The artistic image of Grand Master Antonio Manoel de Vilhena (1722-1736)

Abstract

This thesis aims to study the portraits and representations of Anton Manoel de Vilhena, sixty-sixth Grand Master of the Sovereign Miltary Hospitaller Order of St John of Jerusalem, Rhodes and Malta. These portraits are found both on the Maltese Islands and overseas. The portraits consist of paintings, sculpture, numismatics and prints and count to fifty separate representations. The artists under study with a direct association with Vilhena are the Maltese painters Enrico Regnaud and Alessio Erardi and the sculptor Pietro Paolo Troisi. Chief among the artists commissioned by Vilhena is the Florentine sculptor Massimiliano Soldani Benzi. The purpose of this thesis is to examine the major influences which have helped to shape the Grand Master’s image and also when possible to suggest new attributions. The works consist of the slightly mediocre paintings by the Maltese artists to the numerous pieces of sculptures including the Sepulchral Monument, Reliefs and Medallions by Massimiliano Soldani Benzi which in their quality stand among the highest echelons of European art. The bronze Grand Statue and Busts by Pietro Paolo Troisi are amongst the most worthy examples of Maltese art, they being the products of a pupil of the Accademia di San Luca in Rome. This dissertation examines published documents associated with the commissioning of portraits depicting Grand Master Vilhena . This study also aims to put in a coherent list all the portraits which represent the Grand Master in order for them to be regarded as one whole corpus of works which represent an eighteenth century European prince.