Eugene F. Montanaro PIETRO PAOLO AZZOPARDI — A

Eugene F. Montanaro
PIETRO PAOLO AZZOPARDI — A FORGOTTEN SCULPTOR
The lack of a comprehensive and coherent History of Maltese Art has
tended to obscure the authorship of many valid contributions to our sculptural
heritage. The works of Pietro Paolo Azzopardi. a gifted 19th-century sculptor,
have not been spared from this cruel fate. Except for a brief note in the
Appendix to P.P. Castagna's History of Malta, Azzopardi has long been
relegated to the realms of oblivion.
In this short talk I propose to deal briefly with Azzopardi's life and works.
LIKE
Small Boy in
Valletta
Pietro Paolo Azzopardi was born on 20 April 1791, and died on 24 October
1875 — a long life of 84 years.
The youngest of three children born to Antonio Azzopardi and his wife
Maria nee Camllleri, he w a s baptized in the Church of St Paul Shipwrecked,
Valletta, on 21 April 1791, and christened Salvator, Joseph, Petrus, Paulus,
Jeremias in that order. (1) In adulthood, however, he invariably qualified
himself Maestro Scultare Pietro Paolo Azzopardi. (2)
Little is known about his parents. His father, whose occupation remains
obscure, hailed from Cospicua, while his mother's family resided in the suburb
of Floriana. (3) Pietro Paolo's parents were married in the Church of St Publius,
Floriana, which then fell under the jurisdiction of the Valletta Parish of St
Paul. (4)
Pietro Paolo certainly received some form of elementary schooling, possibly in Valletta. Literacy w a s not widespread among his contemporaries —
certainly not among his fellow craftsmen — and Azzopardi seems to have
1. St. Paul Shipwrecked Parish Archives (S.P.S.P.4.), Liber Bapt.. XIII, 237v.
2. Pietro Paolo Rave three different spellings for his surname: Azoppardi, Azzoppardi
and Azzopardi. For the sake of convenience I have adopted the modern rendering
of the surname, Azzopardi
3. S.P.S.P.A..
4. Ibid
Liber STatr., IX, 239r.
EUGENE F. MONTANARO
62
been very proud to append his signature to as many documents as possible. (5)
The years of Azzopardi's youth saw the expulsion from Malta of the
Knights of St. John, the Maltese insurrection against the French and the
gradual but decisive consolidation of the British administration in our Islands.
The Maltese Islands were also visited by plague in 1813 and a cholera epidemic
in 1837. The profound poi.tical changes and social upheavals of Azzopardi's
lifetime were probably as fundamental and as all-pervasive as those experienced
within a comparable span of time in our own period.
Yet even this w a s not all. Antonio Azzopardi, Pietro Paolo's father, died
in hospital in Valletta on 27 July 1808. (6) P.etro Paolo w a s then only 17
years of age. Evidently he had already made up his mind to become a sculptor;
his first dateable work is a statue of the Redeemer, carved in stone in 1808. (7)
And it would appear that the early loss of his father and a series of family
tragedies merely had the effect of strengthening his determination to survive
and succeed in his craft against ail odds.
First
Marriage
On 28 October 1817 Azzopardi married Giovanna Rosa Camilleri; the entry
of his marriage in the register of the parish church of C o s p x u a records the
fact that he was then a par.shioner of that same town. (8) Yet there is evidence
to show that, by 1805, Pietro Paolo and his parents had already moved house
from Valletta to Cospicua. In fact, the Status Antmarum (1805) for Cospicua
lists the Azzopardi family and gives a vague indication of the family's address
Quartiere 25, Casa J, neila strada in cui si notano vagabondi. (9) The sinister
allusion to vagabonds perhaps suggests that the sculptor's parents had fallen
on hard times. It is possible that the Azzopardi family may have moved out of
Valletta sometime during the Maltese blockade of the French garrison in that
city. A t any rate, it is certain that Azzopardi opened his first workshop in
Cospicua, and that his early sculptures were executed in that town.
Giovanna Rosa came from a family of traders with landed property in
5. Hit signature appears on three contracts, on a Will, on the electoral register of the
Corpo delle Belle Arti del Disegno (1836). and on one of his sculptures. No doubt,
6.
7.
8.
9.
it appears also on some of his other sculptures; local carvers discreetly concealed
their name in the carving itself, and unless one is aware ol this one may miss it
altogether I For Vincenxo Dimech's signature on his statue of Si PrtWiuj, tee O. Friggieri, Il-Furjana, 1978, 4, p. 2.
