Silva Rerum | 27.03.2020 I was visiting the Carmelite monastery in Mdina, Malta in May 2018. What instantly grabbed my attention was a painting located in the main altar. It bore a striking resemblance to a painting from the main altar in the church of St. Anna in Wilanów. This seventeenth-century picture depicting the Annunciation, 380 x 225 cm in size, is attributed to the Italian school of painting. It had been used to decorate a chapel in the castle of the Lubomirski family in Wiśnicz, Poland. Together with other religious objects, it was transported to the Wilanów temple at the beginning of the nineteenth century. The painting found its place in Wilanów thanks to the careful efforts of Aleksandra Potocka née Lubomirski, who worked to fully equip the eighteenth-century church.
The picture presents a scene in which Mary, deeply immersed in prayer, follows an angelic voice and turns her head towards Archangel Gabriel. Her right hand points towards her heart, in which she contemplates the words of the Gospel, while her left hand is placed on an open book. A blue shawl is wrapped around her blue robe. In the painting, Archangel Gabriel is placed on the left side of the composition, and while he is kneeling on the right knee, he points with his left hand to the source of the Good News in heaven. He holds a lily in his right hand. The dove hovering above the two figures symbolizes the Holy Spirit.
The painting in the Carmelite monastery in Mdina, 316 x 266 cm in size, is placed in the main altar. It similarly presents the scene of the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Although there are some noticeable differences between the two artworks, the composition, colors and spatial arrangement of the main characters are visibly similar. What is more, both pieces were painted in corresponding years and places. Annunciation from Mdina was painted by the eminent Maltese painter Stefano Erardi (1630-1716). Stefano Erardi was born in Valletta. His works can be found in churches and art collections all over Malta. He is also associated with Sicily, Naples and Rome. As a painter, he was supported by the Catholic church authorities and the Order of Malta.
The Carmelite Church in Mdina was built in the years 1660–1675, in honor of the Annunciation. The Carmelites chose the Blessed Virgin as their patron, therefore most of the churches of the Carmelite Order are dedicated to the Mother of Christ.
The scene of the Annunciation was painted by the artist in Valletta before 1677. The composition presents Mary praying, dressed in a red gown under a blue shawl. Mary is looking towards Archangel Gabriel. The angel is stepping on a cloud. His left hand points to the source of the Good News, and the other holds a lily. Between the figures there is also a hovering dove - a symbol of the Holy Spirit. The book, from which Mary just prayed, rests on the desktop of the table.
In case of the two paintings from Wilanów and Mdina, their main characteristics are very similar: the location of the main characters, their poses, as well as the form and color of clothing and the background colors. Both works present the moment when Mary’s prayer was interrupted by Annunciation - she stops the reading and turns her face towards the Archangel. In both paintings, Archangel Gabriel holds a lily in his right hand, with the left one pointing to heaven, while his feet rest on the cloud. However, there are also some differences. In the work from Wilanów, Mary points to the heart with her right hand while the left one rests on the book. In the picture from Mdina, the arrangement is exactly the opposite – she keeps the left hand on the heart the right one against the book. The Archangel from the picture in Wilanów kneels on his right knee, in the picture from Mdina on the left one.
Would those similarities make us to consider Stefano Erardi potentially as an author of the work in Wilanów? The Annunciation painting, currently placed in the main altar of the Wilanów collegiate church, was originally located in Wiśnicz castle. Wiśnicz's heir, Prince Hieronim Augustyn Lubomirski (1647–1706), Grand Hetman of the Crown, studied in Padua in 1663, at the age of 16. In 1668, he was appointed a Knight of the Order of Malta in Rome, and a year later he traveled to Malta. He delivered a letter to King Michał Korybut from the then Grand Master of the Order of Malta. Later, from 1670 onwards, Prince Lubomirski served in the Crown Army. In 1673, the Order of Malta gave him the power to represent its interests in Poland. Prince Lubomirski, who fought in the Battle of Vienna, secretly entered into a marriage in 1685, which was legalized in 1690 after his release from religious vows. A scandal was avoided thanks to the considerable help of King Jan III. At that time, Poland and Malta maintained good and lively relations. In 1679, King Jan III ordered Kazimierz Michał Pac, a Knight of Malta, to travel to Malta with a letter to the Grand Master outlining a proposal of far-reaching cooperation within the anti-Turkish league.
The previously mentioned journey of Hieronim Augustyn Lubomirski to Malta in 1669 coincided with the construction of the temple in Mdina (1660–1675). This happened a few years prior to the time when Stefano Erardi finished the Annunciation painting. However, is it possible that Prince Lubomirski met with Erardi, then 39 years old, during that journey? Perhaps, Prince Lubomirski, then 22 years old, ordered the work from Erardi, who later on created a similar painting to the one found in the temple in Mdina? It can be assumed that news of the painter’s fame, closely cooperating with the Order of Malta, had reached the influential prince, being himself a Knight of Malta. There is a question, however, if the trip to Malta in 1669 was Hieronim Augustyn Lubomirski’s only visit to the island. He could possibly, in later years, have had the opportunity to admire the completed temple in Mdina, together with the beautiful painting, and then he decided himself or through intermediaries to order a similar piece from Erardi. Nevertheless, the painting from Mdina was undoubtedly renowned.
Furthermore, according to the information provided by Dr. Charlo Camilleri from the University of Malta and a member of the Carmelite Order, every year between March 21 and 25 (usually March 25), sunlight illuminates the Annunciation in Mdina for several minutes around noon. The rays fall precisely at the dove and reach the womb of Mary. Thus, Stefano Erardi's work fits perfectly into the church’s architecture and reflects the cosmological dimension of the liturgical act.
Therefore, it is feasible to assume that Prince Hieronim Augustyn Lubomirski could have equipped the chapel at the family headquarters in Wiśnicz with the work of an outstanding Maltese painter. Both paintings, the one in Wilanów and the one in Mdina, were subjected to conservation works at similar times, too: the painting of Stefano Erardi in 2008, and the painting from Wilanów in 2011.
Bibliography:
1. Charlo Camilleri, Face to face with Mystery. Theological perspectives behind the painting of the Annunciation in the Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel – Mdina. A mystagogical Approach, “Melita Theologica”, Msida, 2016, “Journal of the Faculty of Theology”, University of Malta, 66/1.
2. www.carmelitepriory.org,
3. www.parafiawilanow.pl,
4. Tadeusz W. Lange, Maltański epizod Księcia Hieronima Lubomirskiego, „Limes. Studia i Materiały z Dziejów Europy Środkowo-Wschodniej” 2010–2011, nr 3–4.
5. Kazimierz Piwarski, Hieronim Lubomirski. Hetman Wielki Koronny, Oświęcim 2018 (reedycja z 1929 roku).
6. Karta inwentarzowa obiektu, Pracownia Konserwacji Malarstwa w Wilanowie, Dział Dokumentacji Naukowej, Muzeum Pałacu Króla Jana III w Wilanowie, nr inw. 1205/K.
7. Dokumentacja prac konserwatorskich i restauratorskich, Obraz olejny na płótnie Scena Zwiastowania, Kościół św. Anny w Wilanowie. t. 1 Dokumentacja merytoryczna, t. 2 Dokumentacja fotograficzna, Warszawa 2011.