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This art collection occupies
three floors of a fine baroque palazzo, built by the Knights in the 16th
century and remodeled in the 18th century. For many years it served as the
official residence of the Commander-in-Chief of the British fleet and was
commonly known as Admiralty House.
The collection begins with medieval Italian works and goes through to
modern Maltese art. The highlights are the baroque paintings by Mattia
Preti and the 20th-century sculpture by Antonio Sciortino.
Visits start on the first floor, reached via a splendid rococo staircase.
Plastercasts by the Maltese sculptor, Antonio Sciortino (1879 - 1947), are
well displayed. The sculptor was obsessed with the theme of dynamic
movement - illustrated well by the cast of Speed. Room 8 features a
painting of Christ the Redeemer by Guido Reni which once hung in the
private suite of the Grand Masters' Palace. Rooms 8 to 11 have a series of
large and striking canvasses in the style of Caravaggio.
Room 12 is devoted to the work of Mattia Preti (1613-99) who transformed St
John's Co-Cathedral into a blazing monument to the glory of the Order.
Preti came from Calabria but moved to Malta in 1661 to decorate the
cathedral. He was made a Knight and spent the last 40 years of his life
here. His paintings, full of movement and scenic effects, demonstrate the
strong influence of Caravaggio and - in their colouring - Venetian artists
of the late 16th century.
The ground floor rooms are devoted to 18th-century French and Italian
painters, plus a section on modern Maltese art. Antoine de Favray's The
Visit illustrates a typical bourgeois Maltese interior of the 18th century
and the views of Valletta by Louis du Cros give a good idea of what the
city looked like two centuries ago.
The basement contains memorabilia of the Order, ceramics and silverware
from the Sacra Infirmeria.
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