Porto Salvo Parish Archives (P.S.P.A.). Liber Mart., 1805 - 1830. 138r.
P.P. Castagna, Us Storia Ta Malta BU Giejjer Tahha, 111, 1890, p. 203.
Cospicua Parish Archives {C.P.A.), Uber Mate., 9, p. 12
Archiepiscopal Archives, Floriana; Status Ammarum, Cospicua, 1805, p. n. n.
A FORGOTTEN SCULPTOR
03
Zabbar and Qrendi. (10) She bore her husband six children, but only three
survived their parents: Salvatore, born in 1824; Maria Concetta, born in 1826;
and Giuseppe, born in 1830.(11)
Financially, the first years of Azzopardi's marriage were far from rosy.
His first important commission did not arrive before 1828, when the Cospicua
Confraternity of the Holy Rosary commissioned him to carve a statue of
the Virgin. (12) Meanwhile, Azzopardi had to content himself with carving
stone effigies of saints for street shrines or otherwise restoring or completing
statues carved by established sculptors. (13) Poverty and sometimes actual
want must have been Azzopardi's lot during these early years of his career.
The tide did turn for Azzopardi, but not before he suffered a severe blow
of misfortune. On 22 December 1833 his wife Giovanna Rosa died in childbirth
at the early age of 37, and the newborn infant died soon after baptism. (14)
Pietro Paolo w a s passing through a difficult time. With three children to look
after — the eldest 9 and the youngest barely 3 — it is hardly surprising that
Azzopardi should before long be on the look-out for a second wife.
Busy Years (1838 — 1848)
His choice fell on Antonia Attard, whom he married on 5 May 1836 in
the Parish Church of Porto Salvo, Valletta. (15) There were no children from
this second marriage. The union was apparently a successful one and appears
to have afforded Azzopardi the necessary peace of mind to concentrate on
his sculptures. Between 1838 and 1848 he carved no less than seven processional images.
It says much for Azzopardi that, despite his many setbacks, he w a s no
recluse. He appears to have been sincerely interested in the artistic life of
his Island home. He belonged to t h e Corpo delle Belle Arti del Disegno, and
10. Giovanna E O M ' I share of her family's estate eventually devolved on her
three children — see Acts Notary Gregorio Fiorini, 7/6/1869, 1023r., and 10/9/1875,
1373r.
11. C.P.A., Liber Bapt.;
13, p. 161; 13, p. 221; 14, p. 24. Three of the sculptor's six
children, namely Maria Giuseppina, Maria Franceses and Vincenio, died in infancy.
Ail six children were born in Cospicua
12. P.P. Castagna. 0p. cat., p. 205. It is a pity that the Confraternity's record, for this
period were lost during World War II.
13. See below Note 36 and 37.
14. C.P.A., Liber Mart., 10 ,p. 50.
15. P-S.PM., Uber Mslr., 1831 - 1836, 102r.
EUGENE F. MONTANARO
04
in 1836 was one of the signatories for the election of Michele Cachia and
Pietro Paolo Caruana to represent that body in the national assembly on the
occasion of the appointment of a Royal Commission to inquire into the affairs
of Malta. (16)
It is a pity that we have no contemporary description or identifiable portrait of Azzopardi. His signature appears on five original documents ranging
in date between 1838 and 1862. All reveal a bold, steady hand. Azzopardi
was certainly proud of his profession — the appellative maestro scuitore or
plainly scuitore always accompanies his signature.
Return to Valletta
A FORGOTTEN SCULPTOR
made jointly with his wife, Antonia, on 30 September 1862. The testators
appointed their son Giuseppe as their sole universal heir, while their other
two children, Salvatore and Maria Concetta, were the principal beneficiaries
under the Will. However, the testators made it clear that Giuseppe was receiving preferential treatment in view of the financial assistance which he
had afforded his parents during their old age. And it is expressly stated in
the Will that in the absence of such assistance the testators would have been
obliged to sell their belongings in order to procure their livelihood:
...dichiarando essi Testator! che in difetto delle suddette s o w e n zioni sarebbero stati costretti di vendere ie loro sostanze, e che
mediante tali sowenzioni essi Testatori hanno potuto fin oggi conservare i loro beni. (21)
This makes sad reading. Yet the reasons for the testators" partiality in favour
of Giuseppe may have been more complex than those stated in the Will. It
is worthwhile to recall that Antonia was the step-mother of Pietro Paolo's
three children. Although there is no direct evidence for it, it is possible that
her relationships with Salvatore and Maria Concetta were not easy. Moreover,
Giuseppe resided in Valletta, (22) in close proximity to his parents, while his
brother and sister resided in Cospicua; (23) he was therefore in a better position
to render assistance to the testators.
