Art in times of crisis. The Camarassa plot and the Mercedarian Cycle in Cagliari (1670-72)

During the last phase of the Iberian rule in Sardinia, during that uncertain period of transition towards a new political arena, the city of Cagliari, traditionally linked with Eastern Spain from a commercial and cultural viewpoint, underwent a prolific period of cultural and artistic innovation. Some foreign artists like the Roman painter Domenico Conti, played a decisive role when they met with the tradition of insular art and image. During the political crisis between the Hispanic monarchy and some members of the Sardinian aristocracy, following the Viceroy Camarassa’s murder, he painted sixteen large paintings on canvas for the Mercedarian Order inside the Bonaria Sanctuary in Cagliari (167072). This essay offers an ideological and spiritual viewpoint of the set of the paintings.