This watercolour was recently digitised by The Watercolour World, and is one of many costume studies held in the museum collections. This example was painted by Vincenzo Feneck, who was a prolific painter of costume studies between 1790 and 1810, but about whom little biographical detail is known. 

 This example is captioned “Il Gran Maestro di Malta” (The Grand Master of Malta), and shows a man in full ceremonial dress, adorned with the Order’s white cross and lined with fur. The man is shown standing on lush carpet, with a draped table next to him holding a crown and possibly a sword.  

While the costume portrays what a Grand Master may have worn, the crown next to him is more symbolic of the power that the Grand Masters had over Malta, acting as leaders, minting their own money and ruling the country.  

There are many of these kinds of watercolours around, showing everything from typical townspeople to nobles, and are illustrative of the booming souvenir market as Malta became a popular holiday destination 19th Century. The museum collections contain many examples of 19th century souvenirs including papier mache figurines, some of which are on display at the museum, which also show what the knights of old and the people of Malta would have worn.