A private writing dated 1 July 1855 shows that at that same date
Azzoparxii was a resident of Valletta. (17) And in November 1857 a panel of
three artists (artisti periti) visited his home, situated at No 7 Strada Ponente,
Valletta, to report on one of his statues, which had become the subject of a
heated dispute: Per eseguire doverosamente il commessocl incarico, esaminamma
come richiede Varte, la statua in questione nella casa dell'Attore Pietro Paolo
Azzoppardi situata nella Valletta, Strada Ponente No 7. (18) It was also
from this address that the statue of the Bambino, completed by Azzopardi
in 1853, was conveyed to the Carmelite Church in Valletta, to be solemnly
inaugurated by Bishop Publius Sant. (19) Some time after his second marriage,
therefore, Azzopardi had transferred his residence to his native city of Valletta,
but this change of address must have occurred after 1841. (20) It is also clear
that his residence was in fact a casa bottega.
Be that as it may, the Will was certainly timely. Antonia Azzopardi died
on 13 February 1864 at No 7 Strada Ponente, Valletta, and was buried in
the Church of St Mary of Jesus, also in Valletta. (24) Pietro Paolo thus became a widower for a second time.
Last Will and
Dusk
Testament
The practice of his craft does not seem to have brought Azzopardi any
great or regular income. Old age in particular, which forced him to reduce
an activity in which physical strength played an important part, left him in
financial embarrassment, if not in poverty.
This state of affairs clearly emerges from the Will which Pietro Paolo
16. A. Ganado, The First Lithographs Produced in Malta, infra, p. 55
17. Process Appell Cwili, 8A/1858, 4r.
18. Ibid., 20v.
19. L'Ordine, 16/9/1853, p. 4160.
20. A deed published by Notary Calcedonio Battajille on 18/4/1841 shows that at that
same date Azzopardi was a resident ol Cospicua.
In 1865 Azzopardi completed his last carving — a statue of St Michael. (25)
He then retired, probably with considerable relief, to enjoy a well merited rest.
His name figures again in the register of baptisms kept at the Parish
21. Acts Notary Giuseppe Antonio Parodi, 30/9/1862, 4205r.
22. Acts Notary Gregorio Fiorini, 6/6/1869, 1023r.
23. Ibid. Pietro Paolo's children were properly provided for: they inherited a considerable part of the estate of Catarina Pace, a wealthy cousin of their mother, consisting of various immovables in Cospicua and elsewhere — see Acts Notary Ottone
Dedoraenico 17/2/1S80. 173r. We cannot but feeli sorry for the fact that Giovanna
Rosa's early death deprived Pietro Paolo from benefitting from her family's considerable wealth.
24. Act of Death 457/1864.
25. P.P. Castagna, op. cit., p. 206.
EUGENE F. MONTAN AR O
60
Church of Porto Salvo, Valletta — he was a godfather to Giuseppe's daughter,
Giovanna Rosa, who was christened on 7 August 1870. (26) W e can only hope
that this happy event did something to brighten the last lonely years of
his life.
A short while after, he was seized with a serious malady — cerebrite
cronica (27) — and took up residence with his son, Giuseppe, at No 123 Strada
Form, Valletta. He lived on at this address until 24 October 1875, when he
died at the age of 84. (28)
He was buried in Tarxien Parish Church in a grave which bore the number
72. (29) Yet the entry for his burial in the Tarxien Parish register also states
that the Azzopardi family grave-site bore the number 9, (30) and it is therefore
likely that his remains were later transported to the latter grave in the same
parish church.
Azzopardi's children did not take u p their father's craft. Giuseppe became a successful merchant but died suddenly in 1886, (31) while Maria Concetta died a spinster. Salvatore had a barber's shop in Sengiea. With his death
in 1887 (32) the direct male line became extinct. (33)
It is evident from the foregoing that Azzopardi's biographical essentials
have to be extracted from the parish archives, various notarial deeds and,
following 1861, from the Public Registry. The material from these sources
enables us to reconstruct Azzopardi's personal history, not without serious
gaps in the thread of the narrative, but with a credibility greater than in
many biographies of Maltese sculptors.
