Description
Portrait of Fra Antonio Martelli is Caravaggio’s likeness of an elderly Knight of Malta, painted around 1607–1608: the man in black, with the white eight-pointed cross of his order on his chest, is shown at half length, turned three-quarters to the right, a rosary in his hands. The original, oil on canvas, is 118.5 cm high and 95 cm wide and hangs in the Galleria Palatina at the Palazzo Pitti in Florence. Our painter paints it for you by hand in oil on canvas in 8 portrait sizes, from 40 x 49 to 160 x 200 cm, or to a size you choose; you receive a photograph of the finished portrait before it is sent.
| Title: | Portrait of Fra Antonio Martelli |
| Other titles: | Ritratto di fra Antonio Martelli · Porträt des Fra Antonio Martelli |
| Painter: | Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571–1610) |
| Year painted: | c. 1607–1608 |
| Original size: | 118.5 cm x 95 cm (height x width) |
| Original technique: | Oil on canvas |
| Painting style: | Baroque, tenebrism |
| Located at: | Galleria Palatina, Palazzo Pitti, Florence, Italy |
| Our reproduction: | Hand-painted oil on canvas, 8 sizes or made to measure |
Portrait of Fra Antonio Martelli – Caravaggio
What does the Portrait of Fra Antonio Martelli show?
On the upright canvas there is one man alone, painted down to the waist. The background is dark and empty, with no furniture, window or landscape, so your eye stays on him. A glow of light picks his face and hands out of the darkness.
The knight wears the black habit of his order. A large white eight-pointed cross stands out on his chest, the emblem of the Knights of Malta. His body is turned three-quarters towards the right-hand edge of the canvas.
He holds a rosary. The strong light follows his features closely, the wrinkles and the other signs of great age: this is one particular man, not an idealised figure.
Who was Fra Antonio Martelli?
Antonio Martelli came from Florence and was a prominent member of the Order of Saint John, better known as the Knights of Malta. Wikipedia names him as Prior of Messina. The word fra before his name is Italian for brother.
For a long time the sitter was thought to be Alof de Wignacourt, Grand Master of the order, and the canvas was taken for a preparatory study for his large portrait with a page. Recent documentary finds show instead that Caravaggio painted a different knight: Martelli of Florence.
The Grand Master’s portrait, which the Louvre holds, can be ordered from us as Portrait of Alof de Wignacourt and his Page. There the knight stands full length in dark armour while a page beside him holds his plumed helmet.
Why is this portrait special?
Caravaggio is known for tenebrism, the hard passage from darkness into light, and for painting from live models. In the Martelli portrait both come through with no story and no secondary figures: what remains is the old man, the black habit and the white cross.
The work appears unfinished. The background and some details in the lower part of the figure are only sketched in, which shows where the painter stopped.
It has also been suggested that this was the last work Caravaggio painted in Malta. A short description and the story of its new name are in the Wikipedia article, which is written in English.
Where can you see the original?
The original is in the Galleria Palatina, part of the Palazzo Pitti in Florence, the very city Martelli came from.
Older books still list the painting as a portrait of Alof de Wignacourt. Today Wikipedia records it as the portrait of Fra Antonio Martelli, Prior of Messina, and that is the title we offer it under too.
Portrait of Fra Antonio Martelli or another Caravaggio?
The Portrait of Fra Antonio Martelli is a canvas painting for people who like serious, quiet portraits and the history of the orders of knighthood. It suits a study, a library or a quiet hallway.
In Malta, in the same years, Caravaggio also painted Saint Jerome Writing (Valletta), kept in the oratory of St John’s Co-Cathedral in Valletta. There an old man, bare to the waist, sits on a bed and writes, with a skull, a stone and a candle on the table.
If you want a later and even darker scene, look at The Denial of Saint Peter, where a maidservant and a soldier point their fingers at the old apostle. For a scene with several figures there is The Calling of Saint Matthew, in which Christ points to Matthew at his table. Martelli and the other famous Caravaggio paintings we make are gathered on the Caravaggio page.
How does our painter paint this portrait?
