The art of papier-mache in Malta between the 19th and early 20th centuries : technical and art historical considerations

Abstract

The Maltese papier-mache tradition is an almost three hundred year old trade that is associated with one of the Maltese island's most important socio-religious and cultural characteristics - the church and its village feasts. This because the technique by which processed paper could be turned and moulded into a particular form is almost specifically related and utilised for the production of religious effigies in churches and ephemeral representations in streets during the festa season. The production of such statues presented a very active niche in the art of the nineteenth and early twentieth century Malta. The resulting statues offer an interesting opus of styles that were in vogue at the time and also witness the patriotic Maltese populace's fervour towards their Catholic faith. This Catholic faith was the only psychological and social stronghold in the rather turbulent period that Malta found itself in under British rule. Due to these significant aspects and to the fact that this subject has been largely unstudied leaving a lacuna in a somewhat delicate phase in Maltese art history - this thesis aims at raising the awareness on this trade's history and its importance. It is meaningful for its artistic content and also for the way in which it partly shows and describes an aspect of the Maltese people's way of living in the particular social circumstances. Therefore, this work also analyses the papier-mache medium in its cultural, artistic, stylistic, technical and art historical importance in the nineteenth and early twentieth century - the most salient and flourishing period of this tradition. Hence, the discussed works are those that were executed mainly between 1820 and 1910. In the process, necessary information is also provided on the social situation that acted as backdrop to the mentioned works, since this gives a more holistic view of the subject and places the mentioned statues and their artists in their proper context. Together with this, biographical details on the most noteworthy sculptors and master craftsmen that have contributed to the Maltese heritage of kartapesta statues are also given in order to give a more vivid picture of the situation and the happenings that took place.