The decorative arts in Gozo : artistically significant ecclesiastical specimens from the nineteenth century

Abstract

Despite the double insularity of the small Mediterranean island of Gozo, its ecclesiastical establishments possess significant examples of decorative works in several media which belie the limitations of a society which was socially and economically restricted. Gozo, being for several centuries a largely cultural backwater, rarely produced artistic practitioners of merit and in general relied on masters active on the larger and more culturally-advanced sister island. On rarer circumstances, Gozo’s more ambitious patrons – mostly members of the clergy but also some private individuals – looked beyond Maltese shores. They commissioned or purchased works which brought over to Gozo the greater refinement and sophistication of foreign centres, such as those of Catania, Palermo, Naples, Milan, Lyons, or more importantly, Rome. The Eternal City remained a fundamental point of contact for natural and obvious reasons. [extract]