exhibition 4: war

Artist: Tonio Mallia 

Theme : War 

this patriotic painting shows the mercy of those innocent people suffering from the consciences of war .

 this painting shows those people who are forced to leave there families and dont even know if they are going to see there families again .

this picture shows an effect of war (poverty) which is a common after effect of war 

this picture represents the soldiers going into combat. And the feelings they all have .

exhibition 3 : abstact art

Artist: alfred chircop 

media:variouse media used 

 this painting is inspiring because of all the bright colours merging together 

this painting is interesting because of the different lines going out of them and of the different colours also

 this painting is done with charcoal on canvas and it very interesting as how the lines are constructed

in this painting u see that if you look carefully into the pictures u can see that there are some figures and it is interesting also because of the dripping lines randomly from the top of the canvas 

exhibition 2 portraits

Artist: variouse artist from different years 

Date : seen 15th may 2013

this work is called Ragel Bl ingravata. This work was made by Vincent Apap from (1909-2003), this work shows a portrait of an old man with a very seriouse look on his face . The artist went into alot of detail in the face to get out certain expressions. 

   this work is called Qassis made  from george borg  this bust probably took more time to make than the previous one as the artist went into immense detail doing the type of clothes the priest is wearing.

this work is called mara eleganti hafna by Antonio Sciortino. Again the artist focused on the facial expressions of the bust. overall it is a very nice piece but personally i liked the preist better to this. 

 this work is called tifla titbissem by Antonio Sciortino (1879)-(1947) this work shows a girl smiling with this innocent smile .The artist focuses most on the facial expression to get out that smile of the girl in the bust .

exhibition 1: Christopher ebejer

Date : 8th April 2013

Name of artist : Christopher Ebejer

Medium Used : Ceramics 

this work is called Bavaria and is inspiring by how the drapery flows in harmony . the material used is ceramics with a wooden frame as a background .

this work is called swan lake II and is inspiring how graceful the swan is and is made out of ceramics with a wooden frame as a background and probably did this by carefully carving in alot of deatail and then glaze the piece with a white glaze.

this work is called Nymph II and looks like it was inspired from greek myths . and it has buetiful drapery. this is a ceramic piece with a wooden frame as a background and probably did this by carefully carving in alot of deatail and then glaze the piece with a white glaze.

this piece is called metamorphosis II and has an amazing amount of detail in it and  how all the butterflies all fly out together and gracefully give the piece a really nice effect. this is a ceramic piece with a wooden frame as a background and probably did this by carefully carving in alot of deatail and then glaze the piece with a white glaze.

this work is called winter drops it is a very nice piece, the drapery gives it a modern look as it is all seperated . this is a ceramic piece with a wooden frame as a background and probably did this by carefully carving in alot of deatail and then glaze the piece with a white glaze.

patrick scicluna

Patrick scicluna was born in 1972, Scicluna is a self-taught artist who is always  researching and experimenting . He undertook art classes with Ray Pitre for 7 years and more recently he did a year  also studying nudes with some help from Anton Calleja




.Scicluna strives to capture a mood, a sentiment, a feeling or express a sensual image or moment.  His good eye for  observation is acute and he is driven by a willingness to learn and excel in his work.








scicluna had various opportunities to exhibit his work not only in malta but also in exhebitions like the United Nations Geneve Exhebition in which he showcased a number of paintings titled 'changing rooms' that was held in 24 th may to 8 th april in 2011.






from personal experience scicluna is a kind hearted person and is ready to help everybody how he can. His big heart was shown to a voluntary association and painted a whole selection of works in new apartments in sutton.

. 2013. . [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.facebook.com/calapart.calap. [Accessed 20 May 2013].

 MaltaToday.com.mt – Malta’s news portal . 2013. MaltaToday.com.mt – Malta’s news portal . [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/en/magazinedetails/magazine/art/Exhibition-Patrick-Scicluna. [Accessed 20 May 2013].

The development of modern Maltese culture

Maltese culture is described as a rich patern of traditions , believes and practices. this is the process of alot of adaptations and multiple diferent beliefs.Present-day Maltese culture is essentially Latin European with the recent British times are  also evidence. In the early part of its history Malta was also exposed to Semetic influences. The present-day this is linguistic rather than cultural. The Latin European element is the major source of Maltese culture because of the virtually continuous cultural impact on Malta over the past eight centuries and the fact that Malta shares the religious beliefs, traditions and ceremonies of its Sicilian and Southern European neighbors.

   

mattia pretti

The Sermon of St John the Baptist including Preti’s self-portrait – coming to Malta in May

Mattia Preti 

The well known artist Mattia Preti was born in Italy, Taverna to be exact a small town in Calabria. His brother was an artist that used to work in Rome. Preti soon followed his brothers footsteps.Preti got a lot of coverage from major commissions given from connections he had from with the night of St. john.He later on got his knight hood. He did a lot of works in Malta which are being exhibited right now. 

