The designs of Abram Gatt, Francesco Saverio Sciortino, Emanuele Buhagiar and Giuseppe Galea for the churches of Gozo

Abstract

The late nineteenth and twentieth century in the Maltese Islands saw a new impetus in the production of church objets d'art and embellishment. In Gozo, like in everything else, this took more time to gain roots. Therefore, the bulk of the new works in wood, silver and other materials is mostly the product of the twentieth century. Lacking its own prolific masters in this field, Gozo sought, for the more important commissions, the services of those Maltese artists who were popular at the time. The output of four Maltese masters on the island of Gozo is rather significant and therefore may be taken as the essence in the production of such works in which many less notable masters were involved. The more important works of this period in Gozo are the fruit of the designs by Abram Gatt, Francesco Saverio Sciortino, Emanuele Buhagiar and Giuseppe Galea. This study seeks to come to terms with the output of these designers and do justice with their works. This work is attempting an unbiased critical appreciation of these works. It is one of the main goals of this art historical study to evaluate properly the artistic value of these works, and to put them in their proper context without over- or underestimating them as some authors have done in the past. A full critical study on these Gozitan works has never been attempted. This study is essential to understand the situation in Gozo during this period; a situation quite similar to that in Malta, but occurring at a slower pace - however, one which was always linked with the Baroque surroundings and mentality which the Maltese have remained attached to up to the present day. This work will be considering the oeuvres of these designers in the background of their production. Since no one of the artists is of Gozitan origin, reference and comparison with key works in Maltese churches is fundamental. On the other hand, each of the four masters has his own distinct style which is usually immediately recognisable: this dissertation will discuss the language used by the artist, and compare the masters together. The more exposed and popular figure of these four masters has been Abram Gatt, while Emanuele Buhagiar has never been given the place he deserves. On Gozo, the latter's works, together with those of Francesco Saverio Sciortino, are probably the least known. The study of Giuseppe Galea's works will be the first writing on the master's oeuvre in Gozo since his death in 1993. This study will not tackle designs for stained glass windows and marble pavements which were produced by these artists. The current state of research on the subject is very limited. The matter has been extremely little discussed and published. In fact, these art treasures of Gozo have never been really analysed and many do not even know about their existence. Material on these works of art in Gozo is practically non-existent, since art critical material has been mostly concentrated on painting and architecture . In publications of a historical nature on parish churches one finds that only a sentence or a very small paragraph is dedicated to these works of art; in such instances a mere mentioning. In Malta, the local feasts publications contain a considerable amount of short articles on the subject, but these, more often than not, are the works of mere amateurs who do not abide with academic research. It is very rare that one finds an art historical critical approach to these objets d'art. The only person who has done this so far is Dr Mario Buhagiar who wrote short parts in some books on Maltese churches, concentrating largely on Emanuele Buhagiar and Abram Gatt. These factors all show that an artistic appreciation on the works has been long overdue.