Malta - History and Works of Art of St Johns Church (Art eBook)

8/10/2019 Malta - History and Works of Art of St Johns Church (Art eBook)

1/116

HISTORY

AND

WORKS

OF ART

OF

ST JOHN'S

CHURCH

VALLETTA

BY

DOMINIC

CUTAJAR

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Digitized

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littp://www.archive.org/details/maltahistoryworkOOcuta


3/116

MALTA

HISTORY AND WORKS

OF

ART

OF

ST.

JOHN'S

CHURCH

VALLETTA

by

Dominic

Cutajar

c^^

Photography

Layout

Mario Mintoff

Joseph

Bartolo

Facade

of

St.

John's

conventual

church

from

a

17th

century

veduta

painted

c.

1657.

(Museum

of

Fine

Arts,

Valletta).


4/116

Copyright

M.J.

Publications

Ltd.

All rights

reserved.

No part

of this

publication may be

reproduced

in

any

form or by

any

means,

electronic

or

mechanical,

including

photocopy,

recording,

or

any

information storage

and

retreival

system,

without

permission

in

writing

of

the

copyright owners.

Publishers'

acknowledgments.: Thanks are due to St

John's

co-Cathedral

Chapter:

to

Fr.

Marius

Zerafa

former director of the Museums for encouraging

us

in

publishing

this book; the author Wr.

Dominic

Cutajar (former

curator of

St

John's

Museum) at

present curator of the

Fine

arts

Museum

Valletta; the staff of the co-Cathedral and

that

of

the

attached

museum.

Photographs

were taken

by

the

courtesy

of

St Johns

co-Cathedral Chapter. Pictures on

pages 1,

page

5

and page

50

were

taken

by

the kind

permission

of

the

National

Museum

Valletta, .National

Library

Valletta and

the Cathedral

Museum Mdina

respectively.

Colour originations

by Scancraft,

Qormi,

Malta.

Photoset

and

printed in

Malta by

Interprint

Ltd.

First

published in

1989

by

M.J.

Publications

Ltd.

Revised

edition

1992.

c/o 57

South

Street.

Valletta,

Malta.

Tel.

236723

Front

cover

Interior

of

St.

John's

Church,

Valletta.

Back

cover

The

Baptism

of

Christ

by

Giuseppe

Mazzuoli


5/116

Contents

Page No.

Preface 4

Historical

Background

6

The

Architecture

of

The

Church

7

Mattia

Preti

10

Preti's

Links with Malta

10

The Interior of

the Church

12

The

Sanctuary

14

The Nave

22

The

Two Aisles

-

The

Chapels

of

The

Langues

46

The

Chapel

of

Our Lady

of Philermos

48

The

Chapel

of

The Langue of

Auvergne

51

The

Chapel

of

The Langue

of Aragon

54

The

Chapel

of

The

Langue

of Castile

59

Passageway

to

The Oratory

63

The

Chapel of The Anglo-Bavarian Langue

65

The Chapel of

The

Langue of Provence 67

The

Chapel of The Langue

of France 68

The

Chapel of The Langue of Italy

73

Passageway

to

The Annex 78

Chapel

of

The

Langue

of

Germany

78

Passageway to The Sacristy 80

The

Sacristy 82

The

Oratory of

St.

John's

88

The

Grand

Masters' Crypt 95

The

Crypt of Bartolott 100

The

Museum

of St.

John's

101


6/116

PREFACE

One

cannot

but

feel

over-awed in

having

to

write

about

as

splendid

a

monument

as

St

John's

Co-Cathedral

once known

as

the

Conventual

Church

of the

Order

of the

Knights

of

St

John.

It is

easily

the most

glorious

and

magnificent

artistic entity

in

the

Maltese islands

-

a vast

treasure-house that

continues to hold

surprises down

to

our

time.

The

same

feeling of

diffidence

is enhanced

by

having

to write

a

sequel

after

such a

memorable

publication as Sir

Hannibal

Scicluna's

'The

Church of St

John's

in Valletta''

-

a

work

of such pains-taking

patience and

detail

that

it would be presumptuous

to

vie with it

at

all.

Indeed

Sir

Hannibal

Scicluna's

great

work

will

continue

to

be

an

unrivalled

basic

text

for all

those

desirous of learning

the

history-laden

significance

of this beautiful

temple.

My own

aim

has been

altogether more

modest

-

to

evaluate

and

document more fully the

artistic

heritage that St

John's

houses. My

effort

has

therefore

been

largely

an

exercise

in

gap-filling, resorting

to

sources

which

Sir

Hannibal Scicluna had not utilised.

So

that I have

studiously

avoided

quoting sources

already

given

by

my predecessor,

but

chose

to expand precisely

to those new sources

which bring into

sharper

light

the history and

art contained

in this

great church.

The

reader

will

thus have

the

benefit

of

savouring

a

coherent history

of

the

conventual

church of the Order of

St

John's,

as

well

as

reviewing

its

great

works-of-art

in the light

of more

recent scholarly

contributions,

together with

the fruits

of

the

present

writer's own researches

con-

ducted

over

the last

decade.

Dominic

Cutajar

16 October

1988


7/116

The

Church of

St

John

is the

most important

artistic

entity in the

Maltese

islands. We now know

it

better

as

the

Co-Cathedral

of

St

John,

but

it

owes its

artistic

and historic

eminence

to

the fact

that for

many

years

it

was the conventual

church

of

the Order of the

Knight

Hospitallers

of

St

John

of

Jerusalem.

The

Knights

themselves

referred

to

the

church

as

la nostra chiesa

maggiore

della

Sacra Religione

Gerosolmitana''

-

practically

their religious

headquarters.

And

for this

reason

they spent

huge

sums of money

and

enormous

efforts

to

enrich

it

with only the

finest works-of-art,

to

endow

it

so

that it serves as an

opulent

show-piece for

state

occasions, and

to

maintain

it in continual

splendour.

Suffices

to

mention that the upkeep

of

St

John's

occupied

the

first place in the annual

budget

of

the

Order.^

The

church

was

administered

by a

chapter

of

'tappellani maggiori

all

of

whom

were

ordained

members

of the Order of

St

John.

This

body

was

collectively

known

as the

Veneranda

Assemblea whose head was

a

prior

especially privileged to wear a

bishop's mitre

and

carry the

crozier.

In

dignity he

ranked

third,

preceded

only by

the Grand

Master

and

the

Bishop

of

Malta. It might

be of

note to

realize

that

many

Maltese

clergymen were

admitted

as

members

of

the Veneranda

Assemblea and a

few

were

in

fact

elected

priors

of

St

John's.

^

Vide

Dominic Cutajar

and

Charles Cassar, Budgetting in 17th

Century Malta in

Mid-

Med

Bank

Ltd. Report

and

Accounts, 1983

pp.

22-32.

l-.-n

K^-.

A view of

St.

John's

interior

from a litho-

graph

by

Charles

Fredrick

Brockdorff

(1782-1850).

'i

I

^

--


8/116

Historical

Background

The

early

history

of

St John's

is

in fact

tied

to

the

history of Malta and

specifically

with

that

of

the Order.

Immediately

after the Great

Siege

of

1565,

the

Knights

realised

that

they

would

not

be

able

to resist

another

Ottoman

onslaught

unless

adequate

and

modern

defences

were

constructed

to

meet it.

