Giuseppe Hyzler (1787 – 19 January 1858) was a Maltese painter. Born in Malta with a German background, he was awarded a scholarship by the Governor of Malta, Sir Thomas Maitland, in 1814, to pursue his artistics formation in Rome. There Hyzler joined the Nazarene movement, led by

Friedrich Overbeck Johann Friedrich Overbeck (3 July 1789 – 12 November 1869) was a German painter. As a member of the Nazarene movement, he also made four etchings. Early life and education Born in Lübeck, his ancestors for three generations had been Protes ...

, of whom his brother Vincenzo Hyzler (1813-1849) had grown close. The Nazarenes lived in a community near Rome, wearing black dresses and long hair; they deemed sacred art as the highest cultural expression, in particular 14th-15th century frescoes. After the community dissolved, Giuseppe Hyzler returned to Malta in 1823, where he opened a private art school. He taught

Amedeo Preziosi Amedeo Preziosi (2 December 1816 – 27 September 1882) was a Maltese painter and traveler known for his watercolours and prints of the Balkans, Ottoman Empire, and Romania. Biography Amedeo Preziosi was born in 1816 to a noble family in Malta. ...

among others. Hyzler was responsible for removing some of the Baroque art of Saint John's Co-Cathedral, including the ornate altar in the Chapel of the Langue of France.{{cite web, title=St.John's Co-Cathedral, url=http://www.culturalheritage.gov.mt/filebank/inventory/01130.pdf, website=National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands, date=28 December 2012, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303230954/http://www.culturalheritage.gov.mt/filebank/inventory/01130.pdf, archive-date=3 March 2016 By the mid-19th century he was deemed among the most accredited painters in Malta, a representative of neoclassicist and academic style, until the artistic scene was revolutionised by Romanticism as brought by

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 ...

. In 1953, Edward Sammut remarked that "Their paintings are noted for the cold academism of the drawing and the rather forced classical poses of their figures."Edward Sammut
''Art in Malta''
1953

Works

* Madonna of the Rosary, 1840, Parish Church of St. Dominic, Valletta * Our lady of Mount Carmel,

Our Saviour's Church, Lija Our Saviour's Church or more formally The Parish Church of the Transfiguration of Jesus is a Roman Catholic Baroque Parish church located in the village of Lija, Malta. History The parish of Lija was created on February 6, 1594. The cornerstone f ...

* Buttresses on the nave walls, St. Catherine's Old Church, Żejtun * Sketches of frescoes found in the ruined Old Church of Siġġiewi * ''Relazione dello stato delle scuole del Disegno nell’Universita’ di Malta dal 1802 al 1850'', anonymous work attributed to Hyzler by Dominic Cutajar.Dominic Cutajar
1800-1860 The Art of Colonial Malta
/ref>

Bibliography

* John Debono
A short note on the artist Giuseppe Hyzler (1787-1858)
''Melita Historica'', 2008 * Espinosa Rodriguez, A. (1997): ''The Nazarene movement and its impact on Maltese nineteenth century art'' (Master's dissertation)
online version
* Dominic Cutajar,
1800-1860 The Art of Colonial Malta
, in: ''The British Colonial Experience 1800-1964'', ed. Victor Mallia-Milanes, pub. Malta 1988.

Notes

19th-century Maltese painters Nazarene painters