Maria de Dominici

Maria de Dominici
Born (1645-12-06)December 6, 1645
Vittoriosa, Malta
Died March 18, 1703(1703-03-18) (aged 57)
Rome, Italy
Resting place Santa Maria in Traspontina
Nationality Maltese, Italian
Known for sculpture, painting

Suor Maria de Dominici (Vittoriosa, Malta 6 December 1645– Rome, Italy 18 March 1703) was a Maltese painter, sculptor, and a Carmelite tertiary nun. Born into a family of artists, she was the daughter of a goldsmith and appraiser for the Knights of Malta.[1] Two of her brothers, Raimondo de Dominici and Francesco de Dominici, were painters.[1] Raimondo's son Bernardo would write a contemporary art history book that included references to Maria.[2]

Biography

During her teens, de Dominici studied under the painter and sculptor Mattia Preti, who was painting and sculpting the interior of St. John's Co-Cathedral in Valletta at the time. She is believed to have contributed.[3] She was a strong-minded and versatile person; characteristics clearly seen in the two wills she drafted.[2]

Being a Carmelite tertiary nun, she was free to live outside the convent walls and away from the constraints of family ties. In Rome, she lived with a woman companion at her studio near San Giovanni dei Fiorentini.[1]

Works

While in Malta, Maria de Dominici made a number of portable cult figures which were used during local religious festivities and street processions.[1] Several works are attributed to her name including The Visitation, in the Zebbug parish church; Beato Franco in the Carmelite church of Valletta and Annunciation in the Cathedral Museum of Valletta.

Tribute

Her profile is included in the two-volume Dictionary of Women Artists, edited by Delia Gaze.

In 2010, a crater on Mercury was named after her.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Delia Gaze, ed. (1997). Dictionary of Women Artists. 1. Taylor & Francis. p. 462.
  2. 1 2 de Dominici, Bernardo. Vite dei pittori, scultori ed architetti napoletani.
  3. ↑ Fr Mark Cauchi, OSA Valletta (2013-02-16). "Mattia Preti, a friend of the poor and needy". Times of Malta.
  4. ↑ "Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature". USGS Astrogeology Science Center.
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