Leonello Spada’s fresco cycle at the Grand Master’s Palace, Valletta, which depicts the early history of the Order of St John, is the subject of a public lecture by Ph.D candidate Frederica Agius on Thursday at 6.30pm at the Palace.

In the lecture, Agius will argue that the patron of the cycle, Grand Master Alof de Wignacourt, gave a markedly political slant to the troubled history of the Order, and that specific episodes were chosen from Giacomo Bosio’s then recently published History of the Order to give it a glorious narrative. The iconography, style and historical content will be discussed on site with direct reference to the frescoes.

The lecture, entitled ‘Leonello Spada’s Historia at the Grand Master’s Palace: A Discussion on the Context and Sources’, is being organised by the University of Malta’s Department of History of Art and the History of Art and Fine Arts Student Association.

The public is invited to attend.