26. P.S.P.A.,
Uber Ba.pl.. 1867 - 1871, 351v.
27. Azzopardi's Act of Death states categorically that this malady caused hia death
(2633/1874).
28. P.SJ'iA;, Uber Mart., 1874 - 18BO, 116i.
29. Tarxien Parish Archives, Uber Defimc., VII, pp. 92 - 93.
30 Ibid.
31. Act of Death 3328/1886. It i 3 interesting to note that Giuseppe traded under the
firm-name G. di P.P. Azzopardi. In terms of an elaborate Will published by Notary
Odoardo Pellegrini Petit on 26/11/1886, he bequeathed his business to his two
daughters, Maria Carmela and Giovanna Rosa.
32. Act of Death 1708/1887. Salvatore married Maria Anna Schembri in Sengiea on
4/5/1874, but died childless.
33. Giuseppe left no male issue; his daughter Maria Carmela married Enrico Psaila in
Birkirkara on 28/10/1902, while hi s other daughter, Giovanna Rosa, died a
spinster.
A FORGOTTEN SCULPTOR
67
WORKS
Background
Pietro Paolo Azzopardi was essentially a wood carver. He belonged to
a small but locally important body of craftsmen who sculpted and coloured
devotional effigies destined to be carried in religious processions through the
streets, and he was one of the best of their number.
Despite the gradual emergence of artisans resorting exclusively to the
cartapesta technique, the more laborious and expensive craft of figure-carving
in wood was to continue to hold its own for the better part of the 19th century.
Azzopardi and his ilk were almost all but the last in a long line of nativeborn sculptors who chiselled their statues direct from the wood from which
they were made. Working in this way "direct carvers" rather than as modellers, they produced a gallery of sacred images which today constitute the
greater part of our sculptural heritage in wood.
Apprenticeship
A period of formation is essential for every artist. A brief note in Castagna
states that Azzopardi was a pupil of Mariano Gerada and 'a sculptor by
appointment to King Ferdinand II'; (34) unfortunately no further documentary
evidence has as yet come t o light on these early events in Azzopardi's life. (35)
Clearly, however, he had an ordinary workshop training and it must have
been Gerada who taught him the elements of figure sculpture.
Early Works (J808 — 1825)
Azzopardi started life as a stone carver. The works attributed to these
early years are the limestone effigy of the Redeemer in the Ghaxaq Chapel
of Sarctu Kn'stu, and another limestone effigy representing St Catherine in a
street shrine at Zurrieq. (36) Azzopardi is also credited with the completion of
34. P.P. Castagna, op. cit., p . 205. Castagna wrote a popular history which iacks the
apparatus of modern scholarship; his information on the early Maltese sculptors is
often unreliable. However, he was an eye-witneBs to the execution of many of Azzopardi's sculpture*, and this gives him historical importance. The dates and sculptures which he ascribes to Azzopardi are in fact corroborated by the information
extracted from the relevant parish archives, various notarial deeds, and reports
in contemporary newspapers.
35. In particular, there is no evidence to show that Azzopardi ever left Malta.
36. P.P. Castagna, op. cit., p . 205.
EUGENE F. MONTANARO
6ft
the processional statue in wood of Our Lady of Graces at Zabbar, following
the demise of Mariano Gerada in Cospicua on 24 January 1823. (37)
1828 — 1834
In 1828 Azzopardi completed the first of his major carvings, a Madonna
of the Rosary in wood, commissioned by the Cospicua Confraternity of the
Rosary. (38) This graceful and slender Madonna was repainted and gilded in
the 1950s. It is fortunate that we still possess a photograph of the original
work. In this instance the alterations effected on the original carving can be
traced without much difficulty.
The Christ at the Pillar, carved in wood in 1834 for the Valletta Confraternity of the Holy Cross, (39) is one of Azzopardi's most stirring works.
It was completed within a year from the death of his first wife, Giovanna
Rosa. During restoration work carried out in 1981 it was found that additional material had been wrapped round the figure's original loin-cloth.
Evidently, Azzopardi had not accounted for the body-denying tendencies of
his patrons.
