Cartoonist Maurice Tanti Burlò, Nalizpelra, as he was better known, passed away last night, aged 78, after a long illness.

Over the past 37 years, his cartoons have become an institution and, according to former Times of Malta editor Victor Aquilina, those he caricatured favourably – from presidents to the most humble of persons – just loved him.

“But even those who might have been at the receiving end of his sharp comment could see the brilliance of his work, so much so that they would often ask for the original cartoon,” Mr Aquilina said.

Mr Tanti Burlò is survived by his wife, Elena Gatt, and son Sebastian.

“My father is my hero, my mentor. It’s usually the standard thing to say but it’s the truth,” his son said. “He was my greatest mentor. He really fought for what he believed in and was a great believer in democracy. That’s what he loved about Times of Malta.”

He described him as the best father he could have had and his “Don Quixote”.

He was an artist with a razor-sharp eye that enabled him to compress all he wanted to say in just a few strokes

Mr Tanti Burlò’s last cartoon – which he did more than a decade ago – will be published this Sunday.

He began drawing cartoons for Times of Malta in October 1977, to “get back at [Dom] Mintoff” for the way Telemalta employees, such as him, were suspended without pay for supporting doctors, nurses and bankers on strike.

Cartoonist Maurice Tanti Burlò. Photo: Jason Borg

His chosen pseudonym, Nalizpelra, featured in his cartoon showing an army of dissatisfied workers from all over Malta firing shots at a mean-looking Prime Minister Dom Mintoff, depicted as a bird.

Former Times of Malta editor Victor Aquilina said Mr Tani Burlò had a colourful impact on society. “Rather than words, Maurice used cartoons to chronicle the island’s social and political life. In this way, he was often able to put across ideas and messages better than writers could in words,” he said.

“Maurice could be witty, deadly serious, trivial and devastating. He was never dull. He was an artist with a razor-sharp eye that enabled him to compress all he wanted to say in just a few strokes, though he could be elaborate and expansive,” Mr Aquilina added.

Laurence Grech, former editor of The Sunday Times of Malta, lauded Mr Tanti Burlò’s “brilliant” cartoons.

“Maurice was a very affable character with a great sense of humour and with a keen eye for news,” Mr Grech said. He described him as a man of many talents, one of the island’s leading cartoonist and “a great gentleman”.

Mr Tanti Burlò published three books – A Worm’s Eyeview in 1982, Blame it on Dom! in 2002 and Blame it on Ed! in 2004. He took part in more than 50 art and cartooning exhibitions in Malta and abroad from 1962. His cartoons have also been featured as stamp designs.

He won the BPC Award to Journalists when the cartoons section was first introduced in 1998 and again in 2002.