In the 19th article in a series on 20th-century artists who shaped Maltese modernism, Joseph Agius delves into the life and times of Frans Galea
Sculptor Frans Galea (1945-1994) belongs to an elite group of Maltese sculptors that Malta lost at a relatively young age.
Banda (1977)Edward Pirotta (1939-1968), Joseph M. Genuis (1934-1970) and Toni Pace (1930-1989) and Galea have all contributed considerably to the modernist development of Maltese 20th-century sculpture. Yet, their untimely demise has deprived Maltese art history of oeuvres that would have much further enhanced the country’s 20th-century sculptural legacy.
From the days of his childhood, Galea demonstrated a dexterity in sculpting figurines for nativity cribs. This was nurtured by attending the catechism lessons at the Rabat centre of the society for the Christian doctrine, otherwise known as MUSEUM. The society was renowned for propagating a love for the traditional Christmas crib and the folklore relevant to that time of the year. This was fertile ground for Galea’s talent to germinate and the polychromed figurines allowed the young boy to experiment with colour, besides form and volume.
Umbrelel (1980) (collection MUŻA)Galea was lucky to enjoy the luxury of tuition under George Fenech, Gianni Bonnici and Samuel Bugeja during his years of secondary education at Paola’s St Joseph Technical School. Fenech’s lessons in colour and Bonnici’s and Bugeja’s instructions in sculpture provided academic grounding that Galea found very useful later on when, in 1965, he continued his academic studies at the Malta School of Art.
Coincidentally, Bugeja was one of his tutors there as well, besides fellow Rabat native Anton Agius and the traditionalist George Borg.
In 1961, Agius returned from his studies in England, under the aegis of famous British modern sculptor Anthony Caro. In the years immediate after his return from England, Agius still held the teachings of Caro in high regard and Galea must have been responsive to this.
Agius’s ambivalence regarding modernism happened years later when he spurned the teachings of Caro in favour of a more traditional and anti-conformist approach to sculpture. Caro was an enthusiastic follower of American sculptor David Smith’s technique of constructive assemblages, adopted by Toni Pace as a consequence of his one-year-long sculpture studies in Bath, in 1963.
In 1976, Galea was awarded a five-year scholarship at Florence’s Accademia di Belle Arti by the Italian government, thus joining fellow Maltese artist Pawl Carbonaro, who, two years earlier, had been awarded a scholarship for painting. Giovanni Chissotti was the young sculptor’s tutor as regards sculptural modelling while Francesco Cenci taught him bronze foundry techniques.
First Lesson (1979)The two artists persevered in their studies amid a backdrop of internal turmoil in the country as the infamous Anni di Piombo (the Years of Lead) permeated all strata of Italian existence. The exploits of the paramilitary terrorist group, the Brigate Rosse, and their summary executions of high-profile political and judicial personalities conditioned every aspect of life in the Bel Paese. Obviously, the two artists were not immune to this and their student years in Italy were somehow overshadowed by the designs of the anarchist group.
During these years, Galea had the honour to meet the famous Italian sculptor Giacomo Manzù at a collective exhibition celebrating Manzù’s 70th birthday. Galea participated with his sculpture Umbrelel on which the Italian giant heaped words of praise. He asked Galea’s professors to introduce him to such a promising student.
Galea married his girlfriend, Nila Lopez, in 1981 and soon after returned to Malta to resume his previous job at St Luke’s Hospital as a microbiological medical technician. In Malta, full-time art-related work was scant in those days. However, in 1988, the education authorities introduced Systems of Knowledge as a new mandatory subject for all sixth form students in the country. The intention was to broaden the perspectives of the students through a mix of disciplines, among which was art history.
An admiration for the past coupled with an organic reinterpretation
Galea took up a position as a teacher of art history at Msida’s Gian Franġisk Abela Upper Lyceum. This was followed, in the early 1990s, by teaching the history of sculptural techniques and their application to history of art students at the University of Malta.
