Carlo Preda (Milan, ca. 1651/52 – 1729), The Massacre of the Innocents

Carlo Preda (Milan, ca. 1651/52 – 1729) The Massacre of the Innocents Oil on canvas, 120 x 150 cm With frame, 134 x 163 cm Critical Analysis Prof. Alberto Crispo The painting depicts the dramatic biblical scene of the Massacre of the Innocents. The composition is articulated with a strong dynamic thrust in the foreground, where the desperate and agitated defense of the mothers trying to protect their children from the blind violence of the henchmen unfolds. In the background, on an elevated balcony, the hieratic figure of Herod impassively watches the accomplishment of the massacre. The work is distinguished by an interesting stylistic transition: while the exasperated expressions of the faces and the marked chiaroscuro contrasts emphasize the inherent tragedy of the episode, the use of delicate pastel tones in the draperies of the garments marks a clear departure from the more severe 17th-century models, revealing a full and mature adherence to the nascent Rococo language. This specific stylistic signature finds strong confirmation in direct comparison with other documented works by the Milanese painter. Indeed, entirely superimposed physiognomies and the same chromatic and luminous treatment are found both in the Miraculous Rescue of Pilgrims traveling to Santiago de Compostela by Saint Dominic de Guzman (sold at Bertolami in Rome on November 21, 2019, lot 52) and in the Holy Family in a private collection. A further and decisive formal correspondence emerges from the Education of the Virgin (appeared on the market at Il Ponte in October 2024, lot 242), in which the foreshortening of the face of the child Virgin Mary is almost superimposed on that of the mother lying on the ground in the lower right of the canvas in question. The painting fits perfectly into the biographical and professional parabola of Carlo Preda, born in Milan between 1651 and 1652 to Andrea and Bianca Bianchi. His initial training took place within the family context under the guidance of his maternal uncle, the painter Federico Bianchi. His initial style, initially linked to the models of Bianchi himself and Filippo Abbiati, would evolve over time thanks to a profound update on the modes of late Genoese Baroque—in particular Domenico Piola, Bartolomeo Guidobono, and Gregorio De Ferrari—orienting towards softer, languid tones of declared Correggesque origin. His successful career and constant movements throughout the territory attest to his success: around 1680 dates the Immaculate Conception and Saints for the Milanese church of San Giorgio a Palazzo, followed in 1682 by the canvas for the sacristy of the Carmine in Pavia. In 1688, the year in which he is officially mentioned among the members of the Accademia di San Luca in Milan, the artist ideally moved towards Piedmont, painting the Assumption and Saints destined for Terruggia, followed in 1690 by the Communion of a Capuchin Prelate for the Civic Museum of Casale Monferrato. Having returned permanently to Milanese workshops, he delivered by 1691 the Saint Charles Burning the Letter for the prestigious late trequadroni cycle of the Milan Duomo. The Stories of Saint Catherine for the Pinacoteca del Castello Sforzesco date back to 1694, as does the Virgin with Child and Saint Paul, originally in San Vincenzo in Cremona and now in a Piacenza collection. Consecrated as a leading figure in the Milanese art scene, in 1702 he was elected prince of the same Accademia di San Luca, while his works became a regular feature in the collections of the most influential Lombard families of the time, such as the Carrara, Clerici, D'Adda, Pertusati, and Secco Borella. In 1708, Preda diversified his activity by frescoing the Rapture of Saint Paul to the Third Heaven in the sacristy of San Barnaba in Milan and simultaneously creating an altarpiece for the Sanctuary of Caravaggio. In his mature years, he executed two large canvases for the cycle of the Sacred Nail of the Milan Duomo (of which Heraclius Prevented from Carrying the Cross remains) and progressively moved towards the Verbano and upper Novarese regions, painting Christ the Judge for the collegiate church of Pallanza (c. 1716), Saint Anthony and Saints in Santo Stefano in Milan (c. 1718), and finally, the 1724 altarpiece for Palazzo Leonardi in Trecate, now housed in the local monastery of the Sisters of Charity, which constitutes his last known work before his death, which occurred in Milan on January 27, 1729.