Joseph Bellia (1932-1999) : a neglected landscape artist

Abstract

This long essay seeks to instill an interest in the work of Joseph Bellia and to place this artist in his historical artistic context. In the subtitle Bellia has been referred to as a neglected landscape artist since the artist has been largely forgotten after he passed away. This thesis treats landscape in the broad sense of the word and, therefore, cityscapes and seascapes are included with the rural landscape. As an artist of merit he is largely unknown to the new generation of artistic oriented Maltese. 'An artist requires an audience he can address, the absence of which can shrivel up his art, as indeed has been the fate of many Maltese artists. Bellia was an unassuming person and he stepped into the local artistic circles quite late in life. As a consequence his early artistic interests, training, and production remained obscure even from the people who were well acquainted with Bellia during his artistic carrier. On the other hand the memories of those who knew Bellia as a youth practicing art faded away through the years. Unfortunately Bellia's only brother, who could therefore have been an invaluable source of information passed away a year prior to the artist. The information available was therefore very limited indeed. Only one of Bellia's fellow school mates, Guido Lanfranco who luckily enough shared Bellia's interests in art and his other hobby, reading could recall relevant information on Bellia's early artistic interests. However although the research was quite a formidable task, it proved interesting and rewarding.

One cannot really appreciate the art of Joseph Bellia, unless one places him in his historical artistic context, both in the international scene and, more importantly, in the local scene. Therefore, this long essay provides a brief overview of art in the 20th century so that the reader may obtain an insight on possible influences that could have affected Bellia' s art. A number of people who personally knew him provided me with information to acquire a better insight of his life and character. Having said this not all people whom I contacted were willing to collaborate. Unfortunately I have never had the opportunity to meet Joseph Bellia before he sadly passed away on the 25th November 1999. Apart from these primary sources it was also essential to read through books and other documents of artistic related interest that were in his possession in order to better understand his art, its influences and stylistic developments. Unfortunately, Bellia's biographic data and his formative years remain rather obscure despite my efforts to gather any relevant information that could shed light on this crucial period in his life. Bellia's techniques and stylistic developments are discussed and substantiated by a critical analysis of his paintings, which is of major importance. His works are analyzed and discussed within the context of the art of his predecessors and his contemporaries. A list of his solo and collective exhibitions is provided as an appendix. [App. No.I] Newspapers, articles and reviews of exhibitions were consulted, especially those relating directly to the artist Joseph Bellia. Although these were treated with great caution because of their non-academic nature, nonetheless they proved useful in showing the public's response to Bellia's work and in providing important facts such as the works exhibited in both his personal exhibitions and in the collective exhibitions in which he participated. To date, no extensive work has ever been published on Joseph Bellia. A few publications refer to the Artist but provide only scanty information mainly limited to a brief description of his academic formation. These publications include Nicholas de Piro, International Dictionary of Artists who Painted in Malta and Michael J. Schiavone and Louis J. Scerri, Maltese Biographies of the Twentieth Centwy. Among the important sources of reference were Joseph Paul Cassar' s book L-Arti Modema and his Ph.D. thesis 'Pioneers of Modern Art in Malta - A Critical Analysis of the Beginnings of a Cultural Change in a European Perspective 1900-1970. 'This proved invaluable in placing Bellia within the context of the Maltese artistic scene. Although the works illustrated in this long essay constitute a small part of the large quantity of works analyzed and photographed during the research, I am sure that there are a great number of works in public establishments and private collections in Malta and abroad that unfortunately I did not come across and document. The aim of this research is to put the work of Joseph Bellia in its perspective and to place him in his historical context, giving him the recognition he deserves.