https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/20129 2026-04-27T04:35:19Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/20468 Title: La guerra sul mare : mutazione, tecnologia, tattica e strategia (1550-1720) Authors: Frasca, Francesco Abstract: Il periodo che va dalla metà del Cinquecento al primo ventennio del Settecento fu caratterizzato dall’influenza del potere marittimo sulla storia e da una mutazione della guerra sul mare. Le lotte per l’acquisizione di zone d’influenza sui territori extra-europei, drammaticamente allargarono l’ambito delle attività oltreoceano e introdussero una competitività più aspra nell’antagonismo delle nazioni. Si era formata quell’economia transcontinentale e transoceanica, sul cui controllo l’Europa si avviava a stabilire la sua egemonia. Le colonie davano le materie prime, i mercantili le trasportavano in patria, dove erano trasformate in prodotti finiti, che erano esportati all’estero, producendo così ricchezza. Per sostenere le colonie e il commercio le nazioni europee dovettero dotarsi di grosse flotte mercantili e di efficienti marine da guerra ovvero disporre di un ‘potere navale’. Così le colonie, gli scambi commerciali e potere marittimo divennero degli elementi interdipendenti, e la guerra sul mare fu una lotta per la libertà delle comunicazioni e per il dominio di quelle dell’avversario. Nell’età mercantilista l’obiettivo strategico delle potenze europee era di difendere il proprio ciclo d’accumulo di ricchezza, e di distruggere quello dell’avversario. Il modo d’attuazione variava secondo la forza militare a disposizione. Si poteva mirare alla completa distruzione del commercio nemico, costringendo l’avversario al blocco nei porti, o ad un combattimento d’annientamento. In caso di mancanza di superiorità marittima l’azione poteva rivolgersi contro il traffico mercantile del nemico, con attacchi e scorrerie, in modo da indebolire la forza dell’avversario costretto ad una difesa dispersiva in attesa di dare battaglia in circostanze favorevoli. Il Mediterraneo aveva perso la sua centralità geopolitica e geostrategìca. Numerosi furono i teatri d’operazione delle guerre navali. Nel Mediterraneo ad oriente si scontrarono Impero ottomano e Venezia; e ad occidente imperversò la pirateria nordafricana alla quale si contrappose la guerra corsara cristiana. Nel Baltico si svolsero conflitti tra Svezia e Danimarca. Nell’Atlantico dal Mare del Nord allo stretto di Gibilterra si riaffrontarono Spagna Olanda Francia ed Inghilterra 2017-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/20467 Title: Frightening fragments : the representation of the corpse in baroque sculpture Authors: Deckers, Regina Abstract: While the decay of the human corpse was represented in form of the so-called transi tomb of the Late Middle Ages, this topic thereafter was removed from the context of tomb sculpture and adapted in a smaller scale for objects of private contemplation. Other painted and sculpted examples may be found in Baroque allegories of vanity or in the main topic of the memento mori. Especially the medium of waxworks was predestined as well for the artistic as for the scientific use because of the deceptive qualities of the material which appears in horrifying dioramas – performing illness, death and decay – or in visual aids for medical education in the 17th and 18th centuries. Primarily the dimensions and the fragmentary representation of the human body reveal the determination of these works of art and thus their position between objects for private devotion or the Kunstkammer, between tomb sculpture and anatomical models and in conclusion between the ages of Baroqoue and Enlightenment. 2017-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/20466 Title: The seated female nude : from Raphael to Ingres Authors: Harvey, Arnold D. Abstract: This article discusses the history and interpretation of the painted female nude from the 15th to the 19th century. The author discusses artists from the Renaissance, such as Raphael up to Impressionism and Neoclassicism by Ingres. 2017-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/20465 Title: The magistral 'possesso' of Mdina through Favray's lens Authors: Mallia, Danielle Abstract: Anyone with an interest in Maltese history is no doubt familiar with Antoine Favray’s painting Grand Master Philippe Villiers de l’Isle Adam Taking Possession of Mdina. This seminal piece of Hospitaller iconography sought to visually portray the start of the Order of St. John’s rule on the Maltese islands. It provides a snapshot of an event that in effect ushered the archipelago into a new era. It was a very public ceremony which underscored the power politics at play between the various authorities present on the island. One cannot underestimate how important these celebratory public occasions displaying wealth and power were for early modern Europeans. The use of grand public spectacles was possibly the most effective method to get messages across, to a wide array of people of varying backgrounds and literacy. Ceremonial entries into cities were exploited by municipalities and overlords alike across early modern Europe and Malta was no exception. The ceremonial entry, or possesso, of Mdina first staged by L’Isle Adam in 1530 and masterfully depicted by Favray was the first of a long series of possessi that were held during the Maltese Hospitaller period. This article will seek to consider the context of the possesso and the commissioning of the painting whilst also deconstructing these same elements. This will be done primarily through an analysis of the Libri Conciliorum (containing the records of the government of the Order) and the Libri Conciliorum Status (containing the records of state from 1620 onwards) as well as the records of the Università mainly the Mandati (orders to pay). It is only through an analysis of both the written word and Favray’s work that one can truly appreciate the civic ritual for what it was – an event that was designed to be a feast to the senses but also an exercise in subtle political manipulation. 2017-01-01T00:00:00Z