The modern landscape in Maltese art of the last decades of the 20th century

Abstract

The aim of this dissertation is to provide a proper description of Modem Landscape Art in the last decades of the 20th Century, within a Maltese context. Prior to embarking on an evaluation of modem landscape in Maltese art, it is essential to give an overview of the wider history of art, the relevant international art trends and the accompanying artistic developments. The emphasis is not, however, laid upon the historical aspect of landscape art from a chronological perspective. The chief aim has been to highlight the history of art movements in an attempt to put some chronology on the evolution of the genre within a wider spectrum. The reader will be able to appreciate how the different movements have influenced Maltese artists of modem landscapes in the last decades of the 20th Century and how this influence combined with the influences from the various artists in the earlier part of the Century shaped the individual styles and techniques of the artists. A comprehensive research on the most popular artists of Maltese landscape in the 20th Century was conducted. The research involved written information from published material, books, newspaper articles, reviews and biographies, and unpublished researched material. Other information sources, including exhibition catalogues, provided further information on the various artists' landscape paintings. The research topic was also discussed with art collectors, art critics and lecturers of art. This study was further supported by a number of interviews with some of the artists that are still alive today. By no means is this study intended to be an exhaustive representation of all Maltese artists' contribution to modem landscape art. The changes

that occurred in modern landscapes throughout the last decades of the 20th Century were provided through the artists' observations and through a review of the artists' works of art. The interviews with the artists provided vital information on their thoughts and preferences and their interpretation of their artistic ability together with an analysis of their landscape art and their artistic development. The information attained provided a comparison between landscape art abroad and in Malta, and the influence from artists abroad on Maltese artists and how their artistic education influenced them in terms of landscape art. The artistic styles of these Maltese artists were compared with those of artists from abroad. An exploration of the artists' innovative contributions towards the evolution of modern landscape art in Malta describes how modern art has developed locally and how each artist developed his own modern style, each experimenting with different medium and technique instead of conforming to a specific international artistic movement. In the earlier part of the 20th Century, the general public preferred paintings with historical or religious connotations where the landscape was secondary to the message. Abstract painting initially was not appreciated by the local audience who preferred to see representations of their native land in topography. Although most of the trend setting artists in Malta attended the Government School of Art, in landscape paintings, these artists broke away from the rigid academic rules. Their travels abroad, to widen their artistic studies, gave them the opportunity to come in contact with various art movements and subjected them to modem artistic languages. On their return to Malta they started transferring these influences on to the landscape genre.