Commemorative coin celebrates 'the devil of the brush'

Numismatics enthusiasts have a new rare item to collect - the commemorative silver coin depicting Maltese painter Giuseppe Calì issued by the Central Bank yesterday.

The coin, 2,000 of which were made for the Central Bank's Distinguished Maltese Personalities Series, was struck at the Royal Mint in the United Kingdom.

The likeness of Calì on the coin, designed by Noel Galea Bason, also carried the dates of the painter's birth and death, along with the words "Giuseppe Calì - Pittur". The emblem of Malta and the year of issue, 2004, appear on the obverse of the coin.

In a brief address during yesterday's launch, art critic Emmanuel Fiorentino spoke of Calì and explained why he was one of the greatest Maltese artists.

Born in Valletta on August 14, 1846 to Neapolitan parents who had settled in Malta, Calì received his education at the Accademia de Belle Arti in Naples under Giuseppe Mancinelli.

The painter's early works, among which there is The Death of Dragut, today at the National Museum of Fine Arts, in Valletta, The St Jerome and St Lawrence altarpieces at the Sacro Cuor parish church, in Sliema, and the Martyrdom of St Demetrius at the basilica of Senglea, are among his most accomplished paintings.

Mr Fiorentino said that Ignazio Carlo Cortis, another Maltese artist who was Calì's contemporary, used to refer to him as ix-xitan tal-pinzell (the devil of the brush).

Calì died at his home in Valletta on March 1, 1930.

The Death of Dragut featured in an exhibition of works by Maltese artists at the national gallery of Ireland in Dublin during EU accession celebrations.

The coins in the series, that also commemorate Enrico Mizzi, a former Prime Minister, composer Nicolò Isouard and Chief Justice Sir Adrian Dingli, are available for sale at Lm15.39 each from the counter of the Malta Coins Distribution Centre at the Central Bank or via the bank's website.

www.centralbankmalta.com