These

had

also to be

sited

in

a

strategically

superior

position

than

the

Borgo-Senglea

complex

that

had

miraculously

withstood

the

numerous

Ottoman Turkish attacks laun-

ched

during

the Siege.

The

Knights

had no

difficulty

in

identifying

such

a

site

on

that tongue

of

land

flanked by

both

the

Grand Harbour and

Marsamxett

harbour

and in

part

overlooking the old Borgo-Senglea

defensive

complex.

In fact

plans to

build

a

fortress-city

on

that tongue

of land

-

then

called

Xaghret

Mewwija

-

had been

considered before

the

Siege

of

1565;

news of these new plannings

seem

to

have

reached the

Ottoman authorities

and may

well have

been a

factor that induced

them

to

launch the

1565

massive campaign

to

oust

the Knights

from Malta

before

they

would have raised

more

formidable defences.^

The

new city was in

fact

founded

in

1566,

only

a

few months after

the

end of

the

Siege. Right from the beginning it was conceived

as a

Renaissance fortress-city,

combining the notions

of

massive defence

works

and

a

well-ordered

system

of

street-planning.

Priority

was

given

to Valletta's fortifications

-

that

is,

to the inner

line of

fortified

walls

and

bastions

-

but

as

these

were well

advanced

by

1571,

the

Order decided

to move

the

seat of

Government

from

the Borgo to

Valletta

on

18th

March

1571.

At this

stage the

first

palaces,

churches

and auberges

began

to

be

erected; pride

of place

was given

to

the Order's new conventual

church

planned

to be

raised

at the very centre

of

the new city

-

as a

glance

at

a

plan of

Valletta

will

reveal. The Council of

the Order

had

entrusted

the

project

to

Gerolamo

Cassar

(c.

1530-1593)

whose original

training

had

been that

of

a

military

engineer.

In

1569 he was issued a

pass

by Grand

Master del

Monte

(1568-1572)

with

the

aim of

travelling

to

Italy

to gain

experience

in

the

architectural

developments

of

his

day'

^For

a

fuller

discussion

of

the

effects

which

plans to

build

a new

fortress

upon

Xaghret

Mewwija

exercised

on

Ottoman

thinking, vide

D.

Cutajar

and

C.

Cassar,

Malta and

the

16th

Century

Struggle

for

the Mediterranean

in

Mid-Med

Bank

Ltd. Report and

Accounts,

1985,

pp.

22-59.

^N(ational)

L(ibrary)

of

M(alta), Archives

432

f.

253

(23

April

1969)

where Gerolamo

Cassar

is

referred

to as confrate

di

nostra

Religione

e m' delli nostri architettori . The

Salvacondotta

of

Grand

Master

del

Monte

was

intended

to assist Gerolamo Cassar's

progress

I


9/116

An

aerial view

of the

central part

of

Valletta. The

complex

of St.

John's

was intended

to occupy

an

entire

block of

the new

city

The

Architecture

of the Church

It

is

not

known

for

certain whether Cerolamo

Cassar did

proceed

on

this

exploratory

tour

of

Renaissance Italy. The

architectural ideas he

resorted

to

in the

building

of

St

John's

were

already

common currency

in

Malta.

The

use

of

a rectangular plan with

an

apse at

the

East

end of

the

church

turns

out

to

be

the

normal

vernacular

planimetry

employed

for most

Maltese churches built at

the

time; nor

was

the

idea

of

adding

side-chapels between

the

re-inforcing

buttresses a

novel

feature,

as it had

been

already

tried out

in the Rabat

convent-church

of

the

Dominicans.

The

vaulting of

the

nave

appears though as

an

innovation

for

Malta. What

makes

St

John's

church

architecturally

significant

is

the

combination of all

these

features

in one

project

of

such

a

giant

scale, coupled with

a

rigorous application

of

the most

per

essere

piu luoghi

in Italia

a

vedere

alcuni edifici

massimi in Roma, Napoli, ed in altre

parti

dove vi

sono

perfettissimi

e

degni d'imitatione

per

tornarsine qui

quanto prima

ed

avvalarsine

in

sue esemplo

nell'opera

che

egli havera

da

fare per

servitio

di

nostra

Religione.


10/116

important

Renaissance

architectural

''discovery''

-

Alberti's golden

rule

or

the

harmonization

of

all its

major

proportions

according

to

the scale

or

ratio

of

3:8.

Today,

the

severe

facade

of

the

church

with a

pair

of Doric

columns

and two

simple

three-storey

towers

flanking the

main

entrance makes

an

odd

contrast

with

the

richly-decorated

interior.

But this was not

always

so;

until

the

1660s

re-decoration

of

St

John's

by

Mattia

Preti,

the

severity

of the

facade

was

matched by

the equal

simplicity of

the

interior.

The

bronze

high-relief

at

the

apex of

the Church

facade, reputedly

made by

Alessandro

Algardi

(1598-16541

was

only

installed

there in

1853

after

its

removal

from the

ruined church of

the Salvatore

on the

Valletta

Marina

where

it had

been originally placed

in

1639.^

The

building

phase

of

St

John's

was

terminated

in

1578

when

it

was

consecrated

by

Archbishop

Ludovico Torres

of Monreale. The second

phase

in the

history

of St

John's

-

equally

eventful and

artistically

more

significant

-

occurred

in the

1660'

after

the

Council of the

Order

decided

to

renovate

the

entire

interior

of their

conventual

church. Its

original austere

appearance with shallow flutings

of

the pilasters

(of

which

a

few

traces

have

survived)

and

the coffered vault

(as

can

yet be

seen in

the

main sacristy)

gave

the interior

a

kind

of solemn

Renais-

sance

simplicity that in

time

ill-accorded

with

the

increasing

opulence

of

the then

dominant

Baroque

taste.

As fate would

have

it, Mattia Preti

(1613-1699)

happened

to

travel

to

Malta

in

1659,

after

he had

carried

out two

commissions

which Grand

Master de Red

in

had conveyed

to

him

through

the Order's

Receiver (or

Ambassador)

in

Naples.

Preti had

been

drawn

to Malta

ostensibly

to paint

a portrait

of the

Grand

Master.

The

presence in the

country of

one

of the century's

best

Baroque

decorators

was not

missed

by the

Venerable

Council who

concluded

with him

an

agreement

to overhaul

the

entire

interior

decoration of St

John's.

In

this

way, the

church

eventually

gained

its

fabulously

rich

ornamentation

which

Nicolas

Pevsner

has

recognised as

the first

realised

example

of High Baroque anywhere.^

The

interior

of

St

John

is indeed

a

magnificent

orchestration of

parts

superbly

achieved

through

the

skill

and Baroque

sensibility of

Mattia

Preti.

'^Vide

L'Ordine,

anno

V,

no.

227

of

21

October

1853:

Sul

fronte

di

questa

cappella del

Salvatore

demolita

eravi

posta

una

bellissima

scoltura

in bronzo ad

alto

rilievo di

Nostro

Signore

di

forme

colossali

che

con

saggio

divisamento

venne

rimossa

e

collocata

nella

parte

superiore

del frontone della

Gran Chiesa di

S.

Giovanni

sotto

la

direzione

del...ben-

cmerito

Sig.

G.

Hyzler.

