The 18th century witnessed a decline in the political importance of the Order of St John, then rulers of Malta. On the other hand, the Knights still commanded respect and prestige in both the social and cultural spheres.

In 18th-century Malta, the social ladder was topped by the members of the Order who patronised art not only to embellish their palaces and churches, but also to see their likeness immortalised on canvas.

It was in this social milieu that French painter Antoine Favray came to Malta in 1744 where he immediately found his niche through the production of various works that typify the spirit of the times. He was also to dominate the local artistic field for the second half of the 18th century and to immortalise on canvas various scenes of life in Malta.

Favray’s works in Casa Manresa chapel are considered his highest artistic achievement

Favray was born at Bagnolet, near Paris, in France, on September 8, 1706. However, nothing is known about the first 30 years of his life. There is no extant knowledge of how, why or when he took to painting nor whether he received artistic training – rudimentary or otherwise – in his native France.

He is first referred to as an artist in 1738 when, aged 32, he travelled to Rome as the personal pupil of Jean-François de Troy, the newly-appointed director of the French Academy in Rome. It is, therefore, possible that he received his training in France under de Troy. He spent the next six years at Rome and, probably, these years constituted his really formative period when he studied and copied the old masters, especially Venetian and Baroque painters. He became influenced by Roman School artists, and it is quite certain that in Rome he gained his necessary technical competence and academic discipline.

On July 1, 1744, de Troy wrote that Favray had just left for Malta. It is possible that he had decided to come to Malta on the invitation of Cavaliere Isidoro Marchese (1702-91), who remained one of Favray’s personal friends to the end of his life.

In Malta, his career took a different turn to that of his colleagues of the French Academy. In Malta, the politically moribund but still socially and culturally prestigious Order of St John was dominated by the numerous French knights, a number of whom spent time in Rome where they had contacts with the French Academy.

Favray’s problem would have been how to assert himself in Malta after breaking away from his former environment. He was probably aware that patronage and sponsorship would be forthcoming in Malta where, with the exception of the gifted Francesco Zahra (1710-73), Gian Nicola Buhagiar (1698-1852) and the youthful Rocco Buhagiar (1725-1805), there was a dearth of quality painters.

Giovanni Domenico Mainardi. Courtesy: Heritage Malta

Not much is known about his first years in Malta but he must have enjoyed rapid success because he was soon working for the two local authorities, the Order and the Church, and also painting portraits and genre scenes of the middle class and the local aristocracy.

One may perhaps wonder how Favray slotted himself so easily into the local artistic milieu. One important factor was his friendly character. Indeed, Favray and Zahra became close friends and possibly even collaborated. Another factor, already mentioned, was the lack of quality painters. However, the good personal relationships existing at the time between Bishop Paolo Alpheran de Bussan (1728-57) and Grand Master Manuel Pinto (1741-73) did not force anyone to ‘take sides’ in various disputes, as had been the case in previous years. Both became leading patrons of Favray.

Favray’s first documented paintings in Malta, between 1745 and 1747, were The Last Supper, Abraham and Melchisedek and Elias and the Angel, all for the chapel of the Blessed Sacrament of St Paul Shipwrecked parish church in Valletta. Marchese lived in this parish, so it is possible he may have obtained these commissions for Favray.

The Annunciation of the Virgin. Courtesy: The Cathedral Museum, Mdina

In 1748, he painted The Annunciation of the Virgin for the Mdina Seminary chapel, now part of the Mdina Cathedral Museum, together with four small, oval complementary depictions of the saints Peter, Paul, Carlo Borromeo and Francesco de Sales. In Malta, he could not avoid coming into constant contact with the works of Mattia Preti, which helped him develop his already-quickened sense of colour. These last-mentioned paintings, in fact, exude Preti’s influence.

The chapel of the Jesuit Casa Manresa in Floriana, now the Archiepiscopal Curia, housed the beautiful Virgin of Manresa with St Ignatius of Loyola. Actually, this chapel is a Favray mini-museum because it also houses another four altarpieces and two small oval paintings. Favray’s works in this chapel are considered to be his highest artistic achievement, even when making allowance for a certain amount of eclecticism.

He was now established as the leading painter in Malta, though he rarely achieved this high standard again, although his Bishop St Cataldus (1760) is a remarkable painting which impresses the viewer with its display of draughtsmanship, meticulous details, grandeur and nobility.

On July 12, 1751, Favray was received in the Order of St John as a Servant-at-Arms, and he painted a number of canvasses of various knights and commemorations, with the best-known being Blessed Gerard welcoming Godfrey of Bouillon and Grand Master l’Isle Adam’s Entry into Mdina. Undoubtedly, his best-known portrait is his 1747 depiction of Grand Master Pinto in full-scale regalia, housed at St John’s Co-Cathedral.

Grand Master Manuel Pinto de Fonseca. Courtesy: St John’s Co-Cathedral Chapter

Blessed Gerard greeting Godfrey de Bouillon (detail). Courtesy: Heritage Malta

St Cataldus. Courtesy: The Rector, St Cataldus church, Rabat.

Grand Master Philippe Villiers de l’Isle Adam’s Entry into Mdina in 1530 (detail). Courtesy: Heritage Malta

Other portraits include A Young Knight in Armour (late 1740s), Baron von Schauwenberg (1755) and Camilla Cagnant. Apparently, genre paintings were a novelty for Malta, and Favray exploited this void, though this type of painting was probably the least inspired of his works. However, his Maltese Ladies Paying a Visit exudes charm.

Maltese Ladies Paying a Visit. Courtesy: Heritage Malta

Favray was especially attracted to the East and, in some respects, Malta may have had a sort of oriental flavour with the many Muslim slaves in the island. In 1749, Favray painted a meeting of Muslim slaves at the Valletta bagnio (slave prison), which has been linked with the failed plot of the slaves of 1749. It has been opined that this painting may have been a bozzetto for a larger depiction. Conversely, Favray was friendly with Joseph Cohen, the Jewish convert who played a large part in uncovering the 1749 plot.

In 1761, he obtained permission to sail to Constantinople and, in fact, he lived in the Turkish Empire from 1762 till 1771. His oriental paintings, which were well-received in Europe, are very important documents for the study of the Ottoman Empire in the second half of the 18th century because he depicted a frank rendering of the then largely unknown everyday scenes in the East. When he returned to Malta via Marseilles, he brought with him many drawings which he was to use later for several subsequent works.

The Countess de Vergennes in Turkish Attire. Photo: Suna and İnan Kıraç Foundation Collection/Pera Museum

In 1762, Favray was received in the Academie Royale de Peinture et Sculpture in Paris and, in 1775 (and in subsequent years), he was granted a number of pensions. Artistically, he remained active till the end of his long life. His 1776 sombre portrait of Grand Master Emanuel de Rohan (1775-97), in contrast with his flamboyant depiction of Grand Master Pinto, captures the atmosphere of a genuine desire for reform that characterised this ruler’s reign. However, Favray’s later works, such as his Greek Ladies and Turkish Ladies are rather mediocre and, probably, reflect the weakening of his artistic prowess perhaps because of old age.

Grand Master Emanuel de Rohan Polduc with Pages. Courtesy: Heritage Malta

Greek Ladies. Courtesy: The Cathedral Museum, Mdina

Favray died in Valletta on February 9, 1798, aged 91, and was buried in the Order’s Conventual Church (now the Co-Cathedral) of St John in a tomb that does not bear an epitaph.

Favray is considered a remarkable painter who, through stubborn determination, achieved an appreciable measure of greatness even though he was not remarkably gifted. And Malta was the main stage for his artistic activity for over half a century.