Event: Public Lecture: A.W.N. Pugin and John Hardman of Birmingham: Their Gothic Revival Works In Malta
Date: 15 February 2023
Time: 18:30
Venue: National Library, Valletta
Speaker: Dr Mark Sagona, Head of the Department of Art and Art History at the University of Malta
The National Library of Malta in collaboration with the Department of Art and Art History cordially invites you to the public lecture by Dr Mark Sagona, Head of the Department of Art and Art History at the University of Malta.
The artefacts under discussion will be exhibited for the evening.
This lecture, which is being held in collaboration with the Department of Art and Art History at the University of Malta, will highlight the recently-identified extraordinary works in Maltese collections coming from the immediate circle of the great Gothic Revival architect and designer A.W.N. Pugin (1812-52), produced by his significant collaborator John Hardman (1811-67) of Birmingham. The discussion will place the works – the only true Gothic Revival artefacts on the island – within their own immediate context and also within the scenario of the gradual appearance of Gothic Revival currents on the Decorative Arts in nineteenth-century Malta.
The paper traces the precocious, albeit timid, appearance of Gothic Revival motifs in the third decade of the nineteenth century, and follows them through gradual consolidation in the second half of the century, especially through several European imports. Sagona’s lecture will also briefly touch upon a more insular current in which Gothic Revival motifs were applied in an eclectic manner, generally resulting from a resistance to a full acceptance of the style.
Mark Sagona, Ph.D., is Head of the Department of Art and Art History, Faculty of Arts, University of Malta, where he lectures in Art History and Fine Arts. He is a leading specialist in the Decorative Arts in Malta within their international sphere and has researched, lectured and published widely on the subject including in the Journal of the Decorative Arts Society of London. His latest edited book International Perspectives on the Decorative Arts: Nineteenth-century Malta (Midsea Books, 2021) is the first volume in a series of specialised publications on the Decorative Arts. Sagona is also a practising visual artist and curator.
- This lecture forms part of Malta Libraries' Public Lecture Series 2022-2023 at the National Library of Malta 'Created to Inspire: 500 years of artistic splendour in Malta'.
- All lectures in the series are held at the National Library of Malta, Valletta and start at 18:30 sharp.
- Items from the national collection relating to the subject in question will be on display.
- Admission is free and no prior booking is necessary.
- Lecture will be delivered in English.
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