^Nicolas

Pevsner,

Die

Wandlung urn

1650

in

der Italienische

Malerei

in

Wiener

Jahrbuch

''

-

^-cschichte,

vol.

VIII

(1932)

p.

69, referred

to

by

John

T. Spike in

Mattia

Preti'

falta .


11/116

A

photograph

(1988) of

the

facade

of

St. John's. In spite of

its severe

and

unpretentious

architecture,

the

articulation

of

the

parts forms

a

rational

reflection

of its

internal

division.

During

1942,

the

two

towers

lost

their

spires.


12/116

Mattia

Preti

(1613-1699)

Since

St John's

interior

can

with

ail justice

be

described

as Mattia

Preti's

own

glory,

one

may

well

add

some

brief information

on the

career

of

this

great

master

of

the

Baroque.

He

was

born

in

1613

at

Taverna

in

Calabria;

hence he

is

often

referred

to

as

il

cavalier

Calabrese.

Although

he

travelled

widely

-

his

early biographer

claims

he visited

Spain

and

Flanders

-

his

artistic

homeland was

Naples where

he

received

his

early training

with

Gio.

Battista Caracciolo

(W

Battis-

telloy*

and

where

for

some

time

Caravaggist realism

continued

to

hold

sway

In

1630 he

moved

to Rome

encountering

the

more

subtle

Northern

Caravaggists,

but

more

important

still for his

art, he

embraced

the new

Neo-Venetian

currents.

In Rome he

carried

the

large-scale

mural

decoration of

SantAndrea della

Valle

between 1650

and

1653.

Preti

was

an

eclectic master who

did

not have

a

fixed

manner

of

his

own

but

imbued influences

from all around him which he

was

always

able to

synthetize and harmonize at will.

Thus

in Rome he absorbed

the

illusionistic

streak so

vital

a

feature of

the

art of another great

Baroque decorator

-

Pietro

da Cortona. He studied and imbued

something of other great

painters

of

the

time, particularly the

Emilian

artists

Lanfranco

and Guercino,

apart

from Reni

and

Rubens. One

may

generalize

by

saying

that

Preti'

s

art

was

a

skilful

mixture of

virtuousistic

drawing,

incisive

sculptural

qualities achieved through studied use

of

chiaroscuro,

an array of stunning illusionistic

effects, and a

mastery

of

rich

chromaticism

in

part

learnt from

the great

Venetian masters,

particularly

Paolo

Veronese

who

Preti's

art often echoes

so

successfully

and

altogether

creatively

Preti's

Links

with

Malta

Preti's

great

masterpiece

was

to be

the

Baroque

re-decoration

of St

John's

church

in

Valletta

so that it

would

be

enlightening

to

review

rapidly

his links

with

Malta. He

was in fact received as a

Knight

of

Obedience

in

the

Order of

St

John

way

back

in

1642 at

the time

when

the

painter

resided

in Rome.

As

we

already

said

the

De

Redin

commissions

drew

him to Malta in 1659. He

probably

jumped

at

the

chance

to

visit

Malta

because he wanted to

improve his

status

within

the

Order

as

a

Knight

of

Justice

that

required

him to

produce

adequate

proofs

of

his

family's

nobility.

He

was

to

be

only

partially

successful

being

granted

instead the

middling knighthood

of

Magistral

Grace.

10


13/116

Preti

must

also

have found

the

project of

overhauling

the

interior of

St

John's

as

professionally

satisfying,

especially

at a

time

when the rising

star

of Luca

Giordano

in Naples

was

rendering

more

and more

competitive the

acquisition of

new important

commissions

in

that

city.

So

Preti

went

back

to Naples

to terminate

the

half-completed

mural

paintings

at S. Pietro in

Maiella

after

which

he

returned

to Malta in

1661

to

tackle

his most ambitious

artistic

undertaking.

He was

to

remain

in

Malta

until his death

which

happened

on 1

January

1699. In

December 1661

Preti

began

the vault-paintings

in

St

John's

church

-

a

cycle

depicting

the

life and

martrydom of

John

the Baptist,

patron

of

his

own proud

Order Concurrently he

prepared drawings

to decorate

with

elaborate and

full

relief-carvings

all

the walls

and

the ceilings

of

each side-chapel

or

passage-way

except

for

the

last

(west)

pairs

which

for

different reasons

were

left

in

their pristine

plainness.

Each

chapel

was

given to one

individual

master stone-carver

accompanied

by an

expert

gilder

-

a

procedure

that enabled

the

progress of

the overall

projected

re-decoration to

proceed

concurrently with

Preti'

s

own

progress in

painting the

vault.

Last

to

be

taken in hand

-

in

1665

-

was

the balustrated balcony over the

main

entrance

of

the church

(on

the

inside

of

the W. front)

with

its elaborate gilding

-

a

project

entrusted

in

the hands

of

a Florentine sculptor

called mr

Vitale

Covati.^

Thus

Preti was

able

to

supervise the entire

operation and

to co-

ordinate

its

finishing

as

his

own

labours

in

the

vault

neared

conclusion.

The whole ambitious project

-

skilfully

master-minded,

prepared and

orchestrated by

Preti

-

seems

to

have

been concluded

by the

end of

1666.

His own extraordinary

efforts in

depicting

the life of the

Baptist in

the vault

of the church

were

brought

to

glorious

conclusion by

December 1666

-

a mere

5

years

after he had

first

taken

it in hand.

The

entire

St

John's

complex

consists

of

five

main structures:

the

main

body of the church

finished in

1577;

the

sacristy-rooms

built in

1598;

the Oratory erected in

1603;

the two

annexes one to

each side

of

St

John's

added by

Romano

Carapecchia

between 1735

and

1736;

then

the

Museum complex

re-modelled

in

the

1950'

after parts

of the

former

building

were

hit in

1940-1945

War

^Vide

Notarial

Archives

vol.

782/6

in

acts

ofAloysio

dello

Re.

The

contract

of

3

November

1665

specified

that Mro. Vitale

Covati had to

finish

the

work

'fra

il termine

di mesi otto and

included

lavorare

e

pulire bene e

maestrevolmente

di

pietra di

marmo e

pietra meschia

o

sia

perfido

tutta

la

balagostrata

coi

suoi

capitelli o

siano

banchi

per sopra

la

porta

grande della

chiese

maggiore

11


14/116

St. Lucy

Street

nxm

J

^

t

'' '

Plan

of

St.

John's

Church

and

adjacent

buildings

'

'-

St.

Johns

Slr(>(>l

1.

The

Nave

12.

Chapel of Italy

2.

The Sanctuary

13.

Passageway

to

Annex

(Exit to

Republic

3. Chapel

of Our

Lady of

Philermos

Street)

4. Chapel

of

Auvergne 14. Chapel

of

Germany

5

Chapel

of

Aragon

15.

Passageway

to

Sacristy

6. Passageway

to

Museum

16.

The

Sacristy

7.

Chapel

of Castile 17. The

oratory

of

St. John

8. Passageway

to

Oratory

18. The Grand

Masters'

crypt

9.

Chapel of

Anglo-Bavarian

Langue 19.

The

crypt of

Bartolott

10.

Chapel of

Provence

20.

The

Museum

of St.

John's

11. Chapel

of

France

21.

