Stefano Erardi (1630–1716) was a
Maltese painter whose works may be found in many churches around the Maltese Islands. His style has been described as either late
Mannerist
Mannerism, which may also be known as Late Renaissance, is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Italy, ...
or
Baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
.
Biography
Erardi was born in
Valletta
Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an Local councils of Malta, administrative unit and capital city, capital of Malta. Located on the Malta (island), main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, i ...
in 1630 to Sebastiano Erardi and Paulica Xerri. His younger brother
Pietro
Pietro is an Italian masculine given name. Notable people with the name include:
People
* Pietro I Candiano (c. 842–887), briefly the 16th Doge of Venice
* Pietro Tribuno (died 912), 17th Doge of Venice, from 887 to his death
* Pietro II Can ...
was also a minor artist. Erardi married Caterina Buttigieg, and their son
Alessio Erardi also became a painter.
His works may be regarded as either late examples of
Mannerism
Mannerism, which may also be known as Late Renaissance, is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Italy, ...
or early
Baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
. Mannerism was outdated by Erardi's lifetime, but he probably became familiar with this style through studying paintings located in churches and collections in Malta.
Erardi might have also been influenced by the works of Baroque artists such as
Caravaggio
Michelangelo Merisi (Michele Angelo Merigi or Amerighi) da Caravaggio, known as simply Caravaggio (, , ; 29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610), was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the final four years of hi ...
,
Domenichino
Domenico Zampieri (, ; October 21, 1581 – April 6, 1641), known by the diminutive Domenichino (, ) after his shortness, was an Italian Baroque painter of the Bolognese School of painters.
Life
Domenichino was born in Bologna, son of a shoem ...
and
Guido Reni
Guido Reni (; 4 November 1575 – 18 August 1642) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, although his works showed a classical manner, similar to Simon Vouet, Nicolas Poussin, and Philippe de Champaigne. He painted primarily religious ...
.
Erardi was favoured among the government and church authorities, and consequently his paintings may be found in many churches and collections around Malta. He also had connections with
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
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, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
,
Naples
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
and
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
which were secured by the
Order of St. John and the church.
Works
Works by Erardi may be found in many church buildings throughout Malta and Gozo. Some notable paintings attributed to him include ''Adoration of the Magi'' (1667) at the Chapel of the Langue of Germany in
Saint John's Co-Cathedral
St John's Co-Cathedral ( mt, Kon-Katidral ta' San Ġwann) is a Roman Catholic co-cathedral in Valletta, Malta, dedicated to Saint John the Baptist. It was built by the Order of St. John between 1573 and 1578, having been commissioned by Grand Ma ...
, ''Our Lady with the Child Jesus'' at
Mdina cathedral, and ''St Zita and St James'' and ''St Barbara'' at the
Gozo cathedral. Several churches in Valletta contain paintings by Erardi, including the
Collegiate Parish Church of St Paul's Shipwreck
The Collegiate Parish Church of St Paul's Shipwreck, also known as simply the Church of St Paul's Shipwreck, is a Roman Catholic parish church in Valletta, Malta. It is one of Valletta's oldest churches.
History
Saint Paul the Apostle is consi ...
, the
Jesuit church, and the churches of
Our Lady of Pilar
Our Lady of the Pillar ( es, Nuestra Señora del Pilar) is the name given to the Blessed Virgin Mary in the context of the traditional belief that Mary, while living in Jerusalem, supernaturally appeared to the Apostle James the Greater in AD 4 ...
,
St. Mary of Jesus,
St. Nicholas
Saint Nicholas of Myra, ; la, Sanctus Nicolaus (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greek descent from the maritime city of Myra in Asia Minor (; modern-day Demre ...
and
St. Roque.
Other paintings by Erardi may be found in the parish churches of
Birgu
Birgu ( mt, Il-Birgu , it, Vittoriosa), also known by its title Città Vittoriosa ("''Victorious City''"), is an old fortified city on the south side of the Grand Harbour in the South Eastern Region of Malta. The city occupies a promontory of ...
,
Birkirkara
Birkirkara (abbreviated as B'Kara) is a city in the central region of Malta. It is the second most populous on the island, with 24,356 inhabitants as of 2020. The town consists of five autonomous parishes: Saint Helen, Saint Joseph the Worker, Ou ...
,
Cospicua
Cospicua ( mt, Bormla ), also known by its titles Città Cospicua or Civitas Cottonera, is a double-fortified harbour city in the South Eastern Region of Malta. Along with Birgu and Senglea, it is one of the Three Cities, located within the Grand ...
,
Kirkop
Kirkop ( mt, Ħal Kirkop) is a village in the Southern Region of Malta. It is found near the Malta International Airport, and has been inhabited since pre-history. The parish church is dedicated to Saint Leonard. The football team of the villa ...
,
Mosta
Mosta ( mt, Il-Mosta) is a small but densely populated city in the Northern Region of Malta. The most prominent building in Mosta is the Rotunda, a large basilica built by its parishioners' volunteer labour. It features the world's 3rd largest ...
,
Msida
Msida ( mt, L-Imsida, it, Misida) is a harbour town in the Central Region of Malta with a population of 7, 623 (2021).
Location
The town is located just west of Valletta on the northeast coast of Malta.
The neighbouring towns of Msida are ...
,
Naxxar
Naxxar ( mt, In-Naxxar) is a small city in the Northern Region of Malta, with a population of 14,891 people as of March 2014. The Naxxar Church is dedicated to Our Lady of Victories. The annual village feast is celebrated on 8 September. Naxx ...
,
Qormi
Qormi ( mt, Ħal Qormi ; pronounced in the Qormi dialect), also known by its title Città Pinto, is a city in the Southern Region of Malta, southwest of Valletta in the centre of the island. It has a population of 16,324 (as of March 2018), mak ...
,
Qrendi
Qrendi ( mt, Il-Qrendi) is a village in the Southern Region of Malta, with a population of 2752 people as of March 2014. It is located close to Mqabba, Żurrieq and Siggiewi. Within its boundaries are two well-known Neolithic temples called ...
,
Safi,
Sannat
Sannat ( mt, Ta' Sannat) is an administrative unit of Malta
Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Li ...
,
Victoria, Gozo
Victoria ( mt, Il-Belt Victoria, meaning "the city Victoria"), also known among the native Maltese as Rabat (which is the name of the old town centre) or by its title Città Victoria, is an administrative unit of Malta, the largest and most pr ...
and
Żurrieq
Żurrieq ( mt, Iż-Żurrieq ) is a town in the Southern Region of Malta. It is one of the oldest towns in the country, and it has a population of 11,823 inhabitants as of March 2014. The first documentation about it being a parish dates back to ...
, along with the
Sanctuary of Our Lady of Mellieħa and in numerous other churches and chapels.
Other works may be found in the
Wignacourt Museum Wignacourt is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
House of Vignacourt
*Adrien de Wignacourt (1618–1697), Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller from 1690 to 1697
*Alof de Wignacourt (1547–1622), Grand Master of the Knights Ho ...
, the
National Museum of Fine Arts and the
Inquisitor's Palace.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Erardi, Stefano
1630 births
1716 deaths
17th-century Maltese painters
18th-century Maltese painters
18th-century male artists
People from Valletta
Mannerist painters
Baroque painters
Maltese artists