Giuseppe Calì (14 August 1846 – 1 March 1930) was a
Maltese painter of Italian descent.
Biography
Born 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 ...
, Calì was baptised at the
Dominican Parish Church of Porto Salvo, one of the seven offsprings of the artist and musician Raffaele Calì, set designer at the
Royal Theatre,
[Dominic Cutajar]
"The 19th Cent. Realism of Giuseppe Calì (1846-1930) - an artistic sway that lasted 50 years"
in: ''Giuseppe Calì'', edit. Edwin A. Camilleri, pub. Malta 1991 and of mezzosoprano Giovanna Padiglione.
/ref>
His parents, who were from Naples, had moved to British Malta in 1840.[Michelle Marie Galea]
Giuseppe Calì’s Private Works – The Man And Artist
''weconnect''
At age 19, in 1865, thanks to the generosity of the merchant William Stephen Eynaud,[ Calì moved to ]Naples
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
to further his artistic formation at the Accademia di Belle Arti
This is a list of the tertiary-level schools or academies of fine art in Italy that are recognised by the Ministero dell'Istruzione, dell'Università e della Ricerca, the Italian ministry of higher education.
Accademie di Belle Arti
The offic ...
, where he studied under neoclassicist Giuseppe Mancinelli (1812-1875). Rather than following Mancinelli's style, the young Calì was attracted by the anti-academic Domenico Morelli
Domenico Morelli (4 August 182313 August 1901) was an Italian painter, who mainly produced historical and religious works. Morelli was immensely influential in the arts of the second half of the 19th century, both as director of the Accademia di ...
(1826-1901), a follower of the Verismo
In opera, ''verismo'' (, from , meaning "true") was a post-Romantic operatic tradition associated with Italian composers such as Pietro Mascagni, Ruggero Leoncavallo, Umberto Giordano, Francesco Cilea and Giacomo Puccini.
''Verismo'' as an ...
movement. In Naples, Calì also grew closer to Romanticism and to the Italian Risorgimento
The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century political and social movement that resulted in the consolidation of different states of the Italian Peninsula into a single ...
. He made return to Valletta two years later, in 1867,[ summoned by his terrified parents who were told that their son planned to join Garibaldi in his latest attempt to overthrow the Papal States.][
His first major work, ''The Death of Dragut'' from 1867, is still deemed a masterpiece; it was purchased by the government and placed on permanent display in the armory of the Grandmaster's Palace, Valletta - then later at the Museum of Fine Arts, today's MUŻA. ][Newsbook]
/ref> The influences of both Mancinelli and Morelli are visible in the ''Death of Dragut'' and in other works of his early period.
Calì's art soon found wide acceptance in Malta, where he got employed in decorating private houses with landscapes and portraits. Only after 1870 Calì started to accept Church commissions. [ In 1881 he pained St. Jerome at the Sacro Cuor Church in Sliema, also deemed among his major works.][
Calì married Perennia Pace from Senglea in 1871, with whom had 11 children. In order to sustain the family, he got employed as art teacher at the Lyceum.][
As an established authority in the artistic scene in the island, Calì started to grow his own school, favouring the style of ]Verismo
In opera, ''verismo'' (, from , meaning "true") was a post-Romantic operatic tradition associated with Italian composers such as Pietro Mascagni, Ruggero Leoncavallo, Umberto Giordano, Francesco Cilea and Giacomo Puccini.
''Verismo'' as an ...
over the rampant Neo-Classicism and academicism. Among his students were his son Ramiro Raffaele Calì, Raphael Bonnici Calì, Gianni Vella
Gianni Vella (9 May 1885 – 3 September 1977) was a Maltese artist. After studying in Rome, he produced many religious works which can be found in many churches in the Maltese Islands, but he also produced some secular works including landscape ...
and Ignatio Cefai.[
He died in Valletta and was commemorated by the Republic of Malta with a series of four postage stamps in 1996, and a coin in 2004. His son ]Ramiro Calì
Ramiro is a Spanish and Portuguese name. Notable people with the name include:
Given name
* Ramiro I of Asturias (c. 790–850), king of Asturias
* Ramiro II of León (c. 900–951), king of Leon
* Ramiro III of León (961–985), king of Leon
* ...
was also a painter.
Works
Giuseppe Calì was a very prolific artist, almost every major church in Malta prides itself on his work. He worked very quickly, and according to one of his grandsons he was called ''ix-xitan tal-pinzell'' ("devil of the brush"). His performance was enormous; during his lifetime he made more than six hundred different compositions[ (according to some sources - about two thousand ][ ) consisting of an impressive variety of paintings, drawings, bozzetti, portraits and decorations of church vaults, as well as a number of sculptures and lithography. Unfortunately, many of them were lost during World War II, such as the crucifixion in the Stella Maris church in Sliema.][ ][
The influence of Romanticism, which the artist became acquainted with in Naples, is evident in most of his early works, such as the painting of the altar of the parish church in Mosta, ''Our Lady of the Rosary'' (1870), his first work for churches after his return from Italy, and the ''Saint Lawrence'' (1881) and ''Saint Jerome'' (1882) in the ''Sacro Cuor'' church in Sliema. The latter is widely recognized as a masterpiece of the genre.][ This style is also visible in the works from 1885: ''Saint Joseph with Child'' for the parish church of St. Cajetan in Ħamrun and the ''Martyrdom of St. Demetrius'' for the parish church of Maria Bambina in Senglea.][
Calì has also done several works in collaboration with artist Carlo Ignazio Cortis, including for the Parish Church of St. Lawrence in Birgu and the Church of the Savior in Lija.][ At the end of the 19th century, he also worked on some side paintings, such as the one for the Church of the Annunciation in Tarxien, and the painting of Saint Dominic for the Porto Salvo parish church in Valletta, where he was baptized ][ ][
Calì has worked on many private home decoration assignments, including a series of four putti entitled ''The Four Seasons'' in the entrance hall of Villa Alhambra in Sliema, property of the architect ]Emanuele Luigi Galizia
Emanuele Luigi Galizia (7 November 1830 – 6 May 1907) was a Maltese architect and civil engineer, who designed many public buildings and several churches. He is regarded as "the principal Maltese architect throughout the second half of the ni ...
;
He also had a great influence on Maltese society, he painted about fifty portraits of famous people in Malta. This should include the portraits of Cardinal Lavigerie (1884), Cardinal Logue (1886), as well as Governor Richard More O'Ferrall
Richard More O'Ferrall (10 April 1797 – 27 October 1880) was an Irish politician, a high level British government official and a Governor of Malta. Born to a noble Irish Catholic family at Balyna, he was the eldest son and heir of Ambrose M ...
, Marquis Emanuele Scicluna
Emanuele is the Italian form of Manuel. People with the name include:
* Carlo Emanuele Buscaglia (1915–1944), Italian aviator
* Emanuele Basile (1949–1980), captain of Carabinieri
* Emanuele Belardi (born 1977), Italian football player
* E ...
, Giovanni Battista Schembri Giovanni may refer to:
* Giovanni (name), an Italian male given name and surname
* Giovanni (meteorology), a Web interface for users to analyze NASA's gridded data
* ''Don Giovanni'', a 1787 opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, based on the legend of ...
, Achille Camilleri, Edward V. Ferro, Sir Victor Houlton
The name Victor or Viktor may refer to:
* Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname
Arts and entertainment
Film
* ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film
* ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...
,[ Judge Sir Adrian Dingli, Rector of University ]Napoleone Tagliaferro
Napoleone is an Italian male given name. St. Napoleone of Alexandria, alternatively rendered as ''Neopulus'', ''Neopolus'', ''Neopolis'' or ''Neópolo'', whose feast day is August 15, was martyred during the early fourth century during the Diocleti ...