Wood has of course been used for many purposes besides statues. And
Azzopardi is known to have carved wooden figureheads (puleni) for sailing
ships, as well as altar-furniture, candlesticks and items of ornament. (40) However, little information is available about Azzopardi's secular work. The lacuna
is most regrettable. But this is not to say that Azzopardi failed to attract lay
patronage; it is only that the available written records tell us very little
about it.
Abundant
Sources
Documents exist for numerous commissions carried out between 1838 and
1858, all concerning processional statues in polychromed wood. Azzopardi was
incredibly prolific at this period. The surviving records — contracts, news37. In the first edition of hi» History of Malta, P.P. Castagna attributes the statue of
Our Lady of Graces to Azzopardi, and ascribes its execution to the year 1824
(III, p. 108). It has been held that the statue was in fact gilded by Azzopardi in
1825; the date 1825 is incised in the Virgin's sandal — see K. Bonavia, Lehen hSantwarju, Zabbar, Festa 1980, p. 4. However, Azzopardi did not practise the gilding craft. It is more likely that he was engaged to complete the work on the statue,
begun by Mariano Gerada. but left unfinished at his death in 1823.
38. P.P. Castagna. op. cit., p. 205. See also M. Grech Taylor, Unpublished Diary,
1910 . 1920, n.n., now in the Carmelite Convent, Valletta.
39. PP. Castagna. op. cit., p. 206.
40.
Ibid.
A FORGOTTEN SCULPTOR
69
paper reports and the record of proceedings of a lengthy lawsuit — illustrate
the patronage and working practice of a sculptor in 19th century Malta. The
patrons are, inevitably, the focus: the lay Confraternities (derived from the
medieval guilds) largely motivated by a spirit of competitive emulation, and
private individuals bestowing donations of votive effigies. This material provides
historical information but also provokes the discussion of problems which it
illuminates even if it does not solve.
Thus, for example, the contracts invariably specify that Azzopardi is to
execute his carving in wood (legname), but they never indicate the type of
wood which is to be used.
Again, prices, which are reckoned in scudi, present difficulties. The sum
quoted in a contract, for instance, is no proof of payment, of which separate
record does not always exist. Prices for Azzopard.'s statues varied considerably, but sometimes he was paid an inclusive fee and met all expenses.
Passion /mages
On 6 May 1838 the Cospicua Confraternity of the Holy Cross commissioned
from Azzopardi two statues in wood representing Christ at the Pillar and
the Ecce Homo. The relative contract was executed in Cospicua and published
by Notary Calcedonio Battajille. (41) The two statues were to be carved a
tenor delli modelli i quali trovansi in poter del detto Mro. Scultore, e secondo
fa proporzione e regofa deff'arte di scultura. According to the contract, Azzopardi was meant to receive a fee of 250 scudi which, however, was to
include the cost of the wood for the two statues. In fact he received a fee
of 268 scudi, 8 tari and 6 grani on a deed of payment published by the same
Notary on 18 April 1841.(42) The two statues measure 5 feet 4 inches in
height. (43)
It is indeed
bozzetti, which
models, only one
which is now in
frustrating to come across references to sketch models, or
have since vanished without trace. Of Azzopardi's sketch
appears to have survived; it is a wooden Ecce Homo bozzetto
the Chapel of the Crucifix in the Parish Church of Cospicua.
41. Actz Notary Calcedonio Battajille, 6/5/1838, 374r.
42. Act* Notary Calcedonio Battajille, 18/4/1841. 346r. Azzopardi'* feet appear to have
been relatively modett. The sculptor who carved the ttatue of the Virgin of Mount
Cermet at Zurrieq, charged a fee of 402 tcudi (See Acts Notary Pietro Paolo Far.
rugia 26/10/1840, 526v.), roughly twice the prire normally demanded by Azzopardi for his carvings.
43. Process Appeil Civili, 8A/1858. Zlv.
EUGENE F. MONTANARO
70
St
George
One of the most striking features of Azzopardi's sculptural career is his
success in acquiring a clientele of patrons from Gozo. His popular prestige in
Gozo probably gained most from his St George, a life-size effigy in wood of
the soldier-saint. The St George (Basilica of St George, Gozo), apparently
commissioned as an ex-voto effigy in 1838, w a s probably completed in 1839,
since t h e Lfbro Esito 1817 — 1844 for St George's Parish Church records that
a wooden niche for the statue was delivered and paid for in 1839. And from
the same source w e learn that on 25 October 1840 Azzopardi received a
modest fee per aver accomodate
la statua
di S. Giorgio. (44) However, t h e
true implications of this last entry remain somewhat obscure.
St Joseph
On 6 May 1843 Azzopardi completed a wooden statue of St Joseph, commissioned by the Cospicua Confraternity of the saint. The statue was subsequently damaged beyond repair by the unfortunate attempt to convert it
into one representing St Andrew. (45) Nonetheless, a contemporary newspaper
gives us a description of the original work;
Lo scultore nostro concittadino Pietro Paolo Azzopardi, avendo
condotto al suo termine 1'esimio lavoro della statua del Patriarca
San Giuseppe Sposo di Maria V. intrapreso per commissione della
Ven. Confraternita di letto Santo, il dl 6 del corrente maggio la
espose nella Ven. Chiesa di San Paolo Apostolo della Citta'
Cospicua... Non possiamo perf) negare a! sagace scultore un piccol
tributo di lode; avendo egli dato alia statua un atteggiamento che
fa sentire la pace che regna nei santi cuori di GesU e di Giuseppe
Le vesti sono compartite con grande intelligenza e sono piegate in
modo il piO soave. ed il piO pastoso: ove comparisce il nudo ispira
pietoso candore, e in tutta la figura domina un'armonica
proporzione. (46)
The almost apologetic reference to t h e figure's nudity recalls the problems
provoked by the Christ at the Pillar of 1834 at Valletta.
St Agatha
The rivalry which animated the patrons showed no sign of abating. The
44. Si. George's Parish Archives, Gozo, Libra Esito 1817-1844, 254v. Thi* document i n
brought to my attention by Mr. John Bezzina.
45. Personal communication by Rev. Can. Joseph Bonello.
46. II Trionfo della Religione. 11/5/1843. p. 76.
A FORGOTTEN SCULPTOR
71
Cospicua Confraternity of St Agatha promptly commissioned from Azzopardi
a statue in wood of their patron saint. The statue of St Agatha, executed by
Azzopardi on a design by G. Hyzler, w a s completed in 1846. (47) The figure
shows the least external movement but is charged with intense religious fervour.
Gozo
Meanwhile, Azzopardi continued to attract clients from Gozo. His wooden
statue of St John the Baptist at Xewkija was inaugurated on 22 June 1845. (48)
It is worth nothing that Azzopardi gave to the surface of the base of this
figure a treatment similar to that given to the statute of St George. Both
figures in fact stand on rough-hewn rock.
Next in date to t h e St John comes the wooden Crucifix which is the
foremost processional image of Holy Week at the Basilica of St George, Gozo.
This Christ on the Cross, completed by Azzopardi in 1848, (49) is a gentle
figure of compassion and love; the suffering is in fact restrained.
The
Bambina
The half-life size wooden effigy of the Bambina at Mellieha w a s commissioned from Azzopardi by a private patron in 1853. The event is recorded
by a correspondent of L'Ordine, a contemporary weekly:
Con sommo nostro piacere annunciamo al publico il bel dono che
ha fatto il Rev. Sac. Don Giuseppe Di Stefano di una bellissima
Immagine della B. Vergine Maria sotto il titolo della Vittoria alia
chiesa del villaggio della Meleha, alia quale lo stesso Rev. Signore
ha fatto varie volte ricche donazioni, e ne 6 benefattore insigne.
Questa santa Immagine, opera esimia in legno del Mro. Pietro Paolo
Azzopardi, nostro concittadino, fu benedetta da S.E. il nostro Vescovo
il 6 settembre corrente. (50)
It must be noted, however, that significant alterations to t h e head and hands
of Azzopardi's Bambina were effected in 1916. (51)
47. G. Calteja, 7"A* Works of Art In The Churches of Malta And The Governor's Palace
Valletta, Malta. 1881, p. 73.
48. Xewkija Parish Archives, La Solenne Translazione della Nuova Statua di San Gio-
vanni Battista,
it d\ 22 Giugno, IS45. See also Serafin Borg, Ix-Xtwkija Fi
Graijiet It-Kappillani
U L-Arciprieti
49. P.P. Castagna, op. cit., p . 206.
50. L'Ordine, 16/9/1853, p. 4160.
Taghha. Malta 1978, pp. 23-24.
