Baroque Painting in Malta

Baroque Painting in Malta

Author: Keith Sciberras

Publisher:

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 476

ISBN-13:

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The story of Baroque painting in Malta reflects that of the Italian peninsula and, in many ways, can be directly integrated within it. In terms of quantity, the island was impressively prolific. In terms of quality, works vary tremendously. There were, however, celebrated instances when the island was significantly at the forefront of stylistic development. A handful of Maltese artists worked beyond the island's shores and some, like the painter Francesco Noletti (il Fieravino), made major breakthroughs in Rome, the 'mother' of all cities. The island's small size also meant that it could be easily conditioned by one or two major artists working there. Therefore, a talented artist, Maltese or foreign, could exert tremendous influence on the stylistic currents that prevailed. The story of Baroque painting in Malta is thus marked by such artists. Contents: The pre-Baroque Years; Caravaggio; Leonello Spada; Caravaggism in Malta: Imported Works; Caravaggism in Malta: Copies after Caravaggio and Works executed in Malta; The mid- eventeenth century; Mattia Preti; The Bottega of Mattia Preti and Giuseppe d'Arena; The Erardi Family of Artists: Stefano and Alessio; The early eighteenth century; Gio Nicola Buhagiar and Enrico Regnaud; Mid-eighteenth century works by foreign artists; Francesco Zahra; Antoine Favray; Rocco Buhagiar; Giuseppe Grech; The late eighteenth century and the end of the Baroque.


Caravaggio to Mattia Preti

Caravaggio to Mattia Preti

Author: Keith Sciberras

Publisher:

Published: 2015-10-31

Total Pages: 195

ISBN-13: 9789993275367

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The title Caravaggio to Mattia Preti aptly provides the parameters that span seventeenth century baroque painting in Malta. Caravaggio s move to Malta in 1607 opened this magnificent chapter in Maltese art, to which the island responded with extraordinary artistic foresight. Malta offered Caravaggio security, but more importantly it offered him the opportunity to redeem himself. On the island, the power of Caravaggio s brush and the celebration of his virtuosity overcame the dishonour of his lifestyle, despite the fact that this materialised in a Catholic frontier country until then renowned, not for the artistic patronage of its rulers, but for its military austerity. During this period, Malta was ruled by the Knights of the Order of St John and their fascinating political context impinged significantly on the character of its art. Their political clout and their eight-pointed cross attracted other artists, including Mattia Preti, whose four-decade stay on the island defined the triumphant manner of Maltese baroque art. Preti s death on the island in 1699 came at the end of the century. This book discusses the work of the major artists who painted on the island during the seventeenth century and analyses the context in which they were produced. It also discusses paintings of importance that were sent from mainland Italy and reviews them and their critical fortune within the story of Maltese art."


Caravaggio and Paintings of Realism in Malta

Caravaggio and Paintings of Realism in Malta

Author: Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio

Publisher: Midsea Books

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9789993271628

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In July 1608, Caravaggio was invested with the habit of Magistral Obedience by Alof de Wignacourt, Grand Master of the Knights of Malta. In honouring Caravaggio, the Grand Master thought that he would thus keep the artist firmly attached to the Order of St John, hoping that the Order would find glory through his art: 'we wish to gratify the desire of this excellent painter, so that our Island Malta, and our Order may at last glory in this adopted disciple and citizen' (extract from the document of Caravaggio's investiture). The artist, however, soon fell out of grace and was deprived of his knighthood in the very same year. Malta had thus, strictly speaking, 'lost' Caravaggio. Caravaggio's presence in Malta was, however, to remain strong, partly because of the pictures that he painted and partly because of the overwhelming influence that his art had on realist paintings that found their way on the island thereafter. Caravaggio, the man dishonoured by the Order, was thus honoured through his art. This exhibition, entitled Caravaggio and paintings of Realism in Malta, forms part of a wider programme of events called CARAVAGGIO400, aimed at celebrating the 400th anniversary of Caravaggio's stay in Malta.


Francesco Zahra 1710-1773

Francesco Zahra 1710-1773

Author: Keith Sciberras

Publisher:

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9789993273196

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This book celebrates the 300th-year anniversary of Francesco Zahra's birth in 1710 and seeks to show the extraordinary range of the artist's output. Zahra was Malta's most important native painter of the mid-18th century and his style wonderfully captured the spirit of the Late Baroque. He was extremely prolific and could handle the brush with a fascinating ease, thus furnishing Maltese churches with hundreds of paintings, large and small. His extraordinary creative spirit also ensured that his pictures breathed the compositional freshness of mature artists. Francesco Zahra produced various designs for church furniture, marble altars, silver artefacts, liturgical vessels and other objets d'art that still survive scattered around the island. Zahra's output can be divided into a number of phases and this book seeks to trace such evolution and development. It also seeks to re-evaluate some of the most important works of his oeuvre. Zahra's early style is his weakest and was largely dependent on the works of his first tutor Gio Nicola Buhagiar (1698-1752). The 1730s were largely dominated by the artistic affinities of these two painters and there were instances when it was difficult to tell them apart. Zahra reached his early maturity by 1740 when his art started to depart from the manner of his tutor. By the mid-1740s, Zahra was the most important native painter on the island, only to be challenged by the arrival of the Frenchman Antoine Favray. Zahra's interest in proper disegno and in the work of Mattia Preti and Favray made him modify his style and - by the mid-1750s - adopt a more solid approach. His figurative forms changed and the general atmosphere of his works became more sophisticated. Francesco Zahra marked Maltese mid-18th century art with his timbre and distinctly shaped the character of religious painting. His decorative appeal and theatrical manner complemented the context of the period and made him one of the most fashionable of the Baroque painters active in Malta.


