Baroque portraits of popes, bishops and high ecclesiastics in Maltese public collections (1600-1800)

Abstract

The purpose of this dissertation is the study of seventeenth and eighteenth century high ecclesiastical portraiture in Maltese public collections. It aims at quantifying and qualifying ecclesiastical portraiture in the wider context of Baroque Art in Malta. This dissertation is the second of a series of studies on portraiture in Baroque Malta undertaken as B.A. (Hons.) theses at the History of Art Programme under the direction of Dr. Keith Sciberras. To the important contribution of Romina Delia whose survey presents a general overview of the secular portraiture of the period, is this study focusing papal likenesses and portraits of the Church's helmsmen in Early Modern Malta. There is also ongoing research by other history of art students focusing on Grand Masters, Grand Crosses and other important members of the Order of St. John. Despite the presence of a number of ecclesiastical portraits in private collections, some of which are included in this study for comparative purposes, this dissertation is mainly concerned with surviving works in public collections the large extent of which are preserved in our national collection and in Church sacristies or chapter halls. Along with publicly available works are those preserved in Casa Rocca Piccola, Valletta, a private stately house, open as a museum. It is indeed a pity that during the course of this research, I was not allowed access to the important collection of portraits in the Episcopal Palace at Mdina. Consequently, a first hand study of the works was not possible, and my analysis of them had to be based on photographs and secondary sources.