Twentieth century religious paintings and sculptures in Malta : a critical and historical analysis

Abstract

This dissertation analyses the roots and developments of religious painting and sculpture in Malta during the twentieth century. The study focuses primarily on religious art and refers to secular art only to support the arguments under discussion The artistic field is vast and therefore the study concentrates mainly on painting, but reference is made to other visual arts, that is, sculpture and architecture, when a major contribution is given in that particular field. The aim of the dissertation is to give a holistic approach to religious painting and sculpture in the twentieth century. Therefore, rather than treating each artist in isolation, the dissertation tries to compare and contrast the artists under discussion and to detect the influences and develoµmenls throughout different periods. Art cannot be studied in isolation and, therefore, each chapter is introduced by a short investigation of the political and social field within which the artists of that particular period lived and worked.