Some reflections on the female form in Maltese painting (1945 - 2000)

Abstract

Before starting the process of establishing a topic for this dissertation, I always knew that I wanted to base my research on the portrayal of the female form. The way the woman has been perceived throughout the story of Western Art has always fascinated me and I wanted to take this opportunity to delve deeper into its understanding. There have been multiple publications and dissertations which have dealt with the portrayal of the female nude within the Maltese context, however, not many have dealt with it in relation to how the woman was perceived within the society she formed part of. The aim of this thesis is ultimately to establish a better understanding of the female form in Maltese twentieth-century painting post-Second World War. By analysing the role of the woman within society and the perceptions made by those that surrounded her, it is believed that a deeper understanding as to how and why the female was portrayed the way she was would emerge. The first half of the twentieth century encompassed works which portrayed a patriarchal world view through the idealised depictions of the female form, be it a nude, a portrait etc. However, with the end of the Second World War a shift emerges, Maltese artists began to challenge the status quo and the traditional renditions of the woman. This could have been prompted on the basis of two things: due to the war artists began to travel to new artistic hubs such as England and Paris rather than all flocking to Rome thus encountering new influences as well as the new socio-political manifestations in favour of women. It should be noted that this dissertation deals solely with works produced by Maltese artists and the focus lies on the Maltese context within the twentieth century. The works chosen for this dissertation were based on particular characteristics with which I was then able to formulate my arguments. Unfortunately, due to the fact that most of the works form part of private collections and my inability to gain access to details of such collectors, I was unable to physically view the works of art. It is important to mention that despite this dissertation having had focused on reflection on Maltese painting, there is also the inclusion of the Maltese ceramicist Gabriel Caruana. The reason for the inclusion of this artist within this study lies in the predominantly in his painterly approach to ceramics, the primitive element within his work as well as his close affinity with several painters mentioned such as Antoine Camilleri. In addition to this that based on the fact that this study is based on some reflections on the female form in Maltese painting, the structure of this dissertation may exhibit certain inconsistencies in the way these thoughts have been organised. As one may note some subchapters adhere to a thematic approach, focusing on specific themes or topics, while others do not consist of this thematic alignment and focus on the context of the period.