, Pope Pius IX , Judge Paolo Debono, Count and Countess of Messina, and Lord and Lady Strickland. [
; List of works
The proscenium arch of the Teatru Salesjan in Sliema, Malta was decorated in 1910 with the reminiscent oil on stone painting entitled The Virtues of Mankind. The painting is surrounded by rich bas-relief, pre-art deco stucco decorations full of symbolism.
*]Death of Dragut
''Death of Dragut'' is an oil painting by the Maltese artist Giuseppe Calì, from 1867. It depicts the death of the Ottoman general Dragut during the Great Siege of Malta in 1565.
Description
It measures 225 x 170 cm, and is in the collecti ...
(oil on canvas, 1867), widely considered his best work, now in the Museum of Fine Arts, Valletta
*St Jerome and St Lawrence altarpieces (oil on canvas, 1881), Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Parish Church (''Sacro Cuore''), Sliema
Sliema ( mt, Tas-Sliema ) is a town located on the northeast coast of Malta in the Northern Harbour District. It is a major residential and commercial area and a centre for shopping, bars, dining, and café life. It is also the most densely po ...
*Virgin of the Rosary (his first work), and Prophets, and episodes from the life of Christ in the parish church of Mosta.
*St. Dominic altarpiece, Basilica of St Dominic, Valletta (''Porto Salvo'')
*portraits of the merchant Agostino Cassar Torregiani and of Judge Carbone
*Tre Rome (1911)
*Nativity of Jesus Christ, St Andrew's Parish Church, Luqa
*Saint Dominic, St Andrew's Parish Church, Luqa
*Saint Michael, St Andrew's Parish Church, Luqa
*Sacred Heart of Jesus (destroyed during World War II), St Andrew's Parish Church, Luqa
*Our Lady of the Rosary, St Andrew's Parish Church, Luqa
*Saint Paul and Saint Catherine V.M., St Andrew's Parish Church, Luqa
*Apotheosis of St. Francis, St Francis of Assisi Church, Valletta
*The Sacred Heart of Jesus, Fontana parish church, Fontana, Gozo
*The Assumption of Mary, Parish Church of the Assumption, Qrendi
The Church of the Assumption (''Malti Knisja tal-Assunta or Knisja ta' Santa Marija'') is a Roman Catholic parish church located in Qrendi, Malta.
History
While Qrendi formed part of the parish of Żurrieq, in 1575 its main church was dedicated t ...
*St. Lawrence Martyr, San Lawrenz parish, Gozo
*Main apse, minor chapel apse and St. Joseph, St Helen's Basilica, Birkirkara
*The Four Seasons - four putti in the entrance hall of Villa Alhambra, Sliema
Notes
Bibliography
* Dominic Cutajar, "The 19th Cent. Realism of Giuseppe Calì (1846-1930) - an artistic sway that lasted 50 years", in: ''Giuseppe Calì'', edit. Edwin A. Camilleri, pub. Malta 199
* E. Fiorentino, "Maltese art astride two centuries (1860-1921)" in V. Malta Milanes 9ed., ''The British Colonial Experience 1800-1964'', pub, Mireva Publications, Malta 1988, pp. 263-265
* R. Bonnici Calì, ''Giuseppe Calì Centenary Exhibition 1846-1946'', published Malta, 1946, p. 18.
* P. Ilario Dimech OFM, ''Le Pitture di Giuseppe Calì nelle Chiese dei Frati Minori Conventuali a Malta'', pub. Malta, 1940, pp. 27-30
External links
Latest info, work, reviews, comments and biography of Maltese Artists
*Attard, Mary (2009)
"Cali-Galizia Gem threatenedWho is able and willing to preserve this piece of Maltese heritage from being lost? asks Mary Attard"
The Malta Independent
''The Malta Independent'' is a national newspaper published daily in Malta
Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, betwe ...
1846 births
1930 deaths
People from Valletta
20th-century Maltese painters
19th-century Maltese painters
Maltese people of Italian descent
{{Malta-painter-stub
Maltese artists
Catholic painters