Mattia Preti (1613 –1699),

• Was an Italian Baroque artist.
• Born in the small town of Taverna in Calabria, Preti was called Il Cavalier Calabrese.
• His early apprenticeship was with the "Caravaggist" Giovanni Battista Caracciolo,
• Preti worked in Italy and Malta. • He was appointed a Member of the Order of Saint John.
• Preti was fortunate to enjoy a long career and have a considerable artistic output.
• His paintings, representative of the exuberant late Baroque style, are held by many great museums, including important collections in Naples, Valletta, and in his hometown of Taverna.
• He participated in the fresco decoration of the Palazzo Pamphilj in Valmontone, where he worked along with Pier Francesco Mola, Gaspar Dughet, Francesco Cozza, Giovanni Battista Tassi, and Guglielmo Cortese.
• The displayed painting is a crop from: Clorinda Rescuing Sofronia and Olindo, c. - 1660