17th century painting saved from ruins

A 17th century oil painting of The Virgin of Mercy, which was in a precarious state and risked being lost forever, has been restored to its former splendour and has pride of place in the old parish church of St Julians.

The painting was rotting away in the Archbishop's Palace, in Rabat, after it had remained there following an exhibition a few years ago - luckily it was salvaged.

The Inner Wheel Club, which has an affinity with what is referred to as the Lapsi church, decided to sponsor the painting's restoration and commissioned Manuel Zammit to do the job.

Mr Zammit said the restoration revealed a lot of details about the unsigned painting and he believes it was done by Giuseppe D'Arena, who lived between 1643 to 1719 and had spent a considerable time in Malta.

"I have restored a number of paintings by D'Arena and the details in this painting bear a great resemblance to his signed works at Our Lady of Mount Carmel church," he said.

The painting of The Virgin of Mercy suffered a lot of damage because it had been stored in a humid place and Mr Zammit said the paint had flaked and it needed serious relining.

The iconography is that of Nuestra Señora de la Merced, who enjoyed great veneration in Spain where she was the patroness of the Knights of Mercy, a chivalric order with close ties to the Knights of St John, whose major concern was the succour of Christian slaves.

Her cult was presumably introduced in Malta by the Aragonese and Castilian Knights of St John.

The beautiful, aristocratically refined Virgin, wearing the habit of the Knights of Mercy, appears against a background of bright, diaphanous clouds and winged-cherub heads to shield with her mantle the unfortunate slaves who cluster round her feet for protection.

The painting has both lyrical appeal and artistic merit and researchers believe it is certainly the work of an accomplished artist.

The Inner Wheel Club, made up of the wives of Rotary Club members, is now embarking on its next project to restore the painting of Our Lady of the Rosary, flanked by St Catherine of Siena and St Dominic.

The unsigned painting, which is probably an 18th century work of art, is presently in the sacristy of the Lapsi church.

Inner Wheel Club president Mary Rose Grima said the club's main role was friendship and service to the community. It also worked to raise money for a different charity every year.

The club, founded in Great Britain in 1934 and in 1977 in Malta, has over 60 local members.