Artist

Born in Żejtun, Michele was the son of Clemente Busuttil* and Rosa née Magro.

Michele was a late Baroque painter  who had received his initial artistic formation under Rocco Buhagiar*.

He studied in Rome at the Academy of St Luke where he studied under the Sicilian painter Mariano Rossi and the sculptor Tommaso Righi.

By 1787 he was back in Malta where he opened a private practice and started his own private school of art in Valletta.

He frequently visited Gozo where he had a studio.  Here he executed several commissions for Gozo churches. In 1800 he was appointed professor of drawing at the UM, a post he retained until his death. By 1814 he was earning a salary of 25 scudi per year. In 1816 the University paid him 27 scudi for making 39 miniatures of 37 medals of silver and two of gold.

In his book The Iconography of the Maltese Islands, Mario Buhagiar* described Busuttil as ‘an artist of limited ability who had occasional happy memories’. As a young student Busuttil had shown considerable promise and had been granted a bursary to perfect his artistic training at the Accademia di San Luca. He was twice awarded first prize in prestigious drawing competitions: once for a pencil and chalk drawing of the statue of Antino, and the second time for the drawing of a draped figure.

When in 1800 Alexander Ball appointed Canon Francesco Saverio Caruana* rector of the university, the latter founded the school of art and Busuttil became the first director of design and painting. Among his students were his own two sons Klement and Salvatore who became painters. He helped in the progress of anatomical painting in Malta.

His best work, The Assumption of the Virgin, in the choir of the Cathedral Church in Gozo, and a series of paintings in the Collegiate church of Vittoriosa.

On 19 October 1794, Busuttil married Maria Antonia Buhagiar, a Gozitan. They had four sons, Salvatore, Luigi and Clemente, and one daughter, Vincenza.

This biography is part of the collection created by Michael Schiavone over a 30-year period. Read more about Schiavone and his initiative here.