51. J. Cauchi, Maria Bambina. Mellieha, 1853 - 1978, Malta, p. 7.
EUGENE F. MONTANARO
72
A FORGOTTEN SCULPTOR
e propria nell'attitudine, ie pieghe ben intese ad una figure cadente
la quale b della dimensione di sei piedi e due pollicl. (54)
The Cospicua Redeemer
In virtue of a private writing dated 1 July 1855 the Cospicua Confraternity
of the Hoiy Cross commissioned from Azzopardi una statua di legno campleta
di Gesu Redentore ossia la Bajulazione, The statue was to be delivered to
the patrons, pitturata tutta in olio, con colori di piu fini. (52) This was to
prove the most difficult and frustrating undertaking of Azzopardi's career.
The agreement illustrates, even more than the previous contracts, the
jealous emulation which the statues provoked. Azzopardi was to give his figure
a posture similar to that of the Redeemer at Sengiea, and he was to complete
the work by the third Sunday of Lent 1856. (53) The agreed fee was one of
200 scudi. The sculptor was to receive 50 scudi on signing the agreement,
another 50 scudi on completing the bozzetto, a third instalment of 50 scudi
after having completed and gessoed the statute, and the outstanding balance
of 50 scudi on delivering the statue to his patrons.
Moreover, according to the Report, Azzopardi's figure was an improvement on the model agreed to by the parties in the private writing of 1855:
vi abbiamo rilevato che la posizione della figure fatta dall'
Azzopardi b del tutto uguale nel suo assieme a questa della Sengiea,
ma per altro rimarchiamo che l'esecuzione dell'Azzopardi 6 piQ
giudiziosa, mentre la statua della Sengiea pecca di sproporzioni e
mal piegata nei panni da non imitarsi. (55)
The Court-appointed experts concluded that the delay in execution was
occasioned by the behaviour of the patrons:
™>' rileviamo. che dal tenore delle due lettere officiali esistenti in processo risulta che tale discontinuazione del lavoro provenne per fatto dei convenuti i quali hanno considerato la statua
In lavoro come non a seconda della convenzione, e piccola. Oltre
a ci6 dalla deposizione di Giuseppe Terreni risulta che 1'artista
Azzopardi attendeva dai suot committenti la croce, c he non gli
fu mandata, circostanza che ha sospeso l'Azzopardi dal continuare
il lavoro. (56)
The commission seemed to be under an unlucky star from the beginning.
Azzopardi was not granted permission to view, and sketch, the statute of the
Redeemer at Seng'.ea. The patrons were apparently satisfied with his bozzetto
but eventually refused to pay him the second instalment of the agreed fee.
They contended that the statue did not conform with the agreed model and
that it was not completed within the stipulated time-limit.
Azzopardi, therefore, instituted legal proceedings in order to obtain the
second instalment of his fee. He also requested the Court to condemn his
clients to provide him with a suitable cross for the statue.
At length, the Court appointed a panel of three artists (periti dell'arte),
namely Salvatore Micallef, Antonio Falzon and Salvatore Psaila, to submit a
report on the statue in question and to establish whether the delay in execution was the fault of the sculptor, or, alternatively, that of the patrons.
The Referees' Report, which was submitted to the Court on 17 November
1857, declared that the statue conformed with the model executed by Azzopardi
and approved by the patrons:
Esaminata attentamente questa statua come eseguita sul detto modello
1'abbiamo trovata di essere regolare nelle sue proporzioni, decente
52. Process Appell Civili. 8A/1858, 4r.
53. Ibid.
73
On the basis of this Report, Azzopardi won his case, with costs. The Court
of Appeal confirmed the judgement of the Court of First Instance on 1 February
1858. (57) Consternation ensued. The correspondent of L'Ordine inveighed
against the patrons who had availed themselves of the Confraternity's funds
in litigation without consulting their fellow-members:
Questa questione nata dai suddetti procurator! non solo per ingiusto motivo ma puranche per vessazione:
litigarono pure a
spese della Confraternity senza veruna intimazione dei confratelli
(58)
34. Ibid.,
2lr.
33. Ibid. This judgement reflects Salvatore Psaila'i artistic integrity. Salvatore Piail
(1798 - 1871) and Alessandro Farrugia (1791 . 1871) were Axaopardi's rao.t seriou
rivals in this lino of work
56. Ibid., 21 v.
37. Ibid., 37r.
58. L'Ordine, 19/2/1858, p. 5086.
EUGENE F. MONTANARO
74
The sculptor-patron dispute thus lasted a period of three years. However,
there is no doubt that the Cospicua Redeemer is the most amply documented
of Azzopardi's commissions.
