Paintings for the Knights of Malta. Mattia Preti and the Celebration of Martyrdom

Abstract

Upon arriving on Malta in 1660, Mattia Preti progressively became the official painter of the Knights of St. John radically changing their way of understanding and using the images. From this point of view, the scenes of martyrdom represent a privileged field of investigation: for the knights, in fact, these particular images were not only the result of specific devotions, but the representation of something that often summarized their aspirations and hopes. The paper deals with: • the works made by Preti for the Langue of Italy, offering a comparative reading of two paintings dedicated to St. Catherine, one made for the Church of the Langue and the other for their chapel in St. John’s Cathedral. • the two lunettes in the Chapel of the Langue of Aragon dedicated to the martyrdom of St. Lawrence including them in the original commission by Grand Master Martin de Redin (1657–1660) related to his —failed — project of crusade. • the role played by the two Grand Masters, Raphael (1660–1663) and Nicolas Cotoner (1663–1680), in guiding the choice of the subjects for the paintings in the Chapel of the Langue of Castille, a prelude to the great celebration of their role in the history of the Order painted by Preti in the vault of the cathedral and, above all, in the allegory of the Order painted on the counterfacade.