Devotional free standing limestone statuary in Malta

Abstract

The history of Maltese sculpture has unfortunately been neglected; one of the main reasons for this could be because Malta's best sculptural works have usually been commissioned to foreign sculptors. Most local sculpture is frequently considered vernacular, and the free standing limestone statues fit into this category of art. In this long essay, I have, firstly, attempted to locate as many free standing statues found around Malta and Gozo as possible. Secondly, I tried to sort them out into their various artistic idioms. Furthermore, I attempted to show various influential sources available to Maltese sculptors. On starting to research the subject, I immediately encountered many obstacles. I was dealing with many statues of various devotions, belonging to different centuries, found in several localities. Very little information is available concerning limestone statuary in Malta, and information forthcoming from secondary sources proved to be inconclusive most of the time. Moreover, the little information available is frequently not reliable, and I was cautioned on several occasions not to take some authors too seriously as their information was usually incorrect. Most of the sculptors of these statues as well as their dates are unknown, and very often it is impossible to date them stylistically because of their anachronistic nature. The dates indulgences were granted enabled me to give tentative dates; unfortunately, not all statues showed this information. I have divided the first three chapters into early monuments and statuary. ln the following chapters I concentrated on the various devotions.