Emanuele Buhagiar (1876-1962) : his contribution to the ecclesiastical decorative arts of the Maltese islands

Abstract

Soon after the beginning of this research around three years ago, it became gradually but distinctly clear that Emanuele Buhagiar was one of the most prolific and artistically competent masters working in Malta at the time. The purpose of this thesis is to study his opus holistically in the light of the peculiar and unique Maltese context at the turn of the twentieth century. Chapter 1 tries to construct the correct picture in which Buhagiar’s production should be placed and presents some of the new material which was unearthed on other artists, designers and craftsmen working in Malta at the time. Therefore, Buhagiar's works are also being examined in relation to other important masters of his time, most notably Abram Gatt. Gatt' s relationship with the master - stylistic and otherwise - is fully dealt with in Chapter 9. It may here be legitimate to state that, originally, this study was to tackle the oeuvres of these two masters together, but the numerous works of art which have been discovered, made it literally impossible to reach this goal. This study is attempting a critical and art-historical analysis of the large oeuvre of Emmanuel Buhagiar. He also aims at illustrating the strong artistic character and personal style of the artist and presenting him as one of the best wood sculptors which Malta has had. Although the large part of the material has been conveniently divided under the more important themes of Buhagiar's art, and the story of each work recounted, more weight has been given to the general stylistic timbre of his oeuvre. Particular importance has been allocated to the artist's singular contribution in the development of the genre of processional statue predelle in Malta and a chapter has been entirely dedicated to this theme.