Antonio Sciortino and the National collection

Abstract

Antonio Sciortino's artworks can be acknowledged as a special cluster within Malta's National Collection for varied reasons. Besides his tenure as Curator of the Fine Arts Section (1937-1947) and his Bequest (1947), including the plaster casts of some of his key works, the artist's works have been singled out for acquisition over time. The latest acquisition is the bronze version of his Speed. Indeed, Sciortino's Bequest can be read as a most-fitting conclusion to his ten-year curatorship of the then Fine Arts Section, and the additional bronzes and works in marble acquired over time have substantially enriched the collection. This essay seeks to review seminal research and contributions to Antonio Sciortino studies, particularly those concerning his works at the National Museum of Fine Arts undertaken by the late Curator of Fine Arts, Dennis Vella. In doing so I shall add my observations on published research and review hitherto unpublished references and documents articulating further the art historical backdrop to Gerald Bugeja's seminal contribution.