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| The Book |
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L-Arti fil-Knejjes minn Mitt Pittur Malti [Art in Churches by 100 Maltese Painters] Guzeppi Theuma |
| Sunday Times July 23rd,2006. p.32 Books They decorated our churches by Emmanuel Fiorentino Guzeppi Theuma : L-Arti fil-Knejjes minn Mitt Pittur Malti, Pubblikazzjonijiet Indipendenza - PIN 2006, hard-bound, pp. ix + 222, ISBN 99932-41-81-4, Lm16. Rome was not built in a day. Neither are seriously-planned books written in a matter of days. It took no less than 18 years for Guzeppi Theuma to compile the required material in order to bring together a hundred Maltese artists who have over the last four centuries contributed towards the embellishment of our churches and related buildings like sacristies, oratories and ecclesiastical museums. It was indeed a labour of love. I first came to know Guzeppi Theuma about four years ago when we were both involved, together with a small group of other volunteers, in the reorganisation of the Zabbar Sanctuary Museum which has since been opened again to the public. He has been serving as secretary for that specially appointed committee ever since. Born in Paola in 1945, Theuma emigrated to England in 1964 from where he returned back to Malta in 1977 with his English wife Margaret and their two children Stephen and Helen. For a time he served as a caricaturist with local newspapers. He also practices art from time to time and occasionally one comes across some of his sculptural works, in iron and ceramics, in collective exhibitions. This is not that type of art book which one is obliged to read through from cover to cover. It is more or less a reference work for anybody interested in particular painters, each of which is introduced in a separate entry by a brief biography, wherever possible an image of the artist, followed by a comprehensive list of their respective works which are to be found in Maltese and Gozitan churches according to references collected from books, newspapers and other publications, or interviews. The author put it in his mind from the very start to limit himself to Maltese artists working in our midst. So there is no place or any entries for Matteo Perez d’Aleccio, Paladini, Caravaggio, Mattia Preti, Favray, Bruschi, Gagliardi, Palombi, Monti, Conti and a host of other illustrious foreign artists who left their mark on Maltese art. This is, no more and no less, a book about Maltese artists, for the Maltese and written in our language. Theuma makes it abundantly clear in the foreword that he does not necessarily agree with everything that had been written about a particular artist, especially where attributions are concerned. Indeed he insists that several works are at this stage only attributions and that further research could either confirm or else disprove them. The range of artists includes both the better-known ones and the occasional almost unknown dilettante painter who is represented with some work. Among the former category one cannot miss, among others, Giovanni Maria Abela (active late 16th c.) who despite being a provincial painter is the first Maltese artist (not only alphabetically) known by name, Giuseppe d’Arena (1643-1719), Stefano Erardi (1630-1716) and his son Alessio (1669-1727), Francesco Zahra (1710-1773), Rocco Buhagiar (1723-1805), Giuseppe Grech (1755-1787), Michele Busuttil (1762-1831), Pietro Paolo Caruana (1794-1852) and his son Raffaele (1820-1886), Giuseppe Hyzler (1793-1858) and his brother Vincenzo (1813-1849), Michele Bellanti (1807-1883), Giuseppe Calì (1846-1930), Ignazio Carlo Cortis (1820-1900), Lazzaro Pisani (1854-1932) and Guzeppi Briffa (1901-1987). Among the more recent generations are Anton Inglott (1915-1945), Willie Apap (1918-1970), Emvin Cremona (1919-1987), Esprit Barthet (1919-1999), Antoine Camilleri (1922-2005), Frank Portelli (1922-2004) and Harry Alden (b.1929). To these could be added some valid contemporary ones like John Martin Borg (b.1953) and Anthony Spagnol (b.1960) on whom we lay our hopes for an extension of sacred art. With lesser known artists one comes across names like Bartolomeo Garagona (1584-1641), born of a Rhodian father and a Maltese mother, Salvatore Bondì (1790-1859) who was probably a canon at the Gozo Matrice, Antonio Falzon (1805-1865), Henry Casolani (1817-1885), Paolo Cuschieri (1820-1889), Giuseppe Bonnici (1835-1900), Guzeppi Marija Caruana (1899-1964), Anton Caruana (1905-1986), Oratio Italo Serge (1906-1978), Rafel Bonnici Calì (1907-2002), Toussaint Busuttil (1912-1994) and Aldo Micallef Grimaud (b.1925). Or else it could be artists who are practically unknown. Among them I would mention Bartolomeo Micallef (active 16th c.) who is known by just one work at the Capuchin museum in Floriana, Zakkarija Micallef (active early 17th c.), Salvatore Morales (active c.1750), Carlo Mallia (active 18th c.), Giovanni Battista Bonomo (1790-1859), Peppinu Apap Testaferrata (1841-1905) whose only known work in churches is the titular altarpiece at the parish church of Marsaxlokk, Salvatore Azzopardi Preziosi (active end of 19th c.), Marija Cesareo (1902-1994), Vincenzo Cordina (1904-1992), Gorgina Mifsud (1906-1982), Ninu Apap (b.1928), Guzeppi Aquilina (b.1934), Luigi Poggi (1873-1958), a Discalced Carmelite who spent most of his life in the Holy Land, and Klement Calascione (1889-1939) and Martin Borg (b.1957), yet another two Discalced Carmelite friars. I have just one nagging doubt about the nationality of Giuseppe Cefail, an eclectic artist of some merit who was active in the late 19th century. Was he Maltese? When I put this question to Theuma, he assured me that he was, probably born in Floriana. Practically the only facts that we have about him is that he had a studio in Valletta and that he took part in an exhibition in London in 1886. Otherwise, any other biographical data about him are completely blank. In no way does Theuma attempt any critical analysis of any of the works. That is not within his agenda of compiling this useful encyclopaedia about these hundred artists who, in their own way, and at different levels of competence, have contributed towards the decorations of our ecclesiastical buildings. The odd slip is inevitable. Just one came to my attention, namely the caption of a painting from the parish church of Sannat by Gianni Vella which shows The Sacred Heart of Jesus but which is incorrectly captioned Madonna tar-Ruzarju, obviously not the author’s mistake but a slip done in the course of the book’s setting. As it is this publication is a handy reference work to delve into the individual outputs of these persons who with brush in hand have amplified the extent of our religious and related aspects of our heritage. In a way I see Guzeppi Theuma (as I also noted in my introduction to the book) as a modern-day version of what Achille Ferres and Pietro Paolo Castagna had been in the 19th century. With no less than 260 illustrations (from photographs taken by the author himself) and over 2230 painting references mentioned within the text, this latest addition to art-related books should immediately capture the attention of anybody who is interested in finding new material in the field of art history. That would include students at different levels, scholars or simply Melitensia lovers. The book is written in Maltese for one simple reason - Theuma wanted it to be in the hands of the local people to make them aware of the rich ecclesiastical heritage that we have around us. Still there is still scope to have it translated into English within the foreseeable future in order to have it reach a wider spectrum of readership. Illustrations : (a) Guzeppi Theuma (b) The front cover of the book (c) The Deposition of Christ (Mdina Cathedral) by Bartolomeo Garagona |