Caravaggio’s dramatic chiaroscuro, filled with mystery and imagination, has long captivated artists and audiences alike. Now, students and tutors from the Malta School of Art have drawn on that same inspiration to put up an exhibition of paintings interpreting the work of the great Italian master, on show at the National Museum of Fine Arts in Valletta.
The project was the initiative of Trevor Borg of Heritage Malta, who invited Joseph Micallef of the Malta School of Art to lead a group of students in studying and sketching directly from the paintings at Caravaggio’s L’Immagine del Divino exhibition at the National Museum of Archaeology.
In under 15 days, students and tutors produced more than 35 interpretations, now on display at the Loggia of the National Museum of Fine Arts in Valletta. The works reveal a wide range of approaches, each shaped by different processes, techniques and media, offering a varied and personal response to Caravaggio’s legacy.
Among the works on show is my own mixed media painting, depicting the famous skull that features across several of Caravaggio’s paintings, a recurring symbol of mortality that has fascinated me since first studying his work up close.
Exhibition was brought together in time to coincide with other events marking the 400th anniversary of Caravaggio’s stay in Malta, with Sandro Debono, curator at the National Museum of Fine Arts, driving the initiative forward.
