Charlene Vella reviews sculptor Frans Galea’s Madonna of Vocations, currently housed at the Archiepiscopal Seminary in Rabat.
[attach id=214077 size="large"]Frans Galea’s recently restored Madonna
of Vocations.[/attach]
Frans Galea (1945-1994) was one of our best sculptors of the past decades of the 20th century, but he died young, before receiving the acclaim he richly deserved. The works he left behind him are nonetheless a tribute to his outstanding, albeit unsung, output.
Executed in cement, there is something so hauntingly meditative and solemn about this sculpture that leaves a deep spiritual impression
He was a sculptor from Rabat, Malta, born just after World War II. Like most aspiring artists of his generation, Galea attended the Malta School of Art, which was then the only means by which an aspiring artist in Malta could acquire training.
Reserved in its programme, it produced a reactionary attitude among the young artists. This led, in 1952, to the emergence of the Modern Art Circle, a major breakthrough.
A few years later, artists in search of a new way of artistic expression set up the very active Atelier ’56. Other groups, such as Spectrum ’67 and Vision ’74, followed.
Malta in the 1970s saw artists who remained traditional in their work, and others who embraced new modern styles. A new cultural identity was in the making. This search for self is reflected in the works that Frans Galea and his contemporaries produced.
In 1976 Frans Galea was awarded a five-year bursary to study in Florence at the Accademia di Belle Art.
Imagine a young Maltese artist, striving to find his style while still remaining true to his roots, finding himself in Florence, surrounded by great works of art. A link with Florence’s artistic heritage is therefore easy to comprehend in his development.
The Accademia di Belle Arti was a seminal conditioning influence.
The Archiepiscopal Seminary in Rabat has in its grounds one of the earliest and most important works by Galea, a Madonna of Vocations, in which the style of the artist is beautifully captured. It was commissioned in 1983 to mark the International Marian Congress that was held in Malta that year. This was just two years after Galea returned from Florence, a time when he was still relatively unknown, as is unfortunately still the case today.
Executed in cement, there is something so hauntingly meditative and solemn about this sculpture that leaves a deep spiritual impression on those who see it. It is also iconographically innovative. The Virgin is represented as a youthful veiled humble peasant woman. Her right hand lightly touches her chest, she has supple skin and is endowed with a large forehead, sharp features and full lips. One can describe these features as an idealised naturalism, so plain yet so evocative.
A plait in her hair, falling over her left shoulder, and three bundles of wheat (one by her left hand, and two others beneath the pedestal she is found elevated on) add a touch of charm and decorativeness to the otherwise plain sculpture.
The sculptor originally intended the Virgin to carry a scythe, the obvious tool used for cutting wheat, but this was removed for fear of being misinterpreted.
The impression skilfully crafted is that of a peasant girl who has just returned from the field. There are powerful symbolic elements. The wheat being, for example an obvious reference to bread, and therefore to the Eucharist, the body of Christ.
Indeed, this sculpture reflects Galea’s calm and reserved nature. The subjective element is present in all good art.
In a few words, this beautiful sculpture is noble in its simplicity. It is a powerfully spiritual work that says so much of this unsung artist. And it is its simplicity that shows Galea’s response to modern idioms. It is a powerful object lesson of what good art is all about.
The sculpture has recently suffered from cracks to the head, and has been successfully restored by Fr Gino Gauci.