His Honour Judge Giovanni Bonello and his sister Ms Anna Xuereb, presented Heritage Malta’s National Museum of Fine Arts with an important painting representing the Mystic Marriage of St Catherine of Alexandria by the Florentine Mannerist Artist Filippo Paladini (1544-1616). The painting was presented during an informal signing ceremony held last week at the Art Library of the National Museum of Fine Arts during which Judge Bonello and his sister presented the painting to the museum’s Senior Curator.

Filippo Paladini is perhaps one of the most important Mannerist artists to work in Malta during the late 16th century. He arrived in Malta as a forzato or galley rower but immediately attracted the attention of Grandmaster Verdalle who commissioned him a number of grand-scale works including the decorative scheme for his chapel at the Grandmaster’s Palace (Valletta) and the recently restored decorative scheme for Verdala Castle. He later moved to Sicily where his art was influenced by Caravaggio’s. In spite of his transfer to Sicily, Paladini continued to work on commissions for Malta such as the altarpainting for St James the Less in the church of St James, in Merchants Street.

This easel painting is perhaps one of the few if not the only one painted by Paladini. It originally belonged to Judge Bonello’s father Vincenzo Bonello, who in 1923 founded the Fine Arts Section within the Museums Department, (later to become the National Museum of Fine Arts). The presentation has been affected to also commemorate the important contribution that Vincenzo Bonello gave to the local heritage sector. He was instrumental in bringing together a collection of international standing through the well-thought transfer of paintings and high profile acquisitions. His contribution to stimulating a greater awareness towards our Heritage also led to the effective safeguard of monuments and historic sites that are to this very day part and parcel of our national Heritage.

This coming October, the National Museum of Fine Arts will be holding a number of commemorative events on the occasion of the 40th anniversary from the demise of Vincenzo Bonello (1969-2009) during which the painting will also be officially presented to the general public. Heritage Malta has also decided to name the new Art Library at the National Museum of Fine Arts after Vincenzo Bonello. The Library, a four year project initiated in 2006 and concluded a few months ago, was entirely funded by HSBC.

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