prominent haloed head
which is turned in profile and framed by flowing locks and thick
beard, give it a rustic monumentality and reveal a fascination
with the grotesque. A touch of elegance is introduced by the
treatment of the single skin tunic, which is girdled at the
waist and fans out in stiff folds. A perplexing detail is the
heavy codex that the statue holds in one hand and which is an
unusual iconographical symbol for a St. John the Baptist. The
other hand carries the probable remains of a flag staff while
by the left foot is a small spherical object the meaning of
which is unknown. Seen from below the statue was presumably
intended to swell out as an impressive high relief. The date
and centre of production are unknown but the early sixteenth
century seems probable.
In 1684, Fra Pierre Vianny, Prior of the conventual
church, donated two carved wood statues, a St. John the Baptist
and a St. James, to the Grotto of St. Paul, at Rabat
(35). They were transferred,
a few years later, to the newly founded parish church of the
Assumption of the Virgin, at Dingli. The St. John has survived,
and in 1946 it was reported to be "covered with armorial
graffiti" (36). Successive
coats of dark varnish have since effectively obscured them except
for one small shield with the arms of Villiers de l'Isle Adam,
but I am realiably informed that some, at least, of the other
graffiti reproduced the same coat-of-arms (37).
The dating evidence given by graffiti can often be misleading
and should be treated with academic caution. In this particular
case they do, none the less, suggest a connection with the Master
who brought the Knights to Malta.
The statue has artistic interest and there
are stylistic affinities with the St. Anne medallion
that might indicate a similar provenance and history. It is
possible that it had an association with the Gran Caracca,
perhaps as a cult statue inside the chapel. The fact that it
is in the full round excludes the sometimes mooted idea - suggested
by the heavy, fleshy form - that it was a fixture on the poop,
or stern, of this or some other ship of the Knights. It was
certainly not fixed to a flat surface.
The statue shows a hieratic John the Baptist
standing in strict frontality and proffering the |
Agnus Dei for the veneration
of the spectator. The hand of the right arm is closed and could
have been intended to carry a staff with a pennant or, maybe,
a cross. There are hints of polychromy which indicate that the
statue may originally have been gilt and painted. The treatment
of the folds of the animal-skin tunic is of particular interest.
They fall in heavy, stiff pleats and are so arranged to thrust
into prominence the head and claws of the animal whose stylised
treatment translates it into an almost heraldic device.
The St. James is believed to have disappeared without
trace. There is, however, a possible connection with the statue
of St. Joseph venerated in the oratory of the Franciscan Minors'
church of Santa Maria di Gesù at Rabat. This statue has
no documented history. According to popular belief it was a
gift of the Master Villiers de l'Isle Adam who died in the adjoining
convent on 21st August 1534. Drastic modifications, gessoing,
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| Icon of the Eleimonitria.
Tempera on panel. 14th/or early 15th century. Heavily
restored and retouched. Greek Catholic Church, Valletta.
Photo credit: The Marquis Cassar de Sayn. |
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[35]An entry in the
account books of the Grotto (Archives of the Collegiate Church
of St. Paul, Rabat, vol. C [Conti] 5, f. 62) records the payment
of the sum of 6 tarí effected on 8th July 1684, to the
two men (burdinari) who transported the statues.
[36] H. Braun, Works of Art in Malta - Losses and Survivals
in the War, London (His Majesty's Stationery Office), 1946.
[37] Verbal communication by Captain C.G. Zammit, Director
of the National Museum Department (1954-1970).
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