We paint the portrait to order, in oil on canvas, layer by layer. First the painter lays a dark ground, then with a fine brush he draws in the head, shoulders and hands and the place of the cross.
The face gets warm skin tones and subtle transitions that bring out the wrinkles and the age, the black habit several shades of black so that it never turns into a flat patch. He puts the white cross down in thicker paint, as next to the face it is the brightest point on the canvas.
This Caravaggio reproduction has brushmarks on its surface and a depth in the blacks that print cannot imitate. By day this oil painting reproduction is restrained; at night, under a warm lamp, the face and the cross seem to glow out of the dark.
Which size is right for your wall?
In short: 40 x 49 or 50 x 64 cm for a narrow wall or above a desk, 58 x 70 or 71 x 91 cm for a hallway or study, 89 x 114 or 111 x 145 cm above a sofa or chest of drawers, and 130 x 155 or 160 x 200 cm for a tall open wall.
We paint the Martelli portrait in 8 portrait sizes (width x height): 40 x 49, 50 x 64, 58 x 70, 71 x 91, 89 x 114, 111 x 145, 130 x 155 and 160 x 200 cm. The closest to the original is 89 x 114 cm, which is 6 cm narrower and 4.5 cm shorter.
Because the painting shows a single face, it reads well even at a small size. As a painting for the living room, 89 x 114 cm works above a sofa or a fireplace, where the pale face and the white cross carry across the room.
Can I have another size, and which frame suits it?
Yes. Every portrait is made for you alone, so a different size is no trouble. We make sure the cross on the chest and the hands with the rosary stay whole on the canvas and that enough darkness is left above the head. Tell us the width and height you need, and we will send you a price and a lead time.
We ship the portrait rolled, stretched on a stretcher bar or framed. Stretching and framing are done by our workshop in Slovenia, which prepares every other painting we sell for the journey as well. You choose the frame in our 3D app, which is there for frame choice only; seeing the painting on your own wall is a separate service.
A plain dark wooden frame suits the black habit and the dark ground, as does a patinated gold moulding that picks up the warm skin tone.
When does the painting arrive, and how is it delivered?
Work begins as soon as you confirm the order, and the painting is dispatched within 15 to 45 working days. Before we pack it you receive a photograph of the finished portrait; if you would like something changed, we see to it before dispatch.
Shipping within Slovenia and to the other EU countries involves no customs, and our returns policy covers every order.
The portrait makes a fine gift for anyone who loves history, Malta or Florence or for a member of an order of knighthood. If you would rather the recipient chose the size, a wall art voucher lets them do it.
Frequently asked questions
Where does the original hang?
In the Galleria Palatina at the Palazzo Pitti in Florence.
Who does the portrait really show?
Fra Antonio Martelli of Florence, Prior of Messina and Knight of Malta, not Alof de Wignacourt.
Is it a print?
No. What you receive is a hand-painted copy, worked stroke by stroke in oil paint.
How large is the original?
It is 118.5 cm high and 95 cm wide; our nearest size is 89 x 114 cm.
What does the white cross on the knight’s chest mean?
It is the eight-pointed cross of the Order of Saint John, the emblem of the Knights of Malta.
Does it suit a bedroom?
Yes, if you like calm, dark tones, though it looks its best in a study, a library or a living room.
Will you paint it in another size?
Gladly. Send us the width and height you want for the Martelli portrait and we will reply with a price and a date.
How long will I wait for the painting?
15 to 45 working days; you see the photograph of the finished portrait before it ships.
- Subject: an elderly Knight of Malta in black, with the white eight-pointed cross on his chest and a rosary in his hands, against a dark ground.
- Original: c. 1607–1608, oil on canvas, 118.5 x 95 cm, Galleria Palatina, Palazzo Pitti, Florence.
- Ours: painted by hand with oil paints on canvas, in 8 portrait sizes from 40 x 49 to 160 x 200 cm or made to measure.
- Worth knowing: the painting long passed as a portrait of the Grand Master Alof de Wignacourt; today the sitter is identified as Martelli.
