At first, it seemed that the choice of place, the date and the time were quite unusual.
It is not often that the History of Art Department at the university holds a lecture inside a parish church, almost completely decorated for the feast (which takes place today) and in festa week itself.
Later on, it transpired that Zebbuġ parish church itself has been organising such lectures around the annual festa to highlight the works of art and heritage in the building.
This time, on Tuesday, the lecture was given by Marie Claire Finger, who has just been awarded an MA in History of Art for her thesis on knight-artist Lucas Garnier, the painter of the huge altarpiece portraying St Philip – along with several other paintings – in the church.
Lucas Garnier may be described as the most important artist in Malta between Caravaggio in 1610 and Mattia Preti.
He was born to a noble family in Lorraine in France around the beginning of the 17th century, received his artistic training in nearby Nancy from disparate Baroque and Manierist sources and then made his way to Rome in 1630.
Apparently, there he realised his talent was not sufficient to get him far and this may have led him to think of Malta as a more likely place. He also applied to become a Knight of the Order of St John and was accepted.
In Rome he came under the influence of Guido Reni and his painting of St Ursula’s face in the Ta’ Giezu church in Valletta reproduces Reni’s painting of Cleopatra’s face in Rome. Also, his St Sebastian in St John’s Co-Cathedral is almost a copy of Reni’s St Sebastian in Rome.
Lucas Garnier arrived in Malta in 1630 and underwent the same training as all new knights. He found a French Grand Master, Lascaris, when he arrived, who was soon followed by another French Grand Master – De Paule.
His first known painting in Malta was a portrayal of St Francis but no one seems to have any idea of this painting’s whereabouts.
His first house in Malta was in Archbishop’s Street in Valletta, just across from the Palace, which may be a still rather neglected building on this street, which is sprouting bars and restaurants today. There may have been some connection between the artist and the Monte di Pieta di Redenzione degli Schiavi and in fact up to a few years ago the coat of arms of the association hung over the door.
His second house was further down Archbishop Street, facing the Archbishop’s Palace, and his third and last house was near St Elmo, where he may also have had his bottega (studio).
It was there, in 1670, that Lucas Garnier painted the Zebbuġ altarpiece. After that he did not paint anything else (by then, Mattia Preti had arrived and he was a much better painter). He left Malta for France after 1678 to be near his birthplace and nothing more is known of him.
For St John’s, as already mentioned, he painted St Sebastian for the Chapel of Auvergne and a lunette entitled The Apparition of St Michael on Mount Gargano for the Chapel of Provence.
All his paintings in Malta – some 12 in total – had religious themes. From painting for churches in Valletta he graduated to paintings for churches in Cottonera and later on for churches in the villages.
Some of his paintings are almost exact replicas of each other, such as his three paintings of Madonna del Rosario, one of which is in Zebbuġ church. Another painting in this church is The Assumption with St Lucy and St Agatha, earlier described as The Assumption with St Lucy and St Venera in Bishop Balaguer’s pastoral visit.
Another of Lucas Garnier’s paintings in Zebbuġ church is Holy Souls in Purgatory. He also painted a similar painting for Zurrieq church, while Mattia Preti at the same time painted a similar one for All Souls Church in Valletta.
The St Philip altarpiece in Zebbug portrays the saint killing the Cyclops with Mount Etna in the background. Once the festa celebrations are concluded, this painting will be removed for restoration.
In the last part of her lecture, Ms Finger had to battle with the sound of a band playing just outside the church, but she made it to the end.
After the lecture, the main altar’s silver antependium – which has been restored to its original glory – was unveiled. It can be enjoyed by all those who visit Zebbuġ church on its feast day today.