How a Mattia Preti painting returned to Malta 200 years after it disappeared
Art historian Theresa Vella was researching for a book when she spotted a painting illustrated within a watercolour by artist Charles Frederick de Brocktorff depicting the grandiose interior of the Grandmaster’s Palace in Valletta.
She immediately recognised that one of the paintings hanging on the palace wall, as depicted by Brocktorff in the 1820s, was the work of Italian artist Mattia Preti (1613-99).
As she dug deeper, Vella soon learnt the painting was Boethius Consoled by Philosophy.
John Spike, the world leading expert on Preti, had recognised it as one of Preti’s late masterpieces. This was a painting that had mysteriously disappeared from the Valletta palace over a century ago.
“I thought to myself: OK. Deep breath. We’ve got a line of investigation here. This was a rare moment of recognising what left the palace. That discovery was particularly gratifying. It was a very unexpected journey of discovery,” says Vella. She spoke with the hindsight of having worked in Malta’s heritage sector for over 25 years.
Vella had just made a priceless link in Malta’s art history. She connected the dots: Preti’s painting Boethius Consoled by Philosophy ‒ the whereabouts of which...