The Cemetery

22. St.

John's

Souvenir

Shop

The

Interior

of

St

John's

The church

itself-

built

by

Cerolamo

Cassar

between

1572

and

1577-

measures

57.6

metres

at its

longest

point and

36

metres

at

its

widest

and

consists

of

the

central

nave with

two

side

aisles.

The

architect

had

opted

to

construct

a

huge

vault

over the

nave,

discarding such

older

methods

of

roofing,

as

the

vernacular

transverse

arches

of

the

Medieval

churches

of

Malta,

as

well

as

the

cross-ribbing

introduced

during

the

16th

centur

The

six-bay

division

of

the

vault

corresponds

12


15/116

to

the

six

''chapels'' compartimentation

of

each

aisle

-

the

massive

buttressing to the

downward

thrust of

the vault

serving as

a

natural

division

between

one side-chapel and

another.

Originally

there

was

no

inter-connecting

gang-way

between

one

chapel

and

another

so that

each was

conceived

as

an independent

unit,

further

separated

from

the

church

by

the

installation

of

ornamental

gates

although

the

project

was

never

fully completed.

Preti's vision

of

integrated Baroque

clashed

with

this earlier

notion

emphasizing

such strict

compartimentation,

and in

his 1661

recom-

mendations

for

St

John's,

he

advised that each

buttress

be pulled

down

to

the height

of

the arch

-

thus

transforming

each

into

a flying

buttress.

A

team

of experts

appointed by the Council

turned down this

recommendation,

advising instead

that a smaller

gang-way

be

cut

between

each chapel as

was in effect carried

out.^

The

main pilasters in the nave follow each

other at intervals of 6.40

metres

spanned by a semi-circular arch; each pilaster

is

in fact

eight

times the base

-

thus

repeating the

harmonic octave scale

that recurs

regularly in

the proportions of the

church. The

Doric order is

preferred

throughout although this feature

was

somewhat camouflaged

after

the

Preti re-decoration

was

completed,

as

it

required

the

encasement of

each pilaster with old

green

marble

topped

by

the escutcheon

of

the

two

brothers

Cottoner

who

followed

each

other as

Grand

Masters

between

1660

and

1680.

Each of

the six

bays

in the vault is pierced by two

oval

windows,

one

on

each

side,

which

Preti

had asked

to

be

widened

to

allow

more

light

into the church

-

another proposal

of

his which was

turned down

for

fear of

impairing

the soundness

of

the

vault.

The latter is remarkable

for its

shallowness, standing only

19.6

metres

from

the

pavement

j

an

odd feature

probably explainable due to

its very

novelty

in the

architectural

idiom of 16th

century

Malta.

^N.L.M. Arch. 260

f.

109

(30

Sept. 1661).

Of

Preti's

recommendations,

the Commissioners

reported

that they

had

seen

pure i

disegni

del

medesimo e

considerando

di

quanto fatica

debba

riuscirgli

quest'

opera

e

di quanto

magnificenza

per

rornamento di

questa

Chiesa-

. . .

che s'esiguisca nella

conformita

di

detto

parere

quelle che appartiene

alia pittura

et

intaglio senza

parlar

d'aprire le

cappelle e

fenestre

They

stated they

had

examined the

project

on the

site

in

Preti's presence

in company

di molte

persone prattiche in quanto alia

fabrica.

In

consultation

with the

advice

of

these

experts,

they

had

resolved

che

quelle

fenestre

in forma ovata

corrispondono all'arti

d'architettura,

non

potendo

essere quadre

nel

corpo

della volta

senza

evidente

deformita

Siamo

del parere che

in questa parte non si

innovi

cosa alcuna bensi che

s'allarghi et

alzi

la

fenestra

che e'

sopra

la porta

principale. As

regards dismantling

the

buttresses

up

to

the arches, the

experts

concorrono

tutti

uno

solo

eccetto che

si possono allargare

le porte

tre

palmi

per parte

et

alzarsi sin al

cornice

pero

in

questo

si

incontra

una

difficolta

...

namely

the

presence

of

the

mausolea

of

the

Grand

Masters

de

Paule

and

Lascaris as

well

as

of

the

Marquis

Wignacourt; in

the

circumstances

Preti

was

merely conceded

the

construction

of

a

gangway

between

the

chapels.

13


16/116

The

Sanctuary

The

Sanctuary

has

also

undergone a

number

of modifications

in

part

motivated

by

liturgical

reforms

and in

part

due to

aesthetic

needs.

In

the

original

lay-out

of

the

sanctuary

there

was

only

one altar,

placed

within the

apse

with

the

painting

'The Baptism of Christ''

by Matteo

Perez d'Aleccio

as

its

altarpiece.

The

gilt walnut stalls

of the

choir,

consisting

of 52

seats

arranged

in two

tiers,

were

provided

in

1598 and

bear

the

escutcheons

of

the

prior

Giorgio

Gianpieri

(1592-1601)

and of

the

Grand

Master

Martin Garzes

(1595-1601). Originally

they formed

a

schola

cantorum placed at a

lower level

than

the

altar,

as

still surviving

in

some of

the

older

basilican

churches

-

as

Santa

Sabina on

the

Aventine

in

Rome.

The

heavily

carved square wooden lectern,

now in

the centre

of

the

choir,

in which were stored

the

illuminated

choral

parchment

books

donated

by

Grand

Master

Philippe

Villiers

de

Lisle

Adam

(1522-1532),

formed part

of its appurtenances.

The

altar was

completed

with

the two bronze

lecterns, representing

the symbolic

eagle

of St

John

the Evangelist (with an exquisite

bronze

figure

of

the

Baptist beneath the

eagle),

and

the other

consists

of

the figure

of Moses-

holding

the

tablets of

the Law. These

absolutely rare

and stupendous

bronzes were donated by Francis

duke of Lorraine in

1557

at

the

time

when

the conventual church

of the Order was still

in

the Borgo.

Their

usual

attribution to

Michel

Colombe is totally

untenable;

more

likely,

these

two exceptionally

fine

bronze works are

the

work of the

bronzaro

Simon

Provost,

son

of the

Flemish

painter

Jan

Provost

(c.

1465-1529)

and

the first

documented Master of Mint of

the Order

in

Malta.'

Both the

requirements

of

the

Tridentine reforms and the

exigencies

of

Baroque

aesthetics

necessitated

a

radical re-arrangement of

this

antiquated

liturgical

setting, began in

earnest

in 1658

when

the

marble

balustrade

enclosing

the

sanctuary was provided;

it

was

then

entrusted

to

Preti

who

appears

to

have

created

the

present

arrangement

between

1686 and

1700.

The high

altar

was

assembled

locally after

being

imported

from

Rome.

It

is

the

most

impressive and

opulent

altar

in

the

Maltese

islands

consisting

of

the choicest marbles

and

such

semi-precious

stones

as lapis-lazuli,

onyx

and

old

green,

all heavily

inlaid

with an

interlace

of wine-leaves

and

corn-ears,

with

gilt bronze

inserts,

representing

the emblems

of

the

four

evangelists as

well

as

a

high-relief

gilt

bronze

representation

of

the

Last

Supper.

At

the

sides

^

Simon

Provost

appeared

before

the

tribunal

of

the Inquisition and

was

charged

with

Lutheran

sympathies.

He

gave

his

parentage and

other details

of

his

career

during the

interrogations.

