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Lot Essay
This drawing was made in connection with Preti's painting of The Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian commissioned by the nuns of the church of Saint Sebastian in Naples. Preti's success with the picture antagonised Luca Giordano and his followers in the Neapolitan artistic establishment, who denounced the picture, claiming that the face of Saint Sebastian was 'more that of a porter than of a Captain of Soldiers'. The nuns withdrew the commission and the picture was given to the church of Santa Maria dei Sette Dolori, now in the Capodimonte, Naples (Naples, 1984, op. cit., no. 2.173). Preti arrived in Naples from Rome in 1653, and he stayed for seven years. It was during this time that he developed the intense religiosity that can be seen in his later commissions for the Knights of Malta in the Cathedral of Saint John in Valletta. Preti settled in Malta in 1661, and was elevated to the rank of Knight of the Order, hence his description as 'Cav[aliere]. Calabrese' on the mount of this drawing.
The Saint Sebastian commission can be dated to circa 1656, based on stylistic similarities with his commission for Ferdinand van den Eynden of three large Martyrdoms, of Saint Peter (Birmingham, Barber Institute; J.T. Spike, op. cit., no. 7), Saint Bartholomew (Manchester, N.H., Currier Gallery of Art; J.T. Spike, op. cit., no. 86) and Saint Paul (Houston, Museum of Fine Arts; J.T. Spike, op. cit, no. 53). This dating is further supported by the suggestion that the painting of Saint Sebastian, patron saint of plague victims, was commissioned at the time of the plague of 1656.
The success of the composition is reflected by the fact that more copies of the painting of Saint Sebastian than of any of Preti's other works exist.
The Saint Sebastian commission can be dated to circa 1656, based on stylistic similarities with his commission for Ferdinand van den Eynden of three large Martyrdoms, of Saint Peter (Birmingham, Barber Institute; J.T. Spike, op. cit., no. 7), Saint Bartholomew (Manchester, N.H., Currier Gallery of Art; J.T. Spike, op. cit., no. 86) and Saint Paul (Houston, Museum of Fine Arts; J.T. Spike, op. cit, no. 53). This dating is further supported by the suggestion that the painting of Saint Sebastian, patron saint of plague victims, was commissioned at the time of the plague of 1656.
The success of the composition is reflected by the fact that more copies of the painting of Saint Sebastian than of any of Preti's other works exist.