Mattia Preti

Mattia Preti

Author: Cynthia De Giorgio

Publisher:

Published: 2014

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9789993274810

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"This book studies the iconography of saints and heroes of the Knights of Malta as depicted by the artist Mattia Preti between 1658 and 1698."- [preface].


Melchiorre Cafà

Melchiorre Cafà

Author: Alessandra Anselmi

Publisher: Midsea Books

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 308

ISBN-13:

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This publication is the first truly collective attempt to study the work of Melchiorre Cafa'. In a variety of studies, it discusses specific and synoptic issues related to his oeuvre. The book also presents a check-list of works by (or attributed to) the artist; this check-list aims at establishing a critical repertory of his oeuvre.


The Bellanti Family

The Bellanti Family

Author: William Zammit

Publisher: Midsea Books

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9789993273318

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This publication is the first to delve in depth into the artistic and cultural achievements of different members of the Bellanti family. Michele Bellanti (1807-1883) was a major Maltese artist, active from the 1840s onwards and who has contributed most significantly to the post-Baroque Maltese artistic scene. While his paintings, sketches and lithographs have always been appreciated and greatly sought after for their artistic merits, no detailed study on the artist or on the significance of his work had as yet been undertaken. Michele's elder brother, Giuseppe (1787-1861), was also a cultured individual who was a keen collector of artistic works and of books. A significant part of Giuseppe's collection is now to be found in Malta's National Museum of Fine Arts. Between 1812 and 1838 Giuseppe was the librarian of the Biblioteca Pubblica. The National Library collection still comprises books previously owned by Giuseppe, notably a number of incunabula. Giuseppe was moreover the author of a manuscript work on Maltese orthography, which is the subject of a study featured in the present publication. As aptly described in Patricia Camilleri's contribution, Paul F. Bellanti (1852-1927) was a man of many talents. As an archaeologist, linguist and author, Paul Bellanti gave a significant contribution in all these fields during a time when the assertion of Maltese identity required individuals to do so. The studies contained in this publication not only constitute a detailed corpus describing the achievements of the Bellanti family, but should, moreover, serve to stimulate academic interest in other, as yet unstudied individuals and families, who gave a sterling contribution to various aspects of Maltese intellectual, cultural and artistic development during different periods.


Mattia Preti

Mattia Preti

Author: Keith Sciberras

Publisher:

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9789993274070

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"This book examines Preti's art and studies the context of his Maltese period, which climaxed in the triumphant manner which imbued his first decade there. The book researches his life and his work, analyses the complications of his knighthood and examines the mechanics of patronage. It catalogues the paintings which are in Malta and, based on archival research and stylistic study, it attempts a chronology for the paintings under review. The book builds up on the work of other Preti scholars and addresses issues which have already been previously studied, whilst presenting others which are new."--Preface, page ix.


Carapecchia

Carapecchia

Author: Denis De Lucca

Publisher:

Published: 1999

Total Pages: 312

ISBN-13:

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A unique book which gives insights into aspects of European Baroque culture in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries such as its interest in optics, theatre design and water engineering. The book is a manifestation of this engineers projects, whose architectural genius changed a fortified city in a modern baroque one.


Jewellery in Malta

Jewellery in Malta

Author: Francesca Balzan

Publisher: Midsea Books

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9789993272786

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Researched and written by Francesca Balzan, this study has made extensive use of primary sources to build up a history of jewellery in Malta, which focuses on the art of jewellery, its social history and trade practices, and is the first study of its kind to be published in Malta. The book is in two parts, the first of which contains essays on historical aspects of Jewellery in Malta while the second part is devoted to analytical case studies of a number of jewellery items. "Jewellery has been an item of personal adornment since very early times and although its use has changed with age and circumstance, it has all along retained two important functions, one to complement and enhance physical appearance and the other to send a message of affluence and social status. Its rich materials make it a valuable means of wealth storage in a number of culturally different societies. The skill and technical dexterity that, until the machine took over, were necessary ingredients in its production, elevate it to the category of a fine craft. Creative ingenuity has, in addition, on many occasions, transformed it into a work of art and it is a pity that its study has not yet received the scholarly attention it deserves. Francesca Balzan's study makes a notable contribution to its better appreciation. The book's primary focus is the closely knit and insular society of Early Modern Malta when the presence there of a pan-European Sovereign Order of Hospitaller and Military Knights, drawn from the haughtiest families of Counter Reformation Europe, injected the island with a cultured sophistication that changed it into one of the more significant art centres south of Rome. The Knights invested in fine buildings and works of art and jewellery became an increasingly significant ancillary to dress, social status and religious ornament. One of the merits of the book is to discuss jewellery in a meaningful art historical and social context. This broadens the reader's response and opens a window on the anthropology of jewellery that future studies should exploit." - from the Foreword by Prof. Mario Buhagiar