If by any chance you were asked to name the Maltese painter known as “the devil with the brush”, what would your answer be?
Perhaps, in a slightly stretched metaphor linked to the virtuoso violinist Nicolò Paganini, who it was said had sold his soul to the devil in return for his musical genius, the answer would be Giuseppe Calì.
Conservator-restorer Pierre Bugeja who, together with his team, recently finished restoring seven of Calì’s works housed at Our Lady of Sorrows parish church in St Paul’s Bay, considers Calì as one of his favourite artists.
“The natural grace of the personages and the perspective are sublime and the drapery extremely natural. One comes across works by Calì in practically every church in these islands,” Mr Bugeja said.
The paintings feature the titular work showing Our Lady of Sorrows, The Lamentation, recognised as one of Calì’s best works, and the Presentation of Baby Jesus at the Temple. These last two were painted over completely in the late 1970s to hide the damage caused by mould and cracked paint. Over painting is alien to professional conservation standards because it leads to complications during future interventions particularly so when the materials used were not reversible, Mr Bugeja said.
“Calì painted these works on cotton sheets which did not help in the preservation of the paintings. Cotton absorbs humidity quickly and contracts with lack of humidity, stressing the paint layer and leading to mechanical cracks and deformations.
“The sheet turns brittle as it reacts with the acidity of the paint making it prone to tear,” Mr Bugeja said.
The other paintings – oils on canvas – represent St Anthony, St Paul, St Francis and the Immaculate Conception.
“The paintings were covered in a layer of dirt caused by candle soot and pollution from vehicular traffic. This dirt absorbs humidity and reacts chemically with the colours. Additionally, the canvas was torn as it had been screwed directly onto the wooden frame,” Mr Bugeja noted.
The cracks on the paintings came about because Calì mixed the colours with varnish as a binder instead of the traditional oil technique in order for the paint to dry faster. The cracks formed as the last layer of paint dried faster than the one underneath.
“Calì possibly did this to finish the paintings in the shortest time possible to have more time in hand to complete the numerous commissions he secured,” Mr Bugeja said.
The restoration started in November 2007 under the initiative of parish priest Fr Joseph Cilia OFM.