The painting I’ve chosen is called “St John The Baptist Preaching” painted by Mattia Pretti in 1665. The medium for this art piece is oil paint on canvas. This art piece was from the Italian Baroque period in the 17th century and was a Counter Reformation art in Italy. The painting is currently in the Legion of Honor Museum.[1]
Pretti was born in 1613 and moved to Rome in 1630 to join his brother, Gregorio Pretti (who was also a painter), where he would get the opportunity to study Caravaggio’s work first hand. He was also known as “Cavalier Calabrese”(the knight of Calabria) due to his place of birth in the town of Calabria, South of Italy. Like many other Baroque artists, he started his career from studying Caravaggio’s works and also learning from other Caravaggistis such as Battistello Caracciolo (1578-1635). Pretti transmitted these techniques into genre paintings in his earlier art works and was becoming very popular among the noble and wealthy families who would hire him. He soon transitioned into painting religious themes and today, is most well known for his fresco paintings in both Rome and Naples. Pretti travelled around Italy and in 1661, he settled down in Malta where it became his home for the last forty years of his life. He was commissioned to decorate the interior of St John’s Co Cathedral that showcased the “stories on the life and martyrdom of St. John the Baptist (1661-1666).” [2] It was during this period that Pretti produced the painting of “St John the Baptist Preaching.”
During the 17th century, Italian art was heavily influenced by the Counter-Reformation as a response to the Protestant Reformation. The Protestant Reformation was a movement due to the lack of trust of the Catholic Church’s leadership. Martin Luther wrote the 95 theses in 1517 and published them in 1518 to reach out to the public. His main goal was to reform and clarify the impurities accumulated throughout the years. This led to the separation of the Christendom. The Catholic Counter Reformation was a response taken by the Catholic Church to the Protestant Reformation. They agreed during the “Council of Trent” that art should be used as an educational and powerful medium to spread the spiritual message to the public. Due to the majority of the public being illiterate, this was a way for the Catholic Church to reach out to them. Thus the church invested heavily into hiring talented artists to create art that was dramatic and theatric. Due to the increase in demand for Counter-reformation art, this theme became very popular among artists as they were able to showcase their talents and also earn a lot of money. [3]
“St John the Baptist Preaching” is a theme that would be familiar to the public religiously and also artistically. St John the Baptist was a significant figure in Biblical times, known for attracting large crowds around Judea to provide baptism but most notably, his evangelization of Jesus. Thus, this figure was familiar to most people within the Christendom. Artistically, St John the Baptist was a familiar figure in religious art, from being a subject in Da Vinci’s last painting to being subject in eight different paintings by Caravaggio between 1571-1601. By the time Pretti painted this picture (1665), people in Italy had already been exposed to almost a century of Baroque Counter-reformation art. But this style was still in demand up to the end of the 17TH century, where the Baroque period was beginning to decline.
Pretti uses popular Baroque techniques in his painting, “St John the Baptist Preaching.” He uses tenebrism (dramatic highlights and shadows) to highlight the main subjects of the painting, here being St John’s hand and the faces of his follower. The light is coming from an unknown source but Pretti made it obvious to the audience that it was coming from the top left of the painting by the use of tenebrism and shadows; The left side of St John’s body is highlighted whereas his right side is darker. The light shining down from the top left of the painting implies that it is coming from the sky. This represents the Holy Spirit, shining down on the people’s faces and also highlighting St John’s hand, giving the effect that St John was a medium between God and his followers. The position of St John’s hand was also similar to Adam’s in Michelangelo’s “Creation of Adam.” This symbolizes that his followers saw him as the Son of God. His finger was pointing up towards the source of the light, showing that he was preaching about God or guiding his followers to a higher calling. The figures in this painting were also in the shape of a pyramid, with the followers forming the base and St John at the top of that pyramid, showing stability and enhancing the dramatics. St John is positioned leaning over the broken tree, giving the effect that he is coming into our space. Pretti manages to allow the audience to feel drawn into the painting with by St John’s positioning and also by making him look straight at the audience. There are also a lot of diagonals used in this painting: St John’s body, the wooden cross, and the ray of light, which creates dynamism within the painting.
As mentioned earlier, Pretti was a follower of Caravaggio and this could be seen in the similarities between Pretti’s “St John the Baptist Preaching” and Caravaggio’s “Calling of St Matthew.” Caravaggio painted this piece in 1599-1601[4] and was one of the earliest manifestations of Baroque style painting. The use of tenebrism was one of the most obvious similarities between the two art works. Caravaggio invented this technique and in this painting, he used the light to highlight St Matthew’s face and also the hand of the man on the right. This helps direct the audience to St Matthew both subtly and authoritatively. Another similar technique is the representation of light in the painting. The light is coming into the painting from an unknown source but it has a religious symbolism to it. In Caravaggio’s “The calling of St Matthew”, the light is coming in through the side of the painting but it is unknown to the audience what the light source is. But the symbolism of the light became clear as it highlights the halo above the head of the man on the right of the painting. This symbolizes that the light is spiritual. The position of Jesus’s hand in Caravaggio’s painting is also very similar to St John’s hand in Pretti’s painting.
“St John the Baptist Preaching” is a representation of Baroque-style Counter Reformation painting due to Pretti’s use of distinct techniques that were popular with other artists during that time. This painting Though he did not reinvent a style of painting, he is an influential artist who was
[1] “St. John the Baptist Preaching – Mattia Preti (Il Cavaliere Calabrese).” FAMSF Explore the Art. N.p., 08 May 2015. Web. 17 Nov. 2016.
[2] “Mattia Preti (1613-99).” Mattia Preti: Italian Baroque Fresco Painter, Caravaggist. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Nov. 2016.
[3] Gardner, Helen, and Fred S. Kleiner. Gardner’s Art through the Ages: The Western Perspective. Australia: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2010. Print.
[4] Gardner, Helen, and Fred S. Kleiner. Gardner’s Art through the Ages: The Western Perspective. Australia: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2010. Print.