According to contemporary Maltese artist Mario Cassar, who was pursuing a BA in History of Art from 1993 to 1996, “Frans Galea had the hard work of giving us an introduction to sculpture. It was a tough job because the course was all theoretical and the technological means of learning we enjoy today did not exist. Despite great limitations and the theoretical nature of the course, Galea was able to keep us interested and make us knowledgeable regarding the subject being discussed.”
Pomo (1987)Galea’s creative mindset is reflected in the marked dichotomy of his sculptural output. On one hand, it demonstrates a love for tradition and classicism through the lessons imparted by George Borg and Samuel Bugeja and augmented by studying in a city teeming with the masterpieces of the Italian Renaissance, baroque and later eras. Also, he more than once admitted his deep admiration for Auguste Rodin, the French sculptor renowned for modernising the medium. On the other hand, a dynamic cubism evokes the work of sculptors Raymond Duchamp-Villon, Jacques Lipchitz, Alexander Archipenko and Henry Moore, among others, while also eliciting Frank Portelli’s ‘crystallised cubism’.
According to Cassar, Galea was in awe of the work of Italian sculptor Marino Marini, who was inspired by Etruscan art and who continuously explored and modernised the classical horse-and-rider theme through his sculpture and painting. However, another theme that Marini investigated was that of Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit trees, orchards and gardens, where he was after an interpretation of the theme, similar to that of his friend, the French sculptor Aristide Maillol, without deviating too much into modernism.
Kiss (1978)Both series are indicative of the Italian artist’s interest in classical material as a springboard for his modern creations. Galea’s oeuvre follows a similar pattern to Marini’s as regards his artistic development – an admiration for the past coupled with an organic reinterpretation, falling short of embracing total abstraction.
Like Marini, Galea eliminated the non-essential. He sculpted cubist dynamics in his series of cyclists, drawing on the futurist’s preoccupation with movement, such as is found in Giacomo Balla’s 1912 painting Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash. Galea’s cyclists are frozen in emphatic activity as they and their bicycles coalesce into a one concerted forward movement. The horse and rider in Marini’s work become as one not through motion but through the frozen immobility of the two protagonists.
Galea’s cubist approach was not restricted to the cyclist theme. It can also be found in a series of sculptures of figures, as a couple or in groups, under one or more umbrellas. The empirical structure of the umbrella is the dominant characteristic of these works.
One is casually reminded of August Macke’s paintings of ladies with parasols. The German expressionist artist depicted sophisticated ladies enjoying sunny life happening around them while Galea huddled his figures to find comfort and warmth in being together while sheltering from an incessant rain. This strong sense of community is a defining characteristic of most of Galea’s cubist oeuvre.
It is a pity that examples of his monumental work in public places is extremely limited. It is shameful that his 1984 Ċrieki public sculpture in Gżira suffered the most despicable vandalism in 1987, a victim of the unruly political unrest that overshadowed those years. This indignity broke Galea’s heart and, try as he might, he couldn’t restore the sculpture to its former glory. In the aftermath of his death, Galea’s brother, Emmanuel, took it upon himself to do his best to remedy this.
Galea’s death was shockingly unexpected and sudden. He died in Rome while overseeing the casting of a pedestal for which he was commissioned. It was intended as a base for the Qormi titular statue of St Sebastian, the work of George Borg, Galea’s former tutor at the Malta School of Art. Galea followed Borg’s original ideas for it and, yet, years later, it was dismantled by the authorities of Qormi parish church. Another sculptor was commissioned to replace Galea’s pedestal. This is yet another sad instalment in the story of the misfortunes that have befallen Galea’s public sculptures.
Mario Cassar claims that Galea’s death deprived him of an excellent lecturer and tutor, besides a cherished friend who was kindness personified.
“It was often that he regaled us students with a joke or anecdote from his upbringing, especially at the beginning of the lecture. A fire lingered in his eyes, kindled by an enthusiasm and honest love for the subject that he was teaching. ‘Avanti... la minestraè cotta!’ he used to exclaim while rubbing his hands in glee and proceeding to deliver the lecture of the day.”