The “Slash of light” in the late religious paintings of Mattia Preti: technique and materials

Abstract

In this paper are reported the main results of the analysis performed on three paintings by Mattia Preti. In particular, the investigated paintings are: The penitent Saint Peter (around 1680), Saint Peter blessing (around 1690) and The Madonna of Sorrows (around 1690), all of them coming from Wignacourt College Museum of Rabat in Malta. They were examined on the occasion of the restoration required for the exhibition (2004-2005) of the paintings in Viterbo (Italy). The short time available for the restoration and for the exhibition preparation made possible to perform only some selected investigations focused to detect some aspects of the technique and materials used by Mattia Preti for creating his special ‘slash of light’. After a preliminary examination by means of infrared reflectrography and X-ray radiography, performed by a private diagnostics society (Emmebici scientifica), four samples from each painting were taken off and were analysed by means of polarizing light microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and Raman microscopy