In the footsteps of Overbeck : the context for Giuseppe Hyzler’s altarpiece of St Ignatius of Loyola – aesthetics, spirituality and piety in Romantic Malta

Abstract

If in his Self-Portrait, painted during his Roman sojourn , the thirty-four year old Maltese painter Giuseppe Hyzler (1787-1858), represents himself in full Nazarene garb: beret, cloak, long hair, and immersed in the religious ethos of the Eternal City (Fig. 1) – proudly announcing his full adherence and commitment to the ideals of the Brotherhood of St Luke – his true artistic testament is enshrined in the huge altarpiece representing The Virgin of Manresa appearing to St Ignatius of Loyola (Fig. 2). This work still hangs in situ as the titular altarpiece for the church adjoining the Casa degli Esercizi Spirituali of St Calcedonius or Santa Domenica on the outskirts of Victoria, Gozo. The main aim of this short study is to highlight the strong artistic merits of a work which deserves to be much better known, arguing for its rightful place in the development of Romanticism in Malta, but also positioning it within its larger international context. It is indeed its international flavour which makes it one of the most representative works of this epoch, but also one of the highlights in the entire development of art in Malta. [excerpt]