Paolo de Matteis

Published by Giuseppe Scavizzi in a very instructive article focusing on the graphic style of the young pupils in the bottega of Luca Giordano, the present sheet exemplifies well the individual artistic personality of Paolo De Matteis and his debt to his first master, Giordano. De Matteis more than other artists in the bottega of Giordano, in time developed a distinct style which makes his drawings quite distinctive and recognizable.  As observed by Scavizzi 'The dramatic Fall of the Rebel Angels ..., exemplifies the free, almost abstract style that can be found in several drawings by the artist that have recently resurfaced, all characterized by strong effects of light and dark, an economy of gestures, and a deliberate use of geometric shape' (see Literature).

While De Matteis had also previously adopted in his graphic style Giordano's geometry and economy of lines, see for instance the handsome sheet Allegory of Divine Wisdom and the Arts, at Darmstadt, Hessiches Landsmuseum,¹ in the present sheet we admire a more mature and confident artist, his ductus animated by light and characterized by quick and geometric strokes in chalk with abundant wash.  

This sheet must date around the 1690's. After the departure of Giordano for Spain in 1692, de Matteis received a number of important commissions for fresco cycles. Scavizzi noted that the work produced 'between 1690 and 1697 are perhaps his finest, as they successfully combine the open, airy style of Giordano with the monumental forms of Carlo Maratti's classicism' (see Literature).

^1. Darmstadt, Hessiches Landsmuseum, inv. no. AE 1923; see G. Scavizzi, op. cit,. p. 251, reproduced fig. 18