The Lost
Sculptures
A FORGOTTEN SCULPTOR
75
La scoltura in genere di figura e ora decisamente al di sotto d'ogni
mediocrity: manca assolutamente in paese un artista. Lo scalpel'o
non b pib che lo strumento di pochi decoratori che diffic.lmente
sorpassano sb stessi dirozzando fogliami, rosoni, fusaroli, cartocci,
festoni ed altri ornati di genere esc'.usivamente erbaceo
(62)
Soon afterwards. Azzopardi began work on the sculptural group of the
Invention of the Cross. The subject w a s clearly conceived as a whole: by
gesture and posture the free-standing figures of St Macarius and St Helen
lead the eye towards the focal point, a beautifully inlaid wooden cross. In
these figures, Azzopardi mixed t w o media — the head, hands and feet are
carved in wood, while the body-frameworks are in papier mdchfe. The work
is signed and dated —
Fortunately, the craft w a s revived by Abram Gatt, whose sculptural career
spilled into the present century. The modern abhorrence for the figurative
and the representative in art has proved a setback for the commissioning of
life-size images in wood. Nonetheless, George Bora's St Sebastian (Qormi) is
a fine example of this form of traditional woodcarving, and "the art has been
kept alive by a number of fine crafstmen w h o include Antonio Buhagiar
(b. 1906), Samuel Bugeja (b. 1920) and others.'" (63)
Febraro 1862
P. Paolo Azzopardi
Scultore
It must be conceded that the documentary sources for Azzopardi's sculptures are highly impersonal. They are perhaps highly illustrative of patrons'
requirements and preferences, but tell us very little about the sculptor's point
of view. Moreover, Azzopardi left no written scrap of record about his life
or his craft.
The Invention of the Cross w a s originally commissioned by the Valletta Confraternity of the Holy Cross. However, in 1900, the same Confraternity acquired
a new group of statues depicting the same subject, which were manufactured
in Lecce. (59) In that same year, 1900, Azzopardi's figures were purchased by
Antonio Portelli, a Gozitan, and are now in t h e Oratory annexed to the Church
of St Francis, Victoria, Gozo. (60)
Azzopardi's last surviving work is a n effigy in wood of St Michael, commissioned by the Confraternity of the saint in Qormi, and completed in
1865. (61) The figure portrays t h e Archangel in the traditional warring stance,
trampling over Satan.
Epilogue
In these circumstances it is difficult to relate Azzopardi's inner feelings
and intentions to the local contemporary artistic scene, and any attempt to
do this must be largely hypothetical. It is probably true to say that Azzopardi
believed ardently in the authentic work of t h e hand and in the role of the
carver as an unpretentious crartsman like the sculptor of the Middle Ages.
In essence, however, he was a contributor to an effort in which many
Other sculptors shared, and which w a s perhaps more important than any one
of them. Their statues are a living witness to the special cultivation of hand
craftsmanship in these Islands.
During the last quarter of the 19th century the craft of figure-carving in
wood suffered a temporary eclipse in these Islands. Nicola Zammit, writing
some eleven years after P.P. Azzopardi's death gives a very dismal account
of t h e decline in the technique:
59. G. Xerri. Storja Qasira To" l-Arcihonfraternita tas-Sontissmu Kurcifiss, Malta,
1935, p. 35.
60. Nichola* Vella Apap. dmuenlo e Chiesa dei Fratt Minors Conventuals in Rabato di
Goto, Unpublished mi. f. 354r.
61. P.P. Caatagna, op. ext., p. 206.
62. N. Zammit, Malta e sue Industrie. Malta, 1886, p. 101.
63. M. Buhagiar, St Catherine Of Alexandria, Malta, 1978, p. 222.
2a. VIRGIN OF THE ROSARY by P.P.
AZZOPARDI (1828). The gilding and ornate pedestal are later additions. Cospicua
parish church. Photo: E.F. Montanaro.
Cfii'T*- tjt* * e i > T £ . . ^
7
,
2b. THE SIGNATURE MAESTRO SCULTORE PIETRO PAOLO AZZOPARDI
on a deed published by Notary Calcedonio Battajille on 6th May 1838. Photo:
L.F. Tortell.