The Neoclassical Revival in Malta

By Hilary Spiteri

Late 18th and early 19th Century academical drawings, paintings and sculptures, produced in Malta and abroad, following the Neoclassical stylistic trends prevailing across Europe. The series of lectures will provide an insight on the history of the rise and decline of the Malta School of Design during the British administration and discusses it in a meaningful art historical context. The prevailing artistic currents (Neoclassicism, Purism and Pre-Raphaelistes) will be discussed and availed to broaden and adjust our perspective of the artistic scenario of early British Malta and to show how, in spite of the decline in official patronage, the University, succeeded in providing Malta with a respectable art academy. This was not an anticlimax but a new beginning and a benchmark development in Maltese Art History.

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The Nature of Collecting

By Sandro Sciberras

The aim of this course is to provide a better understanding and appreciation of collecting, a primordial instinct of our ancestors and how this idea developed and mutated throughout the ages. The varied nature of collecting will be analysed from a historical, psychological and social point of view, with special attention being given, though not exclusively, to various collections and their display in Malta throughout the years. The course shall also delve briefly on museums and the future of collecting in modern society. Closing the course will be an open presentation/discussion with the attendees about their experiences in this field and where possible, share information about their own personal collections too.

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Looking at Paintings: Tips on reading the language of painters

By Martina Caruana

After introducing the elements and principles of art, this course will analyse a selection of landmark paintings produced during significant periods in the history of Western art. Each work will be discussed in the context within which it was produced, and an analysis of its visual presentation will support the development of skills in looking at paintings from ancient to contemporary times.

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Partying With Art

By Bernardine Scicluna

Faces, trees, people, strange shapes, food, children, areas of land, jars, clear or stormy skies, moods, staring eyes, bread, poultry, dead fish, expressive hands, life and death, kitchen utensils, haughty looks – these and more will be for all to see in an 8-lecture series from 5th March to 11th June 2014. The lecturer, Bernadine Scicluna, will provide a foretaste of a number of subjects captured mainly in paintings. Various aspects on portraiture, still life and landscape will be touched upon. Children, food, mortality and illusion will also feature in these talks.

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