Why are there no great women artists (in the new advanced art syllabus)?

Abstract

This paper critically evaluates the appropriateness of the History of art component of the new 2008-2010 Matriculation and Secondary examination (MATSEC) Advanced and Intermediate Art syllabi. The syllabi propose a traditional ‘canon’ of eighty works of art for students to study, including some of the most wellknown painters and sculptors in the history of Western art. However, it simultaneously excludes several groups: in particular, women, non-Western and living artists. Modern and contemporary Maltese art are also omitted, while the artistic media represented in the list are very restricted. The paper argues that these exclusions are deceptive precisely because their omission from the list is ‘hidden’ behind a veil of inclusiveness (the list covers a very long period: from Palaeolithic cave-paintings to the twentieth century). Hence, students are led to think that this survey is the ‘story of art’, when it actually offers a very partial account of artistic expression. The concluding propositions offer directions that future re-evaluations of the MATSEC Art syllabi might take.