Amazingly, although I have been to Malta twice before and the Cathedral of St. John so many times I have lost count, for the first time today, I saw the Flemish Tapestries. Here is one example, The Resurrection of Our Lord. Here is a mini-history of the tapestries, plus the page where you can see more of these exquisite works. http://stjohnscocathedral.com/the-collections/gallery-of-tapestries.html
The set of Flemish Tapestries at St John’s Co-Cathedral was the gift made to the church by the Aragonese Grand Master Ramon Perellos y Roccaful upon his election in 1697. The tapestries are the largest complete set in the world and consist of twenty-nine pieces ordered from the Brussels atelier of Judocus de Vos.
The tapestries are woven entirely from the finest wool and silk yarns and measure 6 meters in height. The overwhelming dimensions and the exuberant character of the designs based on cartoons prepared by the renowned artist Peter Paul Rubens render this set one of the most spectacular interpretations of baroque art. By 1701 the set had reached Malta and brought the embellishment of the church to a climax. The full length portrait of Grand Master Perellos hanging majestically over the doorway had a lasting impression as the visitor exited the church.
The entire set of tapestries consists of fourteen large scenes depicting the life of Christ and allegories and fourteen panels representing the Virgin Mary, Christ the Saviour and the Apostles. This grand set of tapestries portrays the principal and fundamental Divine truths of the Catholic faith and was intended to convey a message, that is, the supremacy of the Catholic Church and the fame and grandeur of the Grand Master and the Order. The tapestries were originally suspended from the main cornice along the nave of the church during important occasions such as the feast of St John the Baptist.
The other wonderful works of art I saw today were the Choral Books, and here is a short text of those. http://stjohnscocathedral.com/the-collections/choral-books.html
The Graduals of L'Isle Adam
The largest and most important set consists of 10 choral books and is the gift of Grand Master L'Isle Adam. These illuminated choral books called ‘graduals’ consist of chants for the mass of the Roman Church and accompany the communion service.
Each choral book features hand painted illuminations of exceptional beauty, with gold leaf as a background adding to their brilliance. These splendid miniatures (as they are called due to their minute detail) have been painted by different hands, reflecting the current artistic trend of each painter.
The Verdalle Antiphonaries
Another set of choral books, bearing the arms of Grand Master Verdalle, is included in this collection. Referred to as antiphonaries, they contain the sung parts of the divine office (the musical sections used during daily services, at the various canonical hours of the day that do not feature in graduals).
The Verdalle antiphonaries number seven in total and contain the Proper and Common of saints. All are in parchment and accommodate 150 illuminated initials each.
Antonie de Paule’s Antiphonaries
The collection of Grand Master Antonie de Paule consist of two manuscripts in parchment. They are antiphonaries for the Temporal cycle of the church year.