14


17/116

mm

\fW^^'

3&iU^Kr?-

^-

--

,

.-

: .

.---.

.-^.^--?^--|

,....^::^;1M

. ^^^^H

-V

--'

.-;-^^

-^

^

A fine

bronze relief insetted

at

the centre

of

the High Altar: Roman Baroque,

c.

1689.

are

prominently displayed

the

coat-of-arms of

Grand

Master Gregorio

Garafa

(1680-1690) during

whose

rule

the

final

re-arrangement

of

the

sanctuary

had

been taken

in

hand.

The

final touches

were carried out at the end of the century with

the

replacement of Matteo

Perez d'Aleccio's

altarpiece

by

the

larger-

than-life sculptural

group of Giuseppe

Mazzuoli

(1644-1725)

also

representing

the Baptism of Christ. This

splendid

Baroque

sculpture,

installed

under the direction

of

Lorenzo Gafa

(1639-1703)

between

1699

and

1700/

has

as its

background an

imposing

gilt-bronze gloria

by

the

Sicilian

bronzaro Giardina.

The installation

of the choir-altar

in

1704

brought

to

conclusion

the

Baroque renewal

of

St

John's

began

half

a

century before.

The

latter altar

possesses a

unique work

of art

-

a

beautiful

17th

century

Crucifix whose

bronze figure

of

Ghrist

has

lately been

attributed

to

Gian

Lorenzo

Bernini.^^

^N.L.M.

Archives

646

f. 83

(May

1699):

Avendo S.E.

ordinate a mro Lorenzo Cafar si

conduca

a Roma

con modelli

dell'altare

maggiore

della

nostra

maggior chiesa

conventuale

perche

con la

di

lui assistenza

s'introduca I'opera

da

farsi

di

marmo per Tornamento

di

detto

altare

^^

This

fine

bronze

crucifix

has so

far

eluded

scholarly attention.

The

attribution

of

its

manly

figure

of

Christ

to Bernini was made

by

Marc

Worsdale

-

oral

communication to

writer. Dr

Worsdale

affirms

that a

handful

of

similar

castings

for

the

same

figure

are currently

documented.

15


18/116


19/116


20/116

A

view

of

the

superb

high altar

and

the

Sanctuary

including

the stalls, the

choir-altar,

and

the

marble

group

of

the

Baptism

of Christ

The

Baptism

of Christ

-

a

larger-than-life

sculptural

group in

white

marble by

Giuseppe

Mazzuoli,

finished

c. 1701.

18


21/116

Fra

Giovanni

and Fra

Andrea

de Giovanni

IIWJS

M.MtI\

l()Mlll\l

/I

\l

II

\K

PRfOR

'':n

/ (

us irit

i)j

MOItIt

/KISMM

7KI0BI\M

';\l

1/

OJl)

lAIM

SKJMlVM

IIMJII

PKIMAM

SUSllNUII D'l

7

SI

ni

\il\i;iv

i6go

Fra

Stefano Maria

Lomellini


22/116

A close-up view

of the Baroque

Crucifix on the

choir-altar, recently

attributed

to Gian

Lorenzo

Bernini (d. 1680).

A

view

of the choir and

the

internal

East facade

of

St. John's

with

the twin

organs

and

the

apse-

painting

by Mattia

Preti.

i


23/116

One

of

the

carved

panels

of

the

choir

lectern.

The late

16th century

central

lectern of

richly

carved wood

in

the choir,

m

The fine

bronze

lectern

on

the

gospel-

side

in

the Sanctuary;

a

rare

example

of Flemish bronze sculpture,

dated

1557.


24/116

The

Nave

Apart

from

the

architecture,

the

nave

is dominated by Mattia

Preti's

vault-paintings

forming

a

cyclic

representation

of the

birth,

life

and

martrydom

of

St

John

the

Baptist,

patron-saint

of

the

Order,

to whom

its

conventual

church

was

dedicated.

The

fabulous

cycle

constitutes

a

tour-de-force

of

Baroque

decorative

art

and is arguably

the master-

piece

of

Mattia

Preti.

The

latter

had spent

the years

1661 to 1666 in

constant

labour to

realize

one

of

the most

valid

and

impressive

achievements

of

Baroque

illusionistic

art, that can

truthfully

be

des-

cribed

as

the

culmination

of

Preti's

artistic experience.

The

vault

is

itself

divided into

six

bays

which

arrangement

Preti

ingeniously

utilised to

fit-in

his

narrative cycle of

the

saints life,

by sub-

dividing each bay

into three

sections; that

provided

him

with 18

vignettes

each

containing an

episode

in

the

life of

the

Baptist,

starting

with

the

first

bay

adjacent

to

the West

wall

(the interior of

the facade)

and

continuing progressively inwards until the last

bay

(over

the

choir-

altar)

is reached.

The

reading of

the narrative within

each bay is to

proceed

from

the North

to

the

South (i.e. from the

viewer's

left to the

right facing the high

altar),

that is:

1st Bay: (N) The

priest

Zachary's vision in

the Tern.

pie.

(centre) Mary

visits Elizabeth, her kinswoman

(Visitation)

(S)

Birth

of

John

the Baptist

2nd Bay:

(N)

John

indicates

Jesus

as

the

Messiah

(Ecce Agnus

Dei)

(centre) Elizabeth

praying flanked

by

two angels

(S)

John

in

the

desert

3rd

Bay:

(N) Baptism

of

Christ

(centre)

God

the

Father in

the

act of

blessing.

(S)

John

preaching

in

the desert.

4th Bay:

(N)

The Baptist

arrested

by

Herod's

emissaries,

(centre)

John

handing

a coin to a

soldier

(S) The

imprisoned

John

interrogated

by

priests

and

levites.

5th Bay:

(N)

John

reproves

Herod for his immorality.

(centre)

Herodias holding

John's

head on a

platter.

(S)

John

despatches two disciples

to

Jesus.

6th

Bay:

(N)

Herodias

dancing during Herod's banquet,

(centre) A group

of

angels

playing

music.

(S) The

beheading

of

John

the Baptist

22


25/116

A/though

the

six bays exhaust the

narrative

account

of

the

Baptist's

life,

the

vault

paintings were in fact

completed

by the

addition

of

'St

John,

holding

the

Order's

standard,

kneeling before

the Holy Trinity'

painted

in the

apse

at

the

East-end

of

the

church. At

the

West

end

-

over

the

main entrance

-

Mattia

Preti

painted a splendid

allegory

of

the

Order

synthetizing

its twin crusading

ideals

-

namely,

that of

fighting

the Infidels,

and

that of

offering

hospitalling

assistance

to

the

sick.

The

two

allegories

incorporate

portraits

of the two Grand

Masters

under

whom Preti worked

-

Raphael Cotton

er (1660-1663)

and

Nicolas

Cottoner

(1663-1680).

The

vault-paintings include too representations

of

personages, saints

and

martyrs

of

the

Order, painted in pairs at

the sides

of

each oval

window.

Their

identity

is

as

follows:

Along

the

North

side of

church

(from

the

entrance to

the

apse):

Raymond du Puy (the CM. who gave the Order its Rule);

St

Flora

and

St Toscana; the

martyr

Domenico Carcia

Martinez and

Cherland

of Cermany;

Leone

Strozzi

and

Pietro

da Imola; Alain

de

Montal

and Pierre de Masseus; CM.

