Stepping inside the interiors of Malta and Gozo’s churches is not only a sacred experience: it’s also an immersion in splendid art and décor, individually designed elements of design created with skill and thought to a generate an atmosphere of faith, honour and reverence for worship and contemplation.

And all too often we see the end-result without stopping to think about those who first envisaged or contributed to the magnificence of these hallowed spaces.

The Giuseppe Galea Collections, a new exhibition at Il-Ħaġar, Victoria, that runs until June 16, is set to change this. It showcases for the first time a collection of original hand-drawn designs prepared for Victoria’s Saint George’s Basilica by one of Malta’s finest decorators, Giuseppe Galea (1911-1993).

Many of these designs have been donated to the museum by the artist’s family, while others were acquired through sponsorship by Lombard Bank.

The museum is adjacent to St George’s Basilica, a beautiful church described as ‘the golden church of Gozo’.

Inside, in contrast to the grandeur of the basilica’s stucco ornamentation, on the simple white and gold walls of the museum, Galea’s sketches, technical considerations and pencil drawings give an insight into the design process, a chapter in the basilica’s development that is easy to overlook. 

These sketches include those of stained-glass windows, mosaics, a collegial mace – included in the show ­– and a highly-decorated neoclassical predella (or base) on which a statue of St George stands, part of which is also included in the show.

Alongside stunning photos of the end result, they offer us an intimate window into Galea’s mind, his ideas and visualisation. Galea had an extensive and impressive career as a decorator of various Maltese churches: it’s a privilege to see first-hand the alternative design suggestions for the building blocks of an interior that’s so familiar and special, and to be able to look at motifs and borders on paper and then step across the alley into the church itself, and see the works in situ.

“The objective of the exhibition is to draw us to this man and to his faith and art so as to appreciate more deeply his exceptional worth and his distinct role in the embellishment of our heritage, both ecclesiastical and secular. The collection of drawings being exhibited is a homage to him as also to Giambattista Conti with whom Galea collaborated at length and closely,” says museum curator Joseph Farrugia.

The objective of the exhibition is to draw us to this man and to his faith and art so as to appreciate more deeply his exceptional worth and his distinct role in the embellishment of our heritage, both ecclesiastical and secular- Museum curator Joseph Farrugia

Inspired and encouraged by his father, Giuseppe started attending art classes at nine years of age, during which he was introduced to geometry, perspective, and architectural and decorative aspects. From the age 14, he began studying modelling and design, and a year later began an apprenticeship in the art of stucco decoration under the direction of Prof. Vincenzo Cardillo, working with his father Pawlu at the Siġġiewi parish church in 1926.

In 1933, the pair finalised the decorative work in the dome of St Paul’s parish church at Rabat, after which Guiseppe went to Rome to further his studies. Here he learnt techniques of decorative painting, including tempera and fresco, also gained experience in chasing in metal, which he later put into practice by producing a vast number of sacred artefacts found in many local churches.

Galea was much more than a decorator – he was an artist who through his life and works, left his mark in Malta and Gozo’s religious culture and heritage, through sculpture, sacred objects and painting.

In 1946, Galea was commissioned by the then Archpriest Mgr Mikiel Cefai (1944-1976) to decorate the dome of St George’s Basilica, his beautiful stuccos, lavishly gilded, adding glory to a hitherto bland ceiling as half of a duo with Rome’s Prof. Giambattista Conti who had been commissioned to paint the entire vault of the basilica.

The last works that Galea produced for the basilica were the bozzetti to be executed in mosaic of the domes of the side chapels, and the designs for new stained-glass windows.

“[Galea’s] eclectic designs are inspired by an academic classical language of Roman experience. His many cherub heads, hanging garlands, floral festoons, palmette, scrolls and shell motifs, which he employs in his rich but clean decorative language, are thoroughly immersed in the classical tradition, with occasional Baroque infiltrations.

“This project of decoration should be singled out as a milestone in the development of this field in 20th century Malta,” says Rev. Can. George J. Frendo, Maestro di Cappella of St George’s Basilica, and a director of Fondazzjoni Belt Victoria and the museum.

“Those who wish to admire the brilliant and consummate craftsmanship of Giuseppe Galea in Gozo have to come to St George’s Basilica. Perhaps in no other venue in Malta can his superb artistry in its various expressions be valued and appreciated as in the ‘golden basilica’.”

The Giuseppe Galea Collections runs at Il-Ħaġar – Heart of Gozo Museum until June 16.