Roman Baroque sculpture for the Order of Malta

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to study the mechanics of the patronage of Roman Baroque sculpture for the Order of St John in Malta. Its aims at quantifying the extent of this patronage and at qualifying the importance of the commissioned works within the wider context of Roman Baroque sculpture. It attempts to synthesize the variety of commissions into a coherent picture and to place them in the broader political and social context of seventeenth and eighteenth century Malta and within the financial framework of the Order. Important contributions on the subject were presented by Jennifer Montagu, who defined the parameters for Alessandro Algardi in Malta, and by Hanno Walter Kruft who was instrumental in presenting a case for Ciro Ferri. Edward Sammut reconstructed the general outline for Melchiorre Cafa's work for the Order, whilst Klaus Lankheit's seminal work on Massimiliano Soldani-Benzi and Florentine Baroque sculpture for Malta has virtually exhausted research work on the subject. This notwithstanding, a comprehensive analysis of Roman Baroque sculpture for Malta and a number of works discussed in this thesis were often ignored in the general discussion of Roman Baroque art. Some works, of considerable importance for the study of Baroque art, were unattributed and very little was known about them. This thesis also aims at identifying the authors of these works. There has similarly been no attempt to define the way in which the Convent's commissions were undertaken and little was known of the personages who took care of the Order's artistic affairs in Rome. Moreover, the methods for the transport of the work of art, so essential to the general history of the art of the period were never before studied and little was known of the technicalities for bringing Roman Baroque sculpture to Malta. This thesis is an attempt to fill these lacunae. I have tried to avoid making the sculptures an excuse for narrative excursions but have concentrated on analysing the historical and religious context that brought the need for the works of art, which have been studied in their technical and stylistic context. The introduction contains new material on the Convent's admiration for the work of Rome and discusses the context that aroused, and maintained, such an admiration. It is followed by a chapter that synoptically discusses the frameworks of its artistic patronage and identifies its procedures. The succeeding chapters, each a study of a separate theme, divide the bulk of the works in the three major impetuses that created the need for quality sculpture. These were the glorification of the Order's patron and protector St John the Baptist, the funerary commemoration of the Grand Masters, and the service and adoration of the Eucharist. The chapters are not isolated studies, but are united by a basic idea that is referred to in the title. The study is based on extensive archival and stylistic research, carried out primarily in Malta, Rome, and Naples. The archival references quoted in the main text have, however, been intentionally limited and selective. Original texts have only been reproduced where they are essential for the understanding of the commission, and where translations would have not worked out. Extracts from other documents, mostly hitherto unpublished, have been reproduced in the notes where specifically necessary. Important documents have, moreover, also been transcribed in full and presented in an Appendix. [...]