The dialectics of tradition and modernity in twentieth-century Maltese art: an analysis of the relationship between old and new values and the making of modern art in Malta

Abstract

The research primarily focuses on the Modernism’s development vis-à-vis Roman Catholic hegemony and church patronage. The reason for this is that the pervasive influence of the church on all spheres of Maltese life meant that its power was effective even in extraneous situations when the church was not directly involved in proceedings, as will be shown throughout this study. Hegemony is enacted through force and consent; it is both imposed and naturalised so as to establish conventions for thought and behaviour. This model for understanding the effectivity of power gives explanations as to why Modern artists encountered many enduring obstacles. Other power structures that determined Malta’s twentieth-century history; the British colonial government, the business and trade community, the political class, and other factions will not be discussed despite their significance. The absence of artistic patronage stemming from these latter contingents is a notable issue that is being addressed in ongoing research beyond the scope of this thesis.1 It is being proposed here that Modern art’s development faced its greatest, but not sole, challenge due to the status quo defined by the Roman Catholic worldview; its ideological and moral conventions. Each of the chapters have centred on the subjects of critical and art historical writings, the conflict between rurality and urbanisation, church patronage and spiritual artistic idioms, art criticism and autonomy and the lack thereof, and, finally, the evolution of abstraction and the persistence of figuration in the later twentieth century. Special emphasis has been placed on these topics because each presents a series of significant art historical issues that manifest the ideological and socio-political factors which determined the evolution of Modern art in Malta.