L’enigmatico Cassarino and regional caravaggism in early 17th-century Malta

Abstract

The main aim of this thesis is to study and analyse the enigmatic artistic figure of Cassarino and Malta as regional Caravaggesque hub in the early 17th century. Secondly this thesis aims to try and solve an artistic enigma that has been intriguing local historians for the past forty four years; that of Giulio Cassarino. An attempt will also be made to present for the first time a full catalogue of Cassarino’s works. In the first decades of the seventeenth century and after Caravaggio’s short sojourn on the island, Malta under the Magistry of Alof de Wignacourt (1601- 22) experienced its own timid Caravaggesque period. Artists came into contact with Caravaggio’s late works and the native artists who never left the island had only Caravaggio’s Maltese works as a source of influence. Others who saw Caravaggio’s Sicilian work tried, and mostly failed, to imprint their works with a Sicilian Caravaggesque spirit. Probably without any proper artistic training, these artists assimilated Caravaggio’s technique in their own manner and taste, hence producing vernacular works. The majority of these works retain a strong vernacular idiom and are only Caravaggesque in spirit with timid attempts of chiaroscuro. Having said so this study aims to study in much more depth this timid Caravaggesque period, its corpus of works both in public and private collections and their connection with regional Sicilian Caravaggism. Special emphasis is being made on the enigmatic Sicilian artist who signed his works as Cassarino, active in Malta in the early seventeenth century and to a number of anonymous works which bear the coat of arms of Fra Pietro Urrea Camarasa. The latter corpus of paintings in some points comes very close to the signed works of Cassarino and here it is being hypothesised that they could be the work of the same artist. If this is the case, Cassarino had one of the most influential knight in the Order of St John as his patron. Also important is to consider the context of regional Caravaggism in Sicily and how this reached Malta through Mario Minniti and Cassarino. Thus, it will be shown that one can talk about Maltese and Sicilian regional Caravaggesque crossroads.