Saint John the Baptist (Preti)

Saint John the Baptist is a c.1653-1656 oil on canvas painting by Mattia Preti, now in the Museo nazionale di Capodimonte in Naples.

[1] He had already used this treatment of the human figure in the lunette frescoes at the church of San Biagio in Modena, whose Saint John the Baptist seems to be a prototype for the work now in Naples.

That treatment later reached its apogee in his Saint Sebastian , produced for the church of Santa Maria ad Ogni Bene dei Sette Dolori and now also in the Museo di Capodimonte.

[1] Di Somma and Laratta were both Preti's lawyers during the painter's argument with the fathers of the church of Sant'Andrea della Valle in Rome.

[1] The two works were placed on the side walls of the chapel where di Somma was buried, immediately to the right of the high altar.