aragonese Langue. The following Grand Master, Raphael Cotoner, requested him to decorate the entire vault of the church with scenes from the life of St John the Baptist, the patron saint of the Order. The artist was then promoted to the rank of a Knight of grace.
Preti spent most of the remainder of his life in Malta. Forever remembered as a great artist of the Baroque movement, he died in 1699 and is buried here in St John’s.
Mattia Preti’s contribution to St John’s Co-Cathedral is immense. His works adorn much of the church’s interior. Below is a selection of his works.
The Vault
The decoration of the barrel vault (named after its rounded ceiling) began in 1660.
Normally, paintings on walls are carried out in a fresco technique which is water colour based, but here Preti used oil based paint and applied it directly onto the stone. He started from the lunette above the main door where he depicted the allegory of the Order represented by Minerva, the goddess of war and wisdom, crushing Moorish slaves beneath her feet. To the left and right are the Cotoner grandmasters Raphael and Nicolas (who were great benefactors of the Order and this church). On careful inspection, knights can be seen in heaps, slain in battle, and angels descending from the sky holding palm fronds. This is a symbol of martyrdom.
For the next six years Preti toiled with the rest of the vault. He ingenuously used its six bays to fit his narrative cycle. Each bay is subdivided into three sections. The story of St John starts from the first bay at the main door with the vision of the priest Zachary and ends with the beheading of the saint in the 6th and last bay to the right of the altar. In the apse he painted St John holding the Order’s standard, being presented to God the Father by Jesus Christ.
Contributions to the Chapel of the Langue of Aragon
One of the most magnificent and richly embellished chapels in the church, the Chapel of the Langue of Aragon, is dedicated to St George, the patron saint of the Aragonese Knights. The langue of Aragon consisted of the Priory of Catalonia and that of Navarre.
The altarpiece is not only Mattia Preti’s first work in this church but also one of the most outstanding. It was commissioned by Grand Master Martin de Redin in 1659 and depicts St George riding a white stallion having just slain the dragon.
The Lunettes on either side of the chapel are also works by Preti and show scenes from the life of St Lawrence.
Mystic Marriage of St Catherine
The chapel of the langue of Italy is dedicated to St Catherine of Alexandria, the patron saint of the Italian Knights. The decoration of this chapel was made at the personal expense of Fra. Francesco Sylos, the ambassador to the Viceroy of Sicily and commander of Palermo and Agrigento.
The alter piece is a large oil painting depicting the ‘Mystic marriage of St Catherine’ and is the work of Mattia Preti. It measures 4 metres high by 2.40 metres wide and is surrounded by a marble frame bearing two gilt wooden angels.
The Chapel of the Langue of Castille, Leon and Portugal
The Chapel of the Langue of Castille, Leon and Portugal is dedicated to the patron saint of Spain, St James.
The lunette paintings at the sides of the chapel, depicting St James as he kneels at the feet of Our Lady of Pillar and St James banishing the Moors from Spain, as well as the altar piece depicting St James, are also works by Preti.
