Filippo Paladini, ‘l’ultima maniera’ : a Florentine in Sicily in the age of Caravaggio

Abstract

This dissertation intends to examine and analyse the works and the context of the last stylistic phase of Florentine-born Late-Mannerist Filippo Paladini (Casi in Val di Sieve, 1540s/50s – Palermo?, 1614). During his maturity, the artist had the chance to engage with the powerful art of Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, particularly during the last years of Paladini’s residence in Sicily. The event of the arrival of Merisi in Malta in 1607, the time in which the two artists could have more easily come into contact – directly or otherwise, marks the inception of the Ultimo Paladini, the final phase of Paladini’s life. Shortly after, Paladini’s works were characterised by an experimentation with Caravaggesque elements, like the use of chiaroscuro and more naturalistic approaches. This language will be translated by Paladini, however, in a very unique way, and not without contradictions and sudden shifts in style. This dissertation aims to analyse and reconstruct the networks and the life experiences that could have led to such a change in the style of the artist.