Caravaggio's "Portrait of Alof de Wignacourt and a Page": An image of the exemplary Christian knight

Caravaggio’s Portrait of Alof de Wignacourt with a Page (1609), painted during the artist’s period of exile in Malta, is the only multi-figure, full-length portrait of his career.  The aspect of the portrait that has most intrigued scholars is the seemingly outdated suit of armor worn by Wignacourt.  It is my contention that the armor was conscientiously chosen by the Grand Master of the Knights of Malta as a means to creating an historical identity for himself, one that emphasized the special position of the Knights of Malta, and himself as their leader, as the “Shield of Christendom.”  A key to understanding Wignacourt’s portrait and the idea of creating an historical lineage can be found in Tintoretto’s Portrait of Sebastiano Venier and a Page (1572-80).  In addition to the undeniable compositional similarities, Tintoretto’s portrait contains a specific referent, the legendary Battle of Lepanto of 1571.  The battle was fought and won by the Christians against the Turks, preventing, as it was hoped at the time, any further threat of Turkish invasion into Western Europe.  Caravaggio’s adaptation of the Venier prototype was a means of recalling Wignacourt’s own participation, and that of the Knights of Malta, in the renowned battle. It furthermore connected that specific moment history with Wignacourt’s position as Grand Master of the Knights of St. John of Malta at a time when the threat of another Turkish invasion hung heavily in the air. Caravaggio’s portrait can thus be seen as a means of creating an historical identity for Wignacourt as a man who embodied all that it meant to be an exemplary Christian Knight standing ever at the ready in defense of Christendom.

Location: LDSOA, Room 150