Two Palm Trees 1661 - 1666

Mattia Preti made this drawing of two palm trees with chalk on paper sometime in the 17th century. Palm trees, though an exotic motif for European audiences, were native to the landscape of Preti's home in the Mediterranean. We can see here how the artist turned to the local environment for inspiration in his work. The image creates meaning through the visual codes that would have been understood at the time in Italy. In the 17th century, there was a growing interest in landscape art, however, drawings were not yet considered finished works of art in their own right, but were mostly produced for study or for training. The institutional history of art academies influenced which types of subject matter were considered appropriate for study. By focusing on the social and institutional context for this drawing, we can understand that art’s meaning is always contingent on the conditions in which it was made and the cultural milieu in which it was received.