Philippe Villiers

de

Lisle Adam

and P.

de

Poliese; Calerano Parpaglia

and

A.

Pegullo.

Along

the South side

of

the church (from the entrance

to

the

apse):

the Blessed Cherard,

founder of

the

Order;

Pietro

C

Mecatti

and

St

Ubaldesca;

the martyrs St Ferrandino

and

St

Nicasio; Vespasiano

Malaspina

and

CM.

Jean

de La Cassiere;

Adrian Fortescue

and CM.

Jean

de

la

Valette;

Melchior de

Monserrat

and

Juan

D'Eguaras.

text

continues

on

page

42

The

late

16th

century

wooden pulpit of

St.

John's;

removed

to this

position

c. 1830.


26/116

The

vault

painting

by

Mattia

Preti:

The

priest

Zachary's

vision

in

the

Temple.


27/116

The

vault

painting

by

Mattia

Preti: Maty

visits

Elizabeth,

her

Kinswoman

(The Visitation)


28/116

The

vault

painting

by

Mattia

Preti:

Birth

of John

the

Baptist.


29/116

The

vault

painting

by

Mattia Preti:

John

indicates

Jesus as the

Messiah

(Ecce

Agnus

Dei)


30/116

The vault

painting

by

Mattia

Preti:

Elizabeth praying,

flanked

by two angels.

B

P-^

^^c

1

IK

^

w^'

1

m

KS^Unln^

WL^-

;

|vT

.^


31/116

The

vault

painting

by

Mattia

Preti:

John

in the desert.


32/116

The

vault

painting by

Mattia

Preti:

Baptism

of

Christ.


33/116

The

vault

painting

by

Mattia

Preti:

God the Father

in

the

act

of blessing.


34/116

The

vault

painting by

Mattia

Preti:

John

preaching in

the

desert.

Aife

-^

3

r

^\

w


35/116

The vault

painting by

Mattia

Preti:

The

Baptist

arrested by

Herod's

emissaries.


36/116

The vault

painting

by

Mattia

Preti:

John

handing

a coin

to a soldier.

' i

r

I

1

,

.

(

ill

1

w^

^^1

iii|

55n^l

_:^^ijtfy

- ^^^

S^ -

-

^

^p

j^^

^^

W^

^J^

-.,%

i^ifll

[^^'$9^'-'

__

J^p

SESwHHi^^

#

^^^

Ik^

-^-^

a

^1^^^

^K'^

'^^^^

#^'

IR

fev

-^

^

jPWfcj^-i^v^

3r

^'

^

m

3-fe,>

:%'

i^W

m

'm.

mf.

M-

?C:/.


37/116

The vault

painting

by Mattia

Preti:

John interrogated

by

priests

and

levites.


38/116

The

vault

painting by

Mattia

Preti:

John

reproves Herod for

his immorality.

Ji

K

p

ir

r/^

Mm

^^jr.


39/116

The

vault painting by Mattia Preti: Herodias

holding

John's head

on a

platter.

^-k.

Ill

TT

CC^M

t'

%

^k*

J

a^^i

'i^

^:

.fc^

-*

.

'/-^

*l^


40/116

The

vault

painting by

Mattia

Preti:

John

despatches

two

disciples

to

Jesus.

%^-:

#'

--

^'

i..irtiiiii

mil


41/116

The vault

painting

by Mattia

Preti:

Herodias

dancing

during

Herod's

banquet.


42/116

The

vault

painting by

Mattia

Preti: A

group

of

angels

playing

music.

f.-^.

^

^/4^'


43/116

The

vault

painting

by

Mattia

Preti:

The

beheading

of

John

the Baptist.

I

r


44/116

St.

John

the

Baptist,

patron

of

the

Order,

in glory;

apse-painting

by

Mattia Preti

(1661).

Mattia

Preti

spent

all his

skill and experience

in

painting

the

vault

of St

John's, taking in

his stride

several

risks

such as

purposely

avoiding

resort

to the normal

techniques

for

such

mural

paintings;

he

opted to

apply

oil-colours

directly

on the globigerina surface

with

apparently

hardly

any

preparation

worth

mentioning.

He

employed

a

rich

reper-

toire

of

Baroque

illusion

istic devices, such as

inventing

an

entire

architectural

framework that splendidly unites

the

entire

composition

together,

while permitting

the reading

of

the

narrative

cycle as

a

series

42


45/116


46/116

by

Carlo

Ignazio

Cortis,

and

finally cleaned and treated

in

the

1950s

by

an

equippe

from

the

Rome Istituto

Centrale

del

Restauro

led

by

Cesare

Brand

i'\

To

the

North side

of

the main

entrance, one sees

as

he

enters

a large

marble

and

bronze

monument

holding the

remains of

the

Siena-born

Grand

Master

Marcantonio Zondadari

(1720-1722)

nephew

of

Pope

Alexander

VII (better

known

in Malta as

the Inquisitor

Fabio

Chigi).

It

is

a

typical

flambuoyant

piece of early

18th century

sculpture

with

clever,

sensuous

use

of material,

a

fine

creation

by

the

Florentine

artist

Massimiliano Soldani Benzi

who

signed

this

monument in

1723.

^r-j^

A view of the

pavement in the nave of St.

John's

reflecting

a 200 years

tradition

in marble inlay

work

and

design.

A

h^^^W^m^^Ij


47/116

Bronze

and

marble

mausoleum

of

Grand

Master Zondadari

(1720-1722)

by

Massimiliano

Soldani

Benzi

(1658-1740).


48/116

The

Two

Aisles

The

Chapels

of

the

Langues

The

founder

of

the

conventual church ofSt

John,

Grand

Master

jean

de la

Cassiere

(1572-1581)

had

intended

as

far

back

as 1577

to assign

to

each

of the Order's

eight

Langues,

one of the side chapels placed in

the aisles.

The

formal

assignment

was

made

while

the

Chapter General of

the Order

was still in

session

in February

1604,

following in

general the rules

of

seniority

according

to

the date

of

foundation ofeach

Langue

or national

section .

Several

of

the

Chapels had

already

been provided with

altarpieces

between

1577

and

1604;

we

thus

know

that

the

first chapel along

the

S.

aisle

had been

dedicated

to

Our

Lady of Philermos

-

where the

Holy

Eucharist is now

kept;

the

fifth chapel in

the

same aisle

had an

altarpiece

of St

Sebastian,

while

the adjacent

sixth

or

last chapel

was

hosting the largepainting

ofThe

Scourging of

Christ

at least up

to

1602.

Another complication cropped

up due

to the Langue

of England

-

sixth

in

the

order of

precedence

-

having fallen

in

abeyance

after it

was

dispossessed

of

its properties

following

the schism

of

Henry

VIII.

