A selective catalogue of 17th and 18th century artworks at the Żejtun Parish Museum

Abstract

The purpose of this dissertation is to analyse a selected number of works from the Żejtun Parish Museum. The study, which covers the early seventeenth to the late eighteenth centuries, seeks to reveal information regarding the foundation of the Parish Museum and how it aided in the preservation of art and culture.

The introduction sets a general overview of the establishment of the Museum and a brief history where the artworks used to be stored prior to the construction of the Parish church Museum. It also entails how the museum changed throughout the years. This section will also include a short historical overview of the town of Żejtun, which will permit the study of context in which the artworks were produced. It will also allow research into the mechanics of patronage including members from the Order of St. John, ecclesiastical personages and nobles.

Chapter 1 will be focusing on how external influences such as Caravaggio and Mattia Preti had deeply influenced the artistic scene of the Maltese Islands. It will also unveil how the small town of Żejtun managed to get their hands on works by the most renowned artist such as Gio Nicola Buhagiar, Francesco Zahra and Rocco Buhagiar, even though the overall population was made up by fishermen and hurdsmen.

Chapter 2 deals solely with paintings varying from altar-paintings, lateral paintings and sotto quadri. This chapter unveils the original provenance of the artworks, which recounts where the painting resided and how financially stable the church or chapel was. Chapter 3 addresses the topic of statues, this revealed that Malta did not live in a vacuum but imported works from Spain and copies after well renowned Roman Baroque artist such as Alessandro Algardi. The forth chapter deals solely with the decorative arts.

The catalogue entries do not follow a chronological order but instead they are listed from the most important works to those done by mediocre artists.