Leonello Spada, Alof de Wignacourt and Jacomo Bosio : an analysis of the mechanics of patronage and the literary and visual sources for Spada’s fresco cycle at the Grand Master’s Palace in Valletta

Abstract

This research discusses the fresco cycle at the Grand Master’s Palace painted by the Bolognese artist Leonello Spada (1576-1622) in 1610. The cycle depicts twenty-four scenes from the early history of the Order of the Knights of St John and was commissioned by Grand Master Alof de Wignacourt (1547-1622). The research assesses the extent through which these frescoes follow the international trends of palatial decoration in the early Baroque era. The frescoes will be analysed and the capability of the artist to project the narrative through the style of Bolognese classicism will be assessed. The manner in which the artist incorporates the visual and literary sources into the narrative programme is explored in detail. The main literary source, Dell’Istoria Della Sacra Religione et Ill.ma Militia di San Giovanni by Jacomo Bosio has been identified and the illustrations of Antonio Tempesta were utilised as the inspiration for the composition of the scenes. Cesare Ripa’s Iconologia was used both as a literary and visual source. This research contributes to scholarship in Early Baroque art as well as studies on Leonello Spada and the larger context of the spread of the Accademia degli Incamminati outside Bologna. The fresco cycle provides an excellent case study for the facilitation of iconographers and historians in pictorial narratives. The commission is laden with political and propagandist motives, which promote the Order’s somewhat tragic history, it is one of the only depictions of the subject and one of the most important fresco cycles in Malta.