In

the

final

arrangement reached

in

the

course

of

1604

Chapter

General,

it

was agreed to make

the

following assignment of

the aisle-

chapels:

1st chapel

S.

aisle

1st

chapel N. aisle

2nd

chapel

S. aisle

2nd

chapel

N.

aisle

3rd

chapel

S.

aisle

3rd

chapel

N.

aisle

4th

chapels

in

both

S. and N.

aisles

5th

chapel

S.

aisle

5th

chapel

N.

aisle

6th

chapel

N. aisle

Chapel of

Our Lady

of

Philermos

Chapel

of

the Langue

of Provence

dedicated

to

St Michael

Chapel of

the Langue

of

Auvergne dedicated

to

St

Sebastian

Chapel

of

the

Langue

of

France

dedicated

to

the Conversion

of

St

Paul

Chapel of

the Langue

of

Aragon,

Catalunya

and Navarre

-

dedicated to St

George

Chapel of the

Langue

of Italy,

dedicated

to

St

Catherine

of

Alexandria

passage-ways to

side exists

Chapel of the

Langue

of

Castile,

Leon

and

Portugal,

dedicated to St

James

the

Less.

Chapel

of the

Langue

of

Germany,

dedicated

to

the

Epiphany,

passage-way to

the

sacristy.

46


49/116

6th

chapel

S.

aisle

passage-way

to

the

Oratory.

Originally

held

the altarpiece

o/

Scourging

of

Christ

where

any

remaining

members

of

the

Langue

of

England

could congregate.

The

dedication of

its altar

to

St

Charles

Borromeo

was made

some years

later.

The chapel

formerly

of Our

Lady of

Philermos,

now

of

the

Blessed

Sacrament,

complete

with

the

silver

gate.


50/116

The

Chapel

of

Our

Lady

of

Philermos.

While

the

high

altar

and

the

sanctuary

area

were

the very focus

where

the

official

cult

with

its

rich

ceremonial

ritual

unfolded

itself, this small

chapel

constituted

the

hub

of

daily

religious

observance which

accounts

for

its

rich

material

endowment.

Grand

Master

La

Cassiere had placed

in

it the

hallowed

image

of

Our

Lady

of Philermos, a

much

venerated

Byzantine

icon

already

recorded

on

the

island

ofRhodes at the beginning

of

the

14th

century

and

which

the

Order

brought

to Malta

in

1530. It

remained

the

centre of

a

much diffused cult

particularly among the

Knights;so

much so

that

the last

Grand

Master

to

rule

in Malta,

Ferdinand

von

Liompesch

(1797-1798)

requested

General

Bonaparte's

permission

to

take it

away

with him

when

he

left

Malta. The old

icon

passed

into the

Russian

imperial

collections

after Tsar

Paul I was elected

Grand Master of

the

Order

of St

John;

finally the icon

was

received

as

a

gift

by

the

Karagiorgiovich

dynasty

of Yugoslavia

after 1917 who kept it in

the Royal

chapel of

Belgrade from

where

it disappeared in

1940;

it

is

rumoured to

be

now

kept

in

an

Orthodox monastery in

Montenegro.

''

The

old

icon was

replaced

in

1868 by

a

painting of

Pietro

Gagliardi,

now

removed to

theMdina

Cathedral

Museum; since

1954,

its

place

was

taken,

by

the early

17th

century

copy

of

Our Lady

of

Lanciano

(Matera),

known

as

Our

Lady

of

Carafa,

removed

from

the

chapel of

the

Italian

Langue

where

it

had

been placed in 16

19

after

the

death of

the pious fra

Gerolamo

Caraffa, prior

of Barletta, according

to

his own

last

wishes.

The

importance

attached

to

this chapel

can be

gauged

from the fact

that it

was put under

thejurisdiction

of

the

vice-prior

of

the

Church

with

a separate

financial

endowment

administered independently from

the

rest

of

the

Church.

It

is ornamented

with an

altar

and facade

of fine-inlay

marble

as well

as

with

a

richly gilt-sculptured ceiling

with

paintings

representing

'The

Annunciation'',

The

Virgin's Assumption

a/7G^

the

Coronation

of

the

Virgin

most

of

this

work

apparently

completed

before

1657

The

shrine

of

Our

Lady of Philermos

is enclosed by

a

marble

balustrade

and

the

famous

silver-gate

(a

kind of

iconostasisy*

which

replaced

an

eadier

one in

bronze, now placed In

the opposite chapel in

the

N.

aisle

(called

the

chapel of the

Anglo-Bavarian

Langue). The

silver-

gate

was

paid

for in

1752 from the

estate

of fra Guillaume de

Salle

and

in

part

by

the

ball' fra

Francesco

Rovero de

Guarena.

The

story, of

its

being

saved

from

the

French depredations

of

1798 by

means

of a ruse,

after

being

painted

black, is

in all probability fictitious.

The

monumental

crucifix

(c.

1532)

by

Polidoro

Caldara da

Caravaggio:

chapel

of

the

Sacrament.

W

48

(


51/116


52/116

A

bunch

of

keys

hanging on

one

side of

the chapel is

reputed

to be

the

keys

to

the

ribad

of

Hammamet

surrendered to

the

Knights

in

1602.

Of

far

greater

interest

are

the

works of art hanging

in

this

chapel,

particularly a

painted

monumental Cross

-

a fine

late

Renaissance

work

by

Polidoro

Caldara da

Caravaggio

(c.

1490

-

c.

1535),

probably

commissioned

by

the

Order

around

1532,

after the

choir

of

the

then

conventual

church

of St

Lawrence in the Borgo had

been

gutted

by

fire.

There is

also a

charming

Madonna

with Child,

a

typical

Renais-

sance

work

attributed to

Domenico

Puligo

(1492-c.

1527),

and

a copy

of

a

14th

century ''Annunciation'' with the

escutcheon

of the

prior of

the

church

Pedro Urrea Camiarasa

(1601-1624).

The connecting

gangway

between the Chapel

of

Our Lady

of Philermos

and the church

is usually

kept

closed

by

an

ornamental iron-grill

gate.

The

Deposition

Triptych

-

Netherlandish

school, early 16th century.

Formerly

kept in

the

Magisterial

Palace;

this

fine

work-of-art

was taken

to St.

John's

around 1811

and recently

removed

to the

Cathedral

Museum,

Mdina.

50


53/116

The

Chapel

of the Langue of Auvergne.

Dedicated

to

St

Sebastian,

it is also

the second

chapel in the

south

aisle.

It

shares,

with

the chapel of

the

Langue of Provence,

the

distinction

of

having the oldest surviving

altar-facade

in

St

John's

com-

plete

with

twisted

columns

that

for

a

time

had

become

the

rage,

after

Bernini had designed

the

baldacchino of the Vatican

basilica in

1624.

The

altarpiece,

depicting

the martrydom of

St Sebastian,

is

the

work

of

a minor

artist caught in the

cross-currents

between a fading Mannerist

tradition and the

newer interest

in

the sensuous

use of chiaroscuro

picked up

from

Caravaggio.

The

likeliest candidate

for

its authorship

is

Silvestro

Querio

(c.

1610-1672)

a

painter

who had

settled in Malta in

the late

1620s

and

was

known

as

11

Romano'

Inside

the two lateral

arches,

there are also

two

lunettes with scenes

from

the

life of

St

Sebastian,

Pope

Caius

blessing

the

saint,

and

his

subsequent martrydom. These rank

among the

best

works of

the

Messinese-born

painter

Giuseppe D'Arena

(c.

1647-1719)

who

in

1666

had married the daughter of Silvestro

Querio

and was

likewise

known

as II

Romano.

The two lunettes

attest the

Guercinesque

orientation

of

D'Arena's early training,

as

well

as

traces of Preti's influence, explaina-

ble

by

the fact that D'Arena had probably painted the

two

lunettes

around 1667

when Preti

had

just

completed his decoration of

the

vault.

