Esprit Barthet (1919-1999) : a critical evaluation of his artistic development

Abstract

This long essay seeks to evaluate the artistic output of Esprit Barthet (1919-1999), analysing his stylistic development. This is aided by a representative cross-section of Barthet's artistic production. Part of the dissertation concerns the artist's training, both locally and abroad. The influences of his masters, of contemporary artists, and of the art he encountered when travelling abroad, have been taken into consideration in order to ascertain, where applicable, how such influences determined the artist's way of expression and continued to be reflected in his mature works. This essay also attempts to trace Barthet' s artistic development from a conventional style towards a modem idiom, trying to assess in the process the reasons for his hesitation in moving towards a modem sensibility, while also analysing the artist's contribution towards the development of the Maltese artistic scene, and that of local art education. The corpus of works selected for evaluation in this dissertation reveal the richness and diversity of Barthet's creativity, and his never-ending researches into colour and form. They are divided into different themes which the artist explored and often elaborated on. The works of each section are then placed chronologically in order to help trace and give a better and clearer understanding of Barthet's evolution in art. Two particular works, namely Cafe Premier and Traffic accident, have been treated separately because they do not fit in the thematic organisation of the works. The works which have been selected are an attempt to give a fair cross-section of the artist's output, or at least of giving significant specimens of that particular style. The works chosen are by no means the most ideal selection to illustrate Barthet' s stylistic development, considering the fact that most of the works are in private collection and the author was not capable of viewing the entire output of the artist. However, during the course of research, an extensive number of works were studied in order to have a better understanding of the different styles and also to be able to make a just selection to illustrate the text. This research will thus help to understand better the oeuvre of a local artist of significance who, together with fellow artists, helped the local artistic scene shed away the strict traditional tendencies, and make progress towards a modem expression and individuality. Insofar, no full critical study of the artist's career has been produced. The major texts are Mario Azzopardi's publication of 1973, and Kenneth Wain's more recent contribution of 1991. The former naturally misses out a substantial part of Barthet's artistic development after the date of publication, giving only a partial view of his development with no real artistic criticism, while the latter spans a larger period of the artist's life but yet remains relatively superficial. In addition, short articles have been written on the artist, most notably by Joseph Paul Cassar. The latter has carried out significant research in the field of the history of modem art in Malta; consultation of such texts was necessary for studying the art of Esprit Barthet in its appropriate context. Newspaper articles and reviews of exhibitions were consulted, although these were treated with great caution because of their non-academic nature. However, they proved useful in confirming certain facts regarding, for instance, some important portrait commissions that the artist received, or the type of works exhibited in his personal exhibitions. Exhibition catalogues and brochures were also beneficial. Television programmes on the artist also came out to be very helpful since they often include interviews with the artist himself during his lifetime. Interviews with Barthet's wife, relatives, former students and other people who remember the artist also proved fruitful in many ways. This research, which was carried out shortly after the artist's death, seeks to offer an appropriate appreciation of the artistic evolution of an important figure in 20th-century Malta.