The following study examines the artistic strategies of the Italian Baroque painter Mattia Preti (1613-99) in conjunction with their early reception in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Italy. In addition to studying the first descriptions of the painter's art and his early biographers' characterization of his style, Bernardo De Dominici's comprehensive "Vita del Cavalier Fra' Mattia Preti" is analyzed in order to establish Preti's place in the history of Neapolitan Baroque painting. In so doing, descriptions of the painter's art are compared and contrasted with those of his contemporaries. Following the investigation of the early sources and biographies, the painter's strategies are studied through selected paintings executed between circa 1650 and 1680. These include such works as the Aquila 'Martyrdom of St. Bartholomew', the London 'Wedding at Cana', the Naples 'Feast of Absalom', and the Siena 'Canonization of St. Catherine'. The case studies highlight a number of practices the artist used to distinguish himself from his peers. In sum, this study argues that the early biographical accounts, while only partially conveying the breadth of the painter's art, function as a point of departure for accessing and comprehensively examining his representational strategies. Ultimately, this dissertation demonstrates that Preti was an artist who actively and continuously experimented with a range of pictorial possibilities. / Thesis (Ph.D, Art History) -- Queen's University, 2012-04-29 18:26:13.056

Mon travail cherche à mettre en valeur la richesse de la Scuola Napoletana du XVIIème siècle (qui prend vie après les deux séjours du Caravage à Naples, entre 1606 et 1610). L'art napolitain est injustement sous-estimé ; la première moitié du Seicento est pourtant extrêmement importante puisque Naples est le seul centre artistique qui continue à considérer le caravagisme comme une force vitale de la peinture, et ce jusqu'en 1656 (année de la Grande Pestequi emporte avec elle les derniers peintres d'"origine" caravagesque). Je mets donc en exergue la période méridionale du Caravage (qui est trop souvent délaissée par rapport à sa période romaine), ainsi que l'extrême diversité des peintres caravagesques qui composent le milieu artistique napolitain, unis par une passion commune pour le langage du Caravage mais dont l'expression artistique intègre peu à peu d'autres influences. Le caravagisme méridional se distingue par son polymorphisme et par la diversité des influences extérieures avec lesquelles les artistes enrichissent leur caravagisme originel : si les premiers naturalistes (tels que Battistello) restent toujours fidèles au Maître, nombreux sont ceux qui suivront le courant ribéresque (Ribera, Fracanzano, le Maître de l'Annonce aux Bergers...) qui se caractérisepar sa portée sociale. Mais, parallèlement, certains peintres tissent des liens entre caravagisme et classicisme (Stanzione, Guarino), tandis que d'autres se focalisent sur un caravagisme narratif (Artemisia Gentileschi est réputée pour son talent de storyteller) ; dans le domaine chromatique, de nombreux artistes (dont Pietro Novelli ou Ribera) succombent au néovénétisme et au vandyckianisme en vogue à partir des années 1630. Enfin, le caravagisme se fait plus raffiné avec Bernardo Cavallino, qui apparaît comme un précurseur du goût rococo, tandis que l'oeuvre de Mattia Preti oscille entre caravagisme et baroque. / The aim of this work is to emphasize the richness of the Scuola Napoletana in the 17th Century (after it came to life following Caravaggio†s two stays in Naples between 1606 and 1610). Neapolitan art does not get the appreciation it deserves, and yet the first half of the Seicento was an extremely important period as Naples was the only major artistic centre where Caravaggism was still a driving force of painting, and would do so until 1656 (the year of the Great Plague that wiped out the last "original" Caravaggesque painters). I am therefore emphasizing Caravaggio†s Southern period, which is all too often neglected as compared to his Roman period, as well as the great diversity of Caravaggesque painters making up the artistic milieu in Naples, united by a shared passion for Caravaggio's language but progressively incorporating other influences into their artistic expression. Southern Caravaggism stands out because of its polymorphism and the highly diverse outer influences with which these artists enhance their original Caravaggism: while the first naturalists, such as Battistello, are always true to the Master, many will follow into Ribera's footsteps (Ribera,Fracanzano, the Master of the Announcement to the Shepherds...) and adopt a more socially oriented stance. At the same time, some painters draw links between Caravaggism and Classicism (Stanzione, Guarino), while others focus on narrative Caravaggism (Artemisia Gentileschi is famed for the storytelling talent). In the field of colour, many artists (including Pietro Novelli and Ribera) yield to the Neo-venetism or Vandyckianism that were fashionable as of the 1630†s. Finally,Caravaggism becomes more refined with Bernardo Cavallino, who appears to be a precursor of Rococo taste, while Mattia Preti balances on the verge between Caravaggism and Barocco.