A catalogue of works of art in the Cathedral of Gozo and its museum

Abstract

The church in the Maltese islands was always the major patron for securing artists with important commissions. Every parish sought to commission the best available artist to embellish their church with beautiful paintings and objets d'art. The Gozo Cathedral chapter was also a prominent patron in commissioning prestigious works of art. Gozo lacked from native prolific masters and therefore the most important Maltese and foreign artists of the time were commissioned to work for the Gozo cathedral. Amongst these artist include; Michele Busuttil, Tommaso Madiona, Giuseppe Hyzler and some foreign artist such as Domenico Bruschi. The aim of this study seeks to come to terms with the works found in the Gozo Cathedral and its Museum and attempt a critical appreciation. The main objective of this art historical study is to evaluate the artistic value of these works and put them in their proper context. This work will be considering the works and also some biographical knowledge about the background of the artists as far as the authorship is known. This work will also attempt a comparison with some other works found in other churches around Malta and Gozo. This study will cover works from the sixteenth century till 1970s. The dissertation has been divided by periods because it was the best way how to group the different artistic strands together. Works discussed in this study will consist mainly on paintings, some sculptural works and objets d'art. There are some published guides on the Gozo cathedral but are not art historically oriented. However, there are some articles published in the local feast magazines but concentrate more on the actual description of the work rather than a critical artistic appreciation. Rev. Joseph Bezzina published also some articles and guides but are more historically oriented. The only person who so far has done a proper art historical appreciation on some works of art in the Gozo cathedral is Prof. Mario Buhagiar. He wrote articles in various books and some time ago he even delivered a public lecture on the subject in question. He was also fundamental in discovering the real identity of Antonio Pippi who executed the cathedral's false dome. However, a holistic appreciation on all art works has never been attempted before this dissertation. Some letters and receipts were brought to light during this study such as the contract and receipts by Mario Gori for the execution of the marble bust of Pope Pius IX and also the receipt of payment for the marble reredos and pavement (for the Blessed Sacrament Chapel) by Francesco Zahra. The letters by Gianni Vella are being consulted also for the first time in this study. However, documentation on other works is very limited which would have helped to establish some of the work's original context, reveal conditions of their commission and verify their authorship and date. There are much more documents left in the cathedral archives to be consulted and most probably other documentation will be unearthed by future research.