A biblical reading of the 𝘊𝘪𝘳𝘤𝘶𝘮𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴 by Filippo Paladini (at the Jesuit Church in Valletta, Malta)

Abstract

Paladini’s Circumcision takes pride of place in the Church of the Collegium Melitense, that up to the suppression of the Jesuit Order in Malta by the Portuguese Grand Master Manuel Pinto da Fonseca in 1768 was managed by the Jesuits, and consequently evolved as the University of Malta. Understandably, since the JHS is, as it were, the coat of arms of the Company of Jesus, the three-lettered emblem is given due prominence in the retable of the painting. The foundation stone of the baroque church was laid on 4 September 1595, but had to be rebuilt due to explosions that occurred in the building. The architect was the military engineer of the Order of St John, Francesco Buonamici. Architecturally, it emulates the same style as La Chiesa del Gesù in Rome, with the same title of the Circumcision of Jesus. The church in Valletta is the first building in Malta designed by a well-known foreign architect. [excerpt]