(b 1710; d 1773). Maltese painter. He was arguably Malta’s greatest native-born painter and one of the most gifted 18th-century artists south of Rome. He belonged to an artistically talented family, and his father, Pietro Paolo Zahra (1685–1747), was a popular stone-carver and a distinguished architect. Nothing is known of his upbringing but his surviving letters make it apparent that he received some sort of education, while his fluency in the late Baroque suggests a knowledge of the work of Francesco Solimena and a probable period of study in Naples. Another important influence was the work of Mattia Preti, to which he had easy access in Malta. The full impact of the Neapolitan Baroque is fully realized in the splendid Virgin of the Rosary (Tarxien, Parish Church) and the Miracle of St Vincent Ferrer (Valletta, Dominican Priory). His masterpiece, however, was the ceiling decoration of the chapter house of Mdina Cathedral, which he painted in oil on canvas stretched on a wooden framework. Completed in 1756, it employs with understanding various illusionistic Baroque devices. His later works are characterized by a classicizing restraint and sober iconography. They reveal a knowledge of the Roman school, which he acquired through Antoine de Favray, who exercised a disciplining influence on him. Zahra was extremely prolific and his paintings are found in many of Malta’s churches. He was also in frequent demand as a portrait painter: the National Museum, Valletta, houses an attributed self-portrait.