Pomp and Circumstance

by Warren Bugeja and Bernadine Scicluna

A theatrical, crimson curtain draped voluminously across the painting leads the eye to an open palm nestling in the sleeve of a majestic robe, luxuriantly trimmed in ermine fur. Another hand rests atop a closed crown. These are not the props usually associated with an austere religious, military and hospitaller Order. When Antoine Favray painted this oil-on-canvas portrait of Grand Master Pinto, he was emulating the pomp and grandeur of aristocratic courts on the Continent. An audacious Pinto stands tall, peacock-proud, in a stance reminiscent of ‘Le Roi Soleil’ amidst the trappings that befit a king typical of the ‘ancien régime’.

Favray’s 18th-century portrait located within the ‘Style for Status’ Gallery at MUŻA was Principal Curator Bernadine Scicluna’s painting of choice when asked to select a favourite item within the national art collection for Heritage Malta’s HM TV series ‘Treasure to Meet You.’

“I am drawn to portraiture because of the human element, which I find extremely exciting and very engaging. Human beings are naturally curious about each other, “ Bernadine explains. Her curiosity was further piqued when standing before a portrait that is well over 250 years old. “I become utterly fascinated by what the sitter, via the artist, has succeeded in communicating and by how it has been conveyed,” she enthuses. Portraiture involves a particular rapport between the artist and the sitter – often a compromise, sometimes a tug of war or providentially an understanding between the aesthetic values of the artist and the sitter’s own dictates of how they should be recorded for posterity. “Favray must have won Pinto’s trust as he did a fantastic job at making him larger than life,” Scicluna muses. Pinto’s extravagant personality is inflated in the competent application of aesthetic conventions and the clever way everything is staged to virtually glorify the sitter through the choice of ceremonial dress, gestures, props, facial expression, quality and direction of light.

“One must remember that this is a state portrait of a public figure, and we would never, even conceivably, imagine that he would be painted in his underwear, without a wig, or appearing green with nausea, “ Bernadine laughs mischievously.

A norm that human vanity has adhered to through the ages. “We always want to appear looking our very best when we are photographed, and if we were to commission an artist to paint/draw/sculpt a portrait of us, we might want (depending on our pocket) to include props and/or secondary figures that are meaningful to our lives, such as a loved one or a pet, or possibly don our favourite piece of jewellery.” The same goes for Pinto– the closed crown, the rich, heavy velvet curtain, the ermine fur – these are all extensions that serve to enhance and say more about who the sitter was, his ego, his love for ostentation, besides following all that was expected of official portraiture.

Watch the feature here in English or Maltese

View Pinto’s portrait in person. Visit MUŻA here https://heritagemalta.mt/explore/muza/

‘Treasure to Meet You’ is uploaded to Heritage Malta’s Facebook page every Tuesday at 19:00. The intimate series consists of short features in both English and Maltese versions. Each week, viewers get to meet one of our dedicated curators, who were asked to select an artefact or feature from the National Collection to which they are particularly attached.