The

sole sculptured

monument

in this

chapel is

the tomb

of

Grand

Master

Annet

de Clermont

de Chattes-Gessan

(9

Feb

to

2

June 1660),

a

sombre

Baroque work and the first

to abandon

the

finicky

concern

with

elaborate

ornamentation

characteristic

of

the

earlier Mannerist

monuments.

Traditionally,

the

Pilier

(head)

of

the Langue

of Auvergne

was also

the Marshall of the Order

^^

Vide Dominic

Cutajar, Seventeenth and

Eighteenth

century

art

in

Malta in

Marian

Art

during

the 17th

and

19th Centuries,

(edit.

M.

Buhagiar)

1983

pp.

15

and

17,

where

the

attribution

to Querio was

first

made and

where

attention was

drawn

to

the ambiguities

lurking

behind

the

appellation

o/Il Romano.

Carved

escutcheon

of

the Langue

of

Auvergne.

't^'TtxJ':^

llliUPIJ

I

If

'

^(p^


54/116


55/116

Martrydom of

St. Lawrence

by

Mattia Preti

-

lunette

in the chapel of Aragon.

A view

of

the altar facade in

the chapel of

Auvergne,

one of

the oldest

surviving

in

St.

John's.

IIK5??^

Jf-H-

ifiSi

SS^]

\M

rar^i^

B

ga^^WTkv^

S>j

i

r3

HI

i^^

IHi

W^

HrvBi

i

,,,,,

,

^

,7,'-

y

HPRRi

V...i

y^^


56/116

The

Chapel

of

the

Langue of

Aragon.

Dedicated to

St

George

and placed

third in

the

S.

aisle.

The

altar

and

its

entire facade

were

re-designed

in

marble

during

the

grandmaster-

ship

of

Ramon

Despuig

(1736-1741) whose effigy

in relief

appears

at

the

base

of

one

of

the altar's

columns.

The

altarpiece,

Preti's

famous

'St

George

was

probably

commissioned

by

Grand

Master Martin

De

Red

in

(1657-1660)

whom we

know

for certain

to

have also

ordered

from

Preti

in 1659

the

elegant St Francis

Xavier

hanging

above the

chapel's

gangway to the

Auvergne

chapel Both

lunettes, depicting

two

episodes

from

the

life

of St Lawrence, as

well

as

the

St

Firm

inus

hanging

opposite

the St

Francis Xavier,

are later

works

of

Mattia Preti

-

probably

provided

in the late 1660s,

thus

making of

this

chapel

a

miniature

but notable

gallery

of

Preti'

s

art

over

the

years

1659-1669.

The

altarpiece

of

Si

George

is

a

particularly

fine

artistic

accomplish-

ment enhanced

by

the

best

neo-Venetian

experiences

of

the

Calabrese

painter blended beautifully to

the

gentle forms Preti had

freshly imbued from his young rival

in Naples,

Luca Giordano. But the

Aragonese

chapel has other notable reasons

to

claim our attention,

namely

the sepulchral

monuments

of four Spanish Grand Masters. The

monuments

to Grand Master De

Redin

and that of Grand Master Rafel

Cottoner

(1660-1663)

-

facing each other in

the

chapel's interior

-

betray a rather

conservative

taste, practically

a

return

to

the

Mannerist

idiom,

although

restrained

and

modified by newer

Baroque

ideas.

With

the other

two monuments, the story

could

not be

more

different, for

we

have here

a veritable explosion of Baroque

inventive-

ness.

Particularly striking

is

the

monument

to

Grand Master

Nicola

Gottoner

(1663-1680),

once thought

to be

a

work

of Domenico

Guidi

(d.

1681),

but

more likely,

one of

the

best

productions of the

Florentine

sculptor

Gio.

Battista

Foggini

(1652-1737).''^

One catches

here

a

whiff of

Bernini's

own aplomb,

his

dynamism

and his flair

for

rhythmic

movement,

a

sensuous

suggestion

imparted

by

the

sculptor's

sen-

sitivity for

the material

Giuseppe

Mazzuoli

(1644-1725), the

sculptor of the

Baptism group

in

the choir,

has

to his

credit

the monument

to the

Catalan

Grand

Master

Ramon

Perellos

y

Roccaful

(1697-1720).

Together

with the

Maltese

sculptor

Melchior

Gafa

(1636-1667), Mazzuoli

was

a

pupil of

Frcole

Ferrata,

but

unlike

Gafa,

who congenially leaned towards

Bernini's

dynamic

Baroque,

Mazzuoli

followed

his master

Ferrata

in

his

sym-

pathies

with

the

classicist trait

of

Allessandro Algardi's

more staid

^^The

attribution

to

Giovanni

Battista Foggini

was

made

by

John Cauchi

in

St

John's:

Works

of

Art

reconsidered

in The

Church of

St John

in

Valletta

1578-1978

(ed. J.

Azzopardi)

1978

p.

13.

54


57/116

Baroque.

It

is

a regular

boon to students

of Baroque

sculpture

that

two

monuments

of

its

two

contrasting

strands

happen

to be

so

con-

veniently

placed

opposite each other

to

enable an

instructive

com-

parison

to

be drawn.

The

passageway to

the Museum of St

John

occupies

the place

of

fourth

'chaper

in the S. aisle. Its sides are elaborately

carved as

the

other

authentic

chapels with

the use

of

different

devices, including

the

cotton-plant,

that

appears

in the

heraldic

bearings

of

the

Cottoner

grandmasters

under

whom St

John's

was redecorated. Among the

St.

George

killing the

Dragon

(c.

1658)

by

Mattia

Preti; the

work was painted

in

Naples before

Preti's

first

visit

to

Malta in 1659.


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60/116

Up to

1736,

the

side-door

placed in

the

5.

aisle

gave

onto

the

cemetery

area

ofSt

John's

and to the crypt of Bartolott

The

erection

of

an

annex

on this

side

of

the

church disturbed

this

arrangement;

the

cemetery

is now reached

through the exit of

the Annex

itself,

while

the

crypt-entrance

is next to

the Oratory

beneath the stairway

leading

to

the

Museum

of

St

John's,

part of

which

was once

the

Archive-rooms

of

the

conventual church.

The

south

side-exit

of St.

John's

added

in

1736

when

the

two lateral

annexes

were

built. The

coat-

of-arms over the door

are of Grand Master

Manoel

Vilhena

(1722-1736).


61/116

The

Chapel of the Langue of

Castile.

Dedicated

to

St

James

the Less

and the fifth

chapel

in

the

S. aisle. The

old

altar-facade was the

last

of

St

John's

altars

to

be

re-done in

marble

in

1792,

a

few

years before

the

Order's

expulsion

from

Malta,

at the

same

time retaining

the Preti altarpiece.

Both

the

St

James

altarpiece

and the

two

lunettes

representing

'St

James assisting

the Spaniards

in

defeating the Moors'' and

'St

James'

vision

of our

Lady of Pilar

appear

to

date

from Preti'

s

later years

in the

1680s, when

Preti returned

to

the

earth-colour

harmonies of

his early

Neapolitan

years.

Particularly

eloquent

in this

respect is the

Documents

Malta - History and Works of Art of St Johns Church (Art eBook)