Secular portraits of the Maltese nobility, gentry and prominent personalities (1600-1800)

Abstract

This dissertation forms part of a wider project and it is the first of a series of studies on 17th and 18th century portrait painting in Malta. This study in particular focuses on secular paintings depicting the images of Maltese Nobility, Prominent personalities, gentry and also local and foreign artists, living at the time. It focuses on the images of people who left ample contributions to this country's heritage and their portraits serve as part of the national identity. The purpose of this dissertation is to present a general overview of secular portraits, presented in the form of a catalogue. There is also ongoing research by other students on portraits of high ecclesiastics such as Bishops, Inquisitors, Popes, Knights and Grand Masters so their portraits in this dissertation are omitted from this catalogue. The context and background to the subject is discussed in the first chapter of this dissertation, followed by an other five chapters each having a catalogue of portraits found in public collections and also a few from the private, presented in a chronological order. The catalogue of chapter two deals with self-portraits and portraits of artists active in Malta at the time. The other chapters discuss the portraits of people mainly from the aristocratic, higher classes of society. Chapter three deals with portraits of the Maltese nobility; the secular titleholders of the country, while chapter four discusses portraits of prominent citizens such as doctors, architects and the well to do. Chapter five discusses donor portraits depicted within religious scenes and the final chapter presents the portraits of sitters whose identity is unfortunately still unknown. For each portrait discussed, an image is produced, followed by its description, such as the medium/support, style, setting, objects depicted, and the sitter's attire. Where available, the execution dates, biographical information on sitters and artists, the provenance, exhibition history and conservation history is also given. In the final chapter of the dissertation, which deals with portraits of unknown sitters, only a brief description on what is observed is given, as the information regarding these portraits is very limited. The artists who painted these portraits preserved the memory of people for posterity, during a time when the modern photographic technologies we posses today were still non-existent. This study hopefully offers a point of departure for future study and opens a window into the artistic appreciation of secular images in Malta offering also an insight into the life of Maltese society of the time.