Russian artist appeals for clean-up of Valletta buildings

A Russian artist exhibiting his paintings in Malta is urging the authorities to clean the façades of buildings in Valletta, saying it would make a tremendous difference to the outlook of the city.

"Tourists coming to Malta know that the country does not have millions of liri to do many things to revive the city, but it is enough to show visitors that you respect the beautiful buildings you have," Victor Koulbak said.

"Visitors will come to Malta when they know you care for your heritage and with the money they bring in to the country, you will be able to restore such magnificent buildings."

He said the revamp of Valletta could begin with these basic things. That was exactly what has been done in Budapest.

Koulbak, who spent most of his working life in Paris, is exhibiting about 20 silverpoint drawings for the first time in Malta.

The works are on show at the Fine Arts Museum in Valletta up to October 14.

Silverpoint is a technique which was employed by the Renaissance masters but which was lost over time.

In those days, painters used to burn and crush chicken bones, applying the resulting powder with rabbit glue to the paper or canvas before applying colours using silver wire.

Koulbak uses marble powder instead of chicken bone powder.

He buys stones and crushes them to get the colours he sees in his mind's eye and then makes water and oil-based colours.

As the colours are applied, silver particles are transferred on to the paper with the result that the surface sparkles if one holds the drawing to the light.

"Sometimes it takes me a month to make one small drawing. Silverpoint drawings become moving images as each silver particle picks up the light and reflects it like a mirror".

Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Rembrandt used to apply this technique to teach students the discipline to make the right movement from the beginning.

Koulbak had to research and carry out countless experiments before achieving the silverpoint effect.

Once treated, the paper takes the texture of sandpaper. The silver filings attach themselves to the paper and oxide.

Koulbak said his favourite period was the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries and that was why he said the ambiance of Valletta and the extraordinary Mediterranean light inspired him so much.

"One reason this technique disappeared is because people do not want to spend so much time preparing the paper and then make one mistake and ruin everything, having to start all over again.

"Painters today want to express themselves while painters of old expressed the beauty created by God.

"The human being was a part of this beauty. That is why we have so many fantastically beautiful paintings from those artists.

"Artists now want to express their feelings and moods in their works, which is a selfish approach to the world.

"Young people need to realise that the world is not the one they see through the screen of their computers but the perfume of the flowers and colour of the leaves in a garden. It is what you feel when you look at the sky and the sea.

"In old drawings you can feel this energy which was respect for the beauty of nature even if the drawing were done by a painter of the second order.

"You can see how the painter fought to get to this beauty, to make the drawing as beautiful as the world around him. You feel this fight and this strength in those drawings.

Quoting from Dosteovsky's The Brothers Karamazov, Koulbak said: "The world will be saved by beauty. Artists are here to immortalise that beauty- if that is not the case, then I do not see what artists are for in this world," he said.