Edward Caruana Dingli (10 August 1876 – 9 May 1950) was a Maltese painter.
Biography
Edward Caruana Dingli was born on 10 August 1876 in
Valletta
Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an administrative unit and capital of Malta. Located on the main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, its population within administrative limits in 2014 wa ...
to Raphael Caruana Dingli and Martha née Garroni. He followed his father in embarking on a career in the civil service, where he was commissioned to the
Royal Malta Regiment of Militia, and later he transferred to the
Royal Malta Artillery
The Royal Malta Artillery (RMA) was a regular artillery unit of the British Army prior to Malta's independence. It was formed in 1889, having been called the Royal Malta Fencible Artillery from 1861 until 1889.
Initially on the British Esta ...
. He left military service in 1913 and became a full-time artist at the age of 37. He married Charlotte Marietta Giovanna Falzon for thirteen years, with whom he had two children, when he was 24.
Following his separation from Falzon in 1913, he had a reputedly scandalous relationship with Olga Galea Naudi née Barbora,
a long time acquaintance of Caruana Dingli and wife of an ex-military man Carlo Galea Naudi. He would go on to paint various portraits of Olga throughout his career.
Due to being born into an artistic family and being well connected with the Maltese elite as well as British government in Malta, Caruana Dingli found work as an artist through his family connections with the art scene in Malta as well as the political class of the country. He was the director of the Government School of Arts in Malta between 1919 and 1947. A number of his students later became notable Maltese artists, including
Willie Apap,
Anton Inglott
Anton may refer to: People
* Anton (given name), including a list of people with the given name
* Anton (surname)
Places
* Anton Municipality, Bulgaria
** Anton, Sofia Province, a village
* Antón District, Panama
** Antón, a town and capital ...
,
Emvin Cremona
Emanuel Vincent "Emvin" Cremona (27 May 1919 – 29 January 1987) was a Maltese artist and stamp designer. He is regarded as one of the best Maltese artists of the 20th century. Cremona is known for designing most Maltese stamps from 1957 to th ...
and
Esprit Barthet
Esprit Barthet (6 October 1919 – 4 July 1999) was an artist born in Valletta, Malta on 6 October 1919. Son of Camillo and Guzeppina Grixti.
He started art studies in Valletta, at the Government School of Arts. He went to Rome where he attend ...
.
Edward Caruana Dingli is brother to
Robert Caruana Dingli and great-uncle to
Debbie Caruana Dingli, both of whom are notable Maltese painters.
Artistic Work
Caruana Dingli's work incorporates portrait paintings in oil where his main subjects were prominent Maltese figures such as politicians, clerics and prelates. On the other hand, Caruana Dingli also painted folkloristic watercolour and gouaches paintings depicting Maltese landscape, countrysides and local street scenes with merchant sellers, farmers and children playing traditional Maltese games.
Giuseppe Calì
Giuseppe Calì (14 August 1846 – 1 March 1930) was a Maltese painter of Italian descent.
Biography
Born in Valletta, Calì was baptised at the Dominican Parish Church of Porto Salvo, one of the seven offsprings of the artist and musici ...
, who was Caruana Dingli's mentor and close friend, encouraged Caruana Dingli to focus his work on realism whilst holding a romantic idealism.
His work may be found in a number of collections such as the
Casino Maltese, the
National Museum of Fine Arts (nowadays known as MUŻA) at
Auberge d'Italie
The Auberge d'Italie ( mt, Berġa tal-Italja, it, Albergo d'Italia) is an auberge in Valletta, Malta. It was built at various stages in the late 16th century to house knights of the Order of Saint John from the langue of Italy, and it ori ...
,
and the
Museum of the Order of St John. He also designed the label for the first Maltese beer label in 1928, the
Farsons Pale Ale.
References
External links
Selection of paintings by Edward Caruana Dingli - Belgravia Auction GalleryEdward Caruana Dingli (1876-1950): Portraits, Views and Folkloristics Scenes - Google Books
{{DEFAULTSORT:Caruana Dingli, Edward
1876 births
1950 deaths
Maltese artists
Maltese stamp designers