New Advent
 Home   Encyclopedia   Summa   Fathers   Bible   Library 
 A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z 
New Advent
Home > Catholic Encyclopedia > M > Carlo Maratta

Carlo Maratta

Please help support the mission of New Advent and get the full contents of this website as an instant download. Includes the Catholic Encyclopedia, Church Fathers, Summa, Bible and more — all for only $19.99...

An Italian painter, b. at Camerino, in the March of Ancona, 13 May, 1625, d. in Rome, 15 December, 1713. From very early years Maratta showed an extraordinary skill in design, and was sent by his patrons to Rome to study under Andrea Sacchi, with whom he remained for many years, and for the rest of his life regarded as his greatest friend and benefactor. After a while he returned to his own part of Italy, and then in 1650, in company with the governor of Ancona, Cardinal Albrizio, who had very much admired his talent, he came again to Rome, and was introduced to Alexander VII who at once gave him many commissions and eventually, at the request of Sacchi, the important one for a painting of Constantine destroying the idols for the Baptistery of the Lateran. This was one of his greatest works, and increased his popularity at the Vatican. In 1704 he was knighted by Clement XI, and given the Order of Christ, while in the same year he was created painter in ordinary by Louis XIV of France, who had seen his picture of Daphne and greatly admired it. It was during his residence in Rome that Maratta was styled Maratti by the Romans, and his name is frequently written in that form, although originally it was as we have given it. The painter was a member of the Academy of St. Luke in Rome, and was not only a skilful artist but extremely clever at cleaning and repairing frescoes, and was employed by Clement XI to carry out such work as was necessary for the Raphael frescoes in the Vatican. He was also a clever etcher, using the tool with much freedom and spirit.

His pictures are very numerous. There are several in the Louvre and others in Berlin, Munich, Vienna, Brussels, Rome, Florence, St. Petersburg, and in the National Gallery, Hampton Court, and at Devonshire House in England. As a portrait painter he takes high place. He was also a skilful architect, and responsible for the designs of several buildings. His religious pictures are marked by a certain strength and nobility, coupled with a gracious harmony. He was not so skilful in arranging drapery, and was a little, and was a little disposed to exaggerate the details and accessories, breaking in upon the general effect of his pictures, but this fault is less seen in his portraits than in his Madonna groups and religious compositions.

Sources

VASARI, Le Vite dei Pittori (Milanese ed., Florence, 1878, 1885); Allgemeines Kunstler-Lexizon (Frankfort, 1898); LANZI, Storia Pittorica della Italia (Bassano, 1806); DOMINICI, Vite dei Pittori (Naples, 1742); CONCA, Descrizione Odeporica della Spagna (Palma, 1793); PALOMINO DE CASTRO Y VELASCO, El Museo Pictorico y Escala (Madrid, 1715).

About this page

APA citation. Williamson, G. (1910). Carlo Maratta. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09636c.htm

MLA citation. Williamson, George. "Carlo Maratta." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 9. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09636c.htm>.

Transcription. This article was transcribed for New Advent by Joseph P. Thomas.

Ecclesiastical approbation. Nihil Obstat. October 1, 1910. Remy Lafort, Censor. Imprimatur. +John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York.

Contact information. The editor of New Advent is Kevin Knight. My email address is webmaster at newadvent.org. Regrettably, I can't reply to every letter, but I greatly appreciate your feedback — especially notifications about typographical errors and inappropriate ads.

Copyright © 2023 by New Advent LLC. Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

CONTACT US | ADVERTISE WITH NEW ADVENT