In truth, art lies hidden within nature : he who can wrest it from her has it

Abstract

Malta can boast an extraordinary quantity of etchings, engravings, and wood cuts of 'a high artistic standard' (Kuhrmann); these collections are housed in the Mdina Cathedral Museum. They include individual works as well as whole series by Dürer, Rembrandt, Rubens, Van Dyck, Goya and others. Unfortunately, the wealth of these collections has not to date been sufficiently reflected in Maltese scholarship. 'Durer in Malta', an exhibition of woodcuts and engravings by Dürer and the early German School, was organised at the Mdina Cathedral Museum in 1971. John Azzopardi also published a study of the Malta Dürer prints in 'Treasures of Malta' in 1997. In 2002 Giuseppe Schembri Bonaci exhibited a set of 29 copies of Dürer's works in the Mdina Cathedral Museum, copies which he had worked on under the tutelage of A. N. Ovchinnikov at the Grabar Institute, Moscow. In 2003, the Mdina Cathedral Museum hosted the exhibition 'Master Etchings' which included works by Parmigianino, Reni, Rembrandt, Rubens, van Dyck, and Goya.