Giuseppe Calì
Giuseppe Calì | |
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 Monument to Giuseppe Calì at the Upper Barrakka Gardens | |
| Born | 14 August 1846 Valletta |
| Died | 1 March 1930 (aged 83) |
| Nationality | Maltese |
| Education | Giuseppe Mancinelli |
| Alma mater | Accademia delle Belle Arti |
| Notable work | Death of Dragut |
Giuseppe Calì (14 August 1846 – 1 March 1930) was a Maltese painter, born in Valletta of Neapolitan parents and educated at the Accademia delle Belle Arti in Naples under Giuseppe Mancinelli. He was a prolific artist: almost every church of any consequence in Malta boasts a work of his, and according to one of his grandsons, was nicknamed ix-xitan tal-pinzell ("the Devil with the brush"). He died in Valletta and was commemorated by the Republic of Malta with a series of four postage stamps in 1996, and a coin in 2004. His son Ramiro Calì was also a painter.
Works
The proscenium arch of the Teatru Salesjan in Sliema, Malta was decorated in 1910 with the reminiscent oil on stone painting entitled The Virtues of Mankind. The painting is surrounded by rich bas-relief, pre-art deco stucco decorations full of symbolism.
- Death of Dragut (oil on canvas, 1867), widely considered his best work, now in the Museum of Fine Arts, Valletta
- St Jerome and St Lawrence altarpieces (oil on canvas, 1881), Sacro Cuor parish church, Sliema.
- Virgin of the Rosary (his first work), and Prophets, and episodes from the life of Christ in the parish church of Mosta.
- St. Dominic altarpiece, parish church of Porto Salvo, Valletta
- portraits of the merchant Agostino Cassar Torregini and of Judge Carbone
- Tre Rome
- Nativity of Jesus Christ - Luqa Parish Church
- Saint Dominic - Luqa Parish Church
- Saint Michael - Luqa Parish Church
- Sacred Heart of Jesus (destroyed during World War II) - Luqa Parish Church
- Our Lady of the Rosary - Luqa Parish Church
- Saint Paul and Saint Catherine V.M. - Luqa Parish Church
- Apotheosis of St. Francis, church of S. Francesco, Valletta.
- The Sacred Heart of Jesus, Fontana parish church, Fontana, Gozo
- The Assumption of Mary, Qrendi church
- St. Lawrence Martyr, San Lawrenz parish, Gozo
- Main apse, minor chapel apse and St. Joseph, St. Helen Basilica, Birkirkara
- The Four Seasons - four putti in the entrance hall of the Alhambra - the Hispanic-Moorish terraced house (one of the two similarly styled houses) in Rudolph Street, Sliema. Houses were designed by the Maltese architect Emanuele Luigi Galizia
External links
- Postage stamps honoring Calì, depicting some of his work.
- Latest info, work, reviews, comments and biography of Maltese Artists
- Attard, Mary (2009), "Cali-Galizia Gem threatenedWho is able and willing to preserve this piece of Maltese heritage from being lost? asks Mary Attard", The Malta Independent
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