Discovering a great artist

St Publius in Floriana parish church

In view of my presentation tomorrow on the centennial legacy of Emvin Cremona, I want to share with you a few of his classic paintings. In particular, I want to highlight the 4 churches where he painted the entire ceiling of each of them, precisely the parish churches at Floriana, Ghaxaq, Hamrun, and Msida. His inimitable style is discernible by a colorful palette he uses with vibrant colors and elongated figures. Most of his paintings create a sense of peace and harmonious spirituality as they depict various biblical and historically religious themes. The images of Mary, Jesus, and Saint Paul are predominant in his works.

The Nativity in Msida parish church

Having reached his peak in the early 1960s, it's interesting to notice that the patron saint of Malta, Saint Paul, figures both in his paintings and in his stamps, besides posters and panels he created for the 1960 centennial of St. Paul’s shipwreck on the Maltese rocky shores. Emvin was one of a select group of artists who studied together in Rome and then came back to Malta to embellish our churches, Museums and private homes with their masterpieces. He was born in May 1919 and died in January 1987.

The dome and apse of the St Cajetan Hamrun parish church

The Birth of Mary in Ghaxaq parish church

I will be presenting a highly-illustrated talk on the life and works of Emvin Cremona on Wednesday, March 13th at Hilltop Gardens, Naxxar at 10:30 AM and repeated at 7 PM.

Just today, the local newspaper Times of Malta gave half a page coverage for this event: