Tuesday 2nd February 2010 at 00:00

Press Release  -St John’s Co-Cathedral Foundation

The St John’s Co-Cathedral Foundation is pleased to announce that the painting depicting ‘St James the Less’, one of the many important works of art by the renowned Calabrian artist Mattia Preti is soon to start undergoing restoration thanks to the initiative of the National Student Travel Foundation (Malta), that has generously offered to sponsor the restoration of this painting.

Mr Paul A. Attard President of the St John’s Co-Cathedral Foundation said that the Foundation is committed to ensure the effective conservation of St John’s Co-Cathedral and its several important works of art and the initiative of NSTF is most appreciated and highly commended. He encouraged other entities, especially those that benefit from tourism, to contribute to safeguarding this unique and precious monument.

Mr Attard added that ”we are only the caretakers and we are committed to hand down St John’s Co-Cathedral, which  is the pride of the Maltese Nation and the main attraction for visitors to our islands, in the best possible state of conservation for future generations to appreciate and enjoy”.

This is not the first time that NSTF is sponsoring the restoration of a work of art at St John’s. In 1998 it sponsored the restoration of the painting showing ‘The Baptism of Christ’ by Mateo Perez d’Aleccio while in 1996 it sponsored the visit of experts from the Istituto di Restauro di Roma which gave an impetus to the preservation programme of the Co-Cathedral with the restoration of the silver and gilded bronze Monstrance by Ciro Ferri.

Mr Francis Stivala, Secretary General of NSTF, expressed his deep satisfaction in continuing to contribute to the restoration of another work of art at St John’s.  He said that the preservation of our artistic heritage is both a responsibility and a duty and NSTF will continue to be at the forefront to promote Malta’s heritage. This project comes right on the heels of the completion of the restoration of another Mattia Preti masterpiece that has just been sponsored by NSTF.

Ms Cynthia de Giorgio the Curator of St John’s Co-Cathedral said that the painting which is the main altarpiece of the chapel dedicated to the Apostle James as patron saint of Spain was is need of restoration as it had suffered from the ravishes of time and showed serious signs of deterioration of the paint layer as well as the supporting canvas and frame. She added that it is a powerful image of the type of monumental Baroque art practised during the seventeenth century and is amongst the finest in both its Baroque macchina and technical bravura.   Here Preti represents the saint as a pilgrim surrounded by a host of attributes.  According to legend, James travelled as a missionary to Spain, and then returned to Judea where he was martyred. The angels bore his body to Compostela where the shrine of St James became one of the most venerated destinations for pilgrims. It was probably installed during the 1660s when most of the chapels were being renovated concurrently when Preti was decorating the vault of St John’s.
The restoration will be carried out by Giuseppe Mantella, Restauro e Conservazione Opera d’Arte.

Cynthia de Giorgio
Curator
St John’s Co-Cathedral Foundation