Treasures of Malta,
No. 79, Vol. XXVII, Issue 1 2020,
Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti
It had to be something like the latest issue of Treasures of Malta to provide a most welcome modicum of cheer in these bleak times, not least with its striking cover of a detail from a 16th-century frescoed map of Malta hailing the 1565 victory over the Ottomans. It lies in the Hall of Maps at the Vatican, one among several showing the lands over which the pope held authority. In 1732, Louis XV gifted Grand Master Manoel de Vilhena with a fine portrait of himself by Jean Baptiste van Loo. Van Loo took over the commission from the famous portrait painter Hyacinthe Regnaud and managed to paint a most competent work of art, which is one the highlights of the President’s Palace but “which has failed to be given its due academic importance”. Carlos Bongalais’s paper supplies the background to this painting, which has tended to be overlooked in the palace’s collection.
The oeuvre of Ignazio Carlo Cortis (1826-98) has tended to be somewhat ignored as well, also due to the destruction of some of his works as well as some pedestrian restorations in the past. In her contribution, Francesca Attard stresses the artist’s superb draughtsmanship, best admired in his drawings, and his ability to reach “very high artistic levels”.
Cortis was born in Valletta but died in Rome where he had spent many active years, returning to Malta a number of times. Lija parish church has several of his frescoes as had St Lawrence collegiate church in Vittoriosa, most of which were lost during the war.
Petra Caruana Dingli writes about Francesco Zahra’s Our Lady of the Pillar, which is to be found in St Peter’s Benedictine monastery in Mdina. Commissioned by a nun who had a special devotion to Our Lady under this title, it was completed in 1744.
The painting’s elaborate inauguration is described in a contemporary document which also recorded that at one point one of the music stages collapsed, leaving two musicians hanging by their hands.
Yet another paper about a Maltese artist is Mark Sagona’s, which deals with the happy discovery in 2020 in a private collection of Pietro Paolo Caruana’s The Corsair and Gulnare. This fine painting shows the artist’s prowess and is a rare case of a secular Romantic theme in an age dominated by religious subjects.
Was it just a cautionary tale?
This largish painting, inspired from Byron’s long poem The Corsair: A Tale, is most striking for the depiction of the girl’s clothes and jewellery as well as the sleeping knight’s suit of armour reflecting the light in the girl’s hand.
A fine portrait of Louis XV by Jean Baptiste van Loo that the king gifted to Grand Master Manoel de Vilhena.In 1973, Murray Grigor directed a 23-minute experimental tourist film, Maltamour – Slips in time with Random Selections by Eduardo Paolozzi.
Joseph Borg describes it as a “collage of contemporary filming, war and historical clips, and animation” with “a loose narrative structure”. Sir Eduardo Paolozzi, a prominent Scottish artist and pioneer of Pop Art, plays the part of a tourist and provides the unifying idiosyncratic aspect of the narrative.
The Notarial Archives Foundation is carrying out precious work in saving from decay and destruction the thousands of irreplaceable volumes of deeds that contain much of the soul of the nation from 1467 to the early 20th century. Christina Cassar Meli relates the experience of 10 volunteers of a dedicated team that are approaching this mammoth task with such joy and satisfaction.
Fort Tigné, the last fort erected by the Order, once stood in honey-coloured splendour until it was dwarfed by one of those sins against humanity that are littering the island. Joshua de Giorgio focuses on its social significance in connection with a community of musicians that used its space as rehearsal rooms in the early 1980s.
Owing to the rapport of music and popular culture to memory, identity and sense of place, this music community created a heritage relationship with the fort.
The author sees in the Tigné experience the importance of looking beyond conventional heritage values and acknowledge the “hidden histories” that lie outside the common concept of heritage.
In 1927, Antonio Sciortino’s Great Siege monument replaced a seawater fountain that was damaging the buildings nearby. Conservator-restorer James Licari gives the background to its commission and history, as well as an account of its conservation carried out by the team Heritage ResCo that has given this splendid work of art a new lease of life.
Alfred Bonnici’s favourite object is a rare Malta Pope Pius V broadsheet issued in 1568 to urge contributions for the completion of Valletta’s fortifications.
But what about the dragon? For some days after December 15, 1608, a terrible seven-headed dragon is said to have greatly terrified the Maltese with its howls and cries. A pamphlet issued the following year recorded this phenomenon in great detail.
Emanuel Chetcuti provides the story and some background based on a rare pamphlet to be found on Bibliothèque nationale in Paris. The appearance of the dragon seems to have escaped all chroniclers.
Was it all because of some vast historical conspiracy theory, or was it, as a contemporary president would have called it, an example of fake news? Or was it just a cautionary tale to strike terror into the people of God and make them repent and ask for mercy from the Almighty?
Paul Xuereb’s subject index to the illustrations in Vol. XXVI is a precious contribution when one is trying to locate a picture one is sure of having seen somewhere in the previous volume of Treasures of Malta.