Pictures of the Month | October 2008
Picture of the Month
October 2008
The Martyrdom of St Peter [c.1656–60]
by Mattia Preti (1613-99)
Throughout October and November at the Barber Institute, the Baroque collection comes under the spotlight with a series of talks and lectures. One of the highlights is Mattia Preti’s The Martyrdom of St Peter.
Preti (1613 – 99), originally from Calabria, settled in Naples around 1653, where he adopted the style of predecessors such as Caravaggio — who had a great influence on Italian painting at this time — and Ribera, who died in 1652.
Preti was one of the most prolific painters of the late Italian Baroque and works such as The Martyrdom of St Peter embody a vibrant theatricality. The combination of the thunderous sky and entangled limbs is dramatized by an electrifying use of chiaroscuro. Stark highlights on taut sinews glisten against the vast, darkened background as two Roman executioners hoist St Peter onto the cross. The saint, leader of the twelve apostles, was killed around ad 64, under the Roman emperor Nero. In defiance of the pagan Roman empire and in deference to the crucified Christ, St Peter chose to be crucified upside-down. Pagan authority is symbolized in this work by the idol in the upper left corner of the painting, looking down upon the scene. The harsh realism of this moment is endorsed by the gaze of one executioner, who stares forward, as if to implicate the viewer in the action.
This large canvas formed part of a series of three works, datable from 1656 to 1660, commissioned by Ferdinand van den Einden, a wealthy Flemish merchant resident in Naples who had a taste for gruesome subjects. The other pictures are The Martyrdom of St Bartholomew (Currier Gallery of Art, Manchester, New Hampshire) and The Beheading of St Paul (Museum of Fine Arts, Houston).
Sarah Brown, Curatorial Assistant
| What is your favourite work of art in the Barber Institute galleries? Drop us a line at info@barber.org.uk and let us know, and we could feature your choice in a future Picture of the Month. |