‘Mattia Preti – Faith and Humanity’ | Heritage Malta. 2013. ‘Mattia Preti – Faith and Humanity’ | Heritage Malta. [ONLINE] Available at:http://heritagemalta.wordpress.com/mattia-preti-faith-and-humanity/. [Accessed 20 May 2013].

Sources of Latin European influence

The Knights of St. John

The knights of St Johns came to Malta in the Golden Age. These people embellished the island with all the architecture and beautiful artwork that embellishes the buildings. the knight not only embellished the island with its work but also improved the way of life and health of the people.The knights also got a lot of work to malta as it gave maltese builders the opportunity to build the beautiful capital city valletta.

British in Malta 

The British came to malta in the 1800 till late 1900s . the Maltese had contacted the royal navy as life under the French wasn't pleasant. At first the English didn't want to accept but after some taught they accepted. A lot of british culture was adapted to our culture. 

Culture of Malta - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 2013. Culture of Malta - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. [ONLINE] Available at:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_Malta. [Accessed 20 May 2013].

The culture of prehistoric Malta

The first people in Malta were believed to be from Sicily who arrived before 5000B.C. These people grew there own crops and made there own clothes,these people showed fertility by representing statues of large proportions like in (fig .1)

(FIG.1)

We have proof that one of the first people in Malta were from Sicily cos of the pottery work found in Ghar dalam (Malta) matches some work found in Agrigento (Sicily). these people rose to the culture of megalithic temple builders. The building built from these people are the oldest standing stone scturctors ever built . These magnificent structures are the temples (FIG.2) these were built during a long period of time from 4000BC to  2500BC .

(FIG.2)

Abit is known about the maltese temple builders and there life , however there is evidence that there religouse rituals included animals and sometimes humans. fortunately this ritual ended when the bronze age started. the cukture cremated its dead and introduced smaller megalithic sctructurescalled dolmens to malta.probabaly most of the population arrived from Sicily as the similarity of the maltese dolmens with similar constructions found in Malta .

sources of semethic influences

Phoenicians

The Phoenicians came to Malta at around 700BC. They made use of our sheltered harbours. At around 480BC malta became a Punic colony.

Fatimid conquest 

This period coincided with the golden age of moorish culture and included innovations like crop rotation and irrigation systems both in malta and sicily.The capital city of that time was mina, this was refortified with a wide moat and seperated from the nearest town that is rabat.it was noted that in this period malta was administered  from Palermo Sicily, its a fact that the arabic who colonised malta i  that period were arabic speaking italian .

 Culture of Malta - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 2013. Culture of Malta - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. [ONLINE] Available at:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_Malta. [Accessed 20 May 2013].

Early Renaissance in Italy (13th-14th century)

During the 13^th century in Italy there were still influences from the Gothic period; the idea that God is overpowering over humans. Artists made it a point to distinguish clearly saintly and heavenly creatures. All the works were precious and highly decorative, usually featuring a golden background, there was no concern with depth and realistic space and usually the figures were flat and elegant adhering with the patterned backdrop.

(FIG.2)

(FIG.1)

It was Giotto di Bondone, a Florentine artist who made an important artistic revolution. He opted for more realism in the setting of the paintings and a new humanism in the figures. By doing so he created the illusion of realistic space in his works and made his painting more credible.

Comparing the ‘Ognissanti Madonna’(FIG.1) of Giotto with the ‘Madonna and Child’(FIG.2) of his Master Cimabue, who still worked in a Gothic idiom, the difference is evident:

• Giotto did away with the wet-look drapery attached to the figure of the Virgin and the angels as seen in Cimabue’s work. Instead he introduced ample drapery folds which together with the blending technique made the figures more monumental, weighty and thus realistic.

• The angels in the background are no longer like playing cards (one on top of the other), but there is an attempt for depth with one angel behind the other.

• The throne is treated more realistically in Giotto’s work. He used mathematical one point perspective to create the illusion of depth.

• The ‘sfumato’ effect in the rendering of the face and skin makes the figures even more realistic Thus the revolution in Giotto was:

 • More realistic figures,

• Wider drapery folds for more weight in the figures,

• Use of perspective to produce depth in the work.

(FIG.3)

A more revolutionary work by Giotto is the fresco of ‘The Mourning of Christ’(FIG.3). In this work he reintroduced facial expressions which had been absent from European art works from the classical times. He broke the traditional convention of symmetry in this work by dividing the scene with a diagonal distinguishing the celestial group from the terrestrial. Nonetheless the saintly figures still acquired a new
humanism, they are hardly distinguished from common humans.

This new humanism opened the minds of other contemporary artists but only to a certain extent. Indeed during his lifetime Giotto has no direct heir to follow-up his ideals.

Fra Angelico (1387-1455)

In his ‘Annunication’(FIG.4), Fra Angelico still shows the lingering influences of the              delicate Gothic figures and the Virgin and Archangel Gabriel bear no facial expressions. It

(FIG.4)

is a very quiet and meditative picture.

On the other hand certain influences deriving from Giotto are evident. The use of groin vaults in the arcaded structure is constructed using one point mathematical perspective to obtain more sense of depth and illusionistic space. Like in Giotto’s works there is a sense of balance and harmony in this painting.

