In this shot I wanted to include the cathedral’s vault, though I didn’t leave out completely the tapestries. The vault was painted by Matia Preti, an Italian artist from Calabria who spent most of his life in Malta and is buried here in St John’s.
Preti’s link with Malta began when he was commissioned to paint a picture of St Francis Xavier by Grand Master Martin de Redin for the Chapel of Aragon, Catalonia and Navarre. He came to Malta in 1659. The following Grand Master, Raphael Cotoner, accepted Preti’s offer to decorate the entire vault of the church with scenes from the life of St John the Baptist, the patron saint of the Order. Consequently, Preti”s remuneration for the job was his election to the rank of a Knight of Grace of the Order. Not being a member of a noble family Preti would not otherwise have been entitled to become a Knight of the Order.
Thank you very much for your visits, for your comments and for the fav's on yesterday's picture.
Ian