Paolo Uccello (1397-1475)

(FIG.5)

Even Uccello absorbed the obsession of mathematical perspective but he experimented it on the human figure. Indeed in ‘The Battle of San Romano” (FIG.5)he tried the first attempt of human foreshortening in the figure of the fallen warrior. He also emphasized depth in the painting by placing slanted lances on the ground leading to one vanishing point to tentatively bringing out one point perspective. Although not that successful in this work there is an attempt for arial perspective in the background landscape.

(FIG.6)

Andrea Mantegna (1431-1506)

Mantegna took inspiration from Uccello in studying foreshortened figures and mastered it. This can be clearly seen in his ‘Deposition’(FIG.6), where he managed to paint very successfully Christ’s dead body in excellent foreshortening. 

Other of Mantegna’s works show his obsession and mastery in foreshortening and mathematical perspective. Indeed his ‘St’James on the way to his execution’ bears very plausible architectural perspective in the background buildings.

(FIG.7)

Piero della Francesca (1416?-1492)

The obsession of this Early Renaissance artist was on the use of light. This problem was never tackled seriously before, especially during the Middle Ages where the artists did away with any light and shade in their works.

As seen in his ‘Constantine’s Dream’(FIG.7), della Francesca created the source of light coming from the hovering angels who illuminates Constantine’s tent. The onlooker sees the angel from the back in full shadow, an innovation which never appeared before in a painting. The artist was also attentive to show evident shadows cast on the other figures present in the work. This use of light brought even more realism in the work. This artist was a great inspiration for artists that followed since they realized that the lighting effect can be crucial to produce depth in the painting and also to create a special effect.

(FIG.8)

Antonio Pollaiuolo (1432?-1498)

Early Renaissance artist were very concerned with symmetry and balance. It was the trend at the time for artist to use a triangular composition to fit the figures in the painting. Pollaiuolo’s ‘
Martyrdom of St.Sebastian’(FIG.8) shows a perfect example of the effort of the artist to fit numerous figures in a triangular arrangement, where the head of St.Sebastian is the apex of the triangle. The artist placed the figures in different postures in order to fit this triangular structure, but at the same time he managed to make them look realistic and not stiff, and there is also observation from nature in the tension of the muscular structure .

(FIG.9)

Sandro Botticelli (1446-1510)

The word ‘Renaissance’ in Italian means, rebirth. Indeed this movement was  based on rebirth of classical ideas. The artists were taking inspiration from the Greek culture. There was a new ideal. The human figure was no longer treated as something sinful and dirty. The glory of the human figure was once again restored during the Renaissance period and artists starting representing once again the beauty and idealization of the human anatomy. Renaissance artist gained direct inspiration from classical sculpture and once again the nude figure was restored in full glory and dignity.

‘The Birth of Venus’(FIG.9) of Botticelli is a clear example of direct influence from classical art. The theme itself reflects Greek Mythology, showing the artist’s interest in classical culture. Thus at the time the artists moved away from the trend of painting only religious works but also resorted to genre art. Moreover the nude figure of Venus is completely borrowed from female classical sculptures as seen in the insertion of the round tummy.

(FIG.10)

Masaccio (1401-1428)

In his very brief life, Masaccio proved to be the heir of Giotto. He continued after Giotto’s ideals to search for a new humanism and realism in his works. His works like Giotto’s may appear less fancy and decorative, but that was the whole concept behind their ideal, to break the border between the beholder and saintly figures.

Masaccio like other Early Renaissance artist took a lot of inspiration from classical art. As seen in his ‘Holy Trinity’ (FIG.10)the painted
architectural background is all influence from classical architecture, the coffered ceiling in the vault, the use of columns and the inclusion of Ionic, Doric and Corinthian classical capitals. 

Mathematical perspective is used extensively in this fresco which successfully brings out a successful optical illusion of depth in the work.  The figures are very monumental and realistic by means of the blending technique in the drapery. There is no clear distinction between the Holy Trinity and the earthy figures of the donors, the artist put them all on the same scale. 

(FIG.11)

This realism can also be seen in his ‘Madonna and Child’ (FIG.11), were the figure of the Virgin and the Child Jesus are very monumental and earth bound. There is also evident human warmth and affection between the mother and child. But apart from that this work is renowned for the representation of the musical angels in the foreground where the artists applied foreshortening in the musical instruments making them look more realistic and adding even more illusion of space in the work.

The Early Renaissance period was a time of great innovation. Artists started to be treated as professionals and not just craftsmen like during the Middle Ages. There was a greed for knowledge and every successful art work had to be mathematically composed and intelligently set. The love for the human figure was restored and artists were inserting idealized human anatomy deriving from classical art. But Early Renaissance artists were experimenting with new artistic challenges, in composition and technique. All these characteristics shed ideas to other artists that followed and were perfected during the High Renaissance period , the peak of this glorified artistic movement.

notes taken from A level history of art notes taken from various unknown books