Art lovers touring Palazzo Falson Historic House Museum in Mdina for the first time will surely be pleasantly surprised to find an art studio in the palazzo’s premises.

Hanging on the studio’s walls are oil paintings by the palazzo’s former resident, Olof Frederick Gollcher, six of which have been recently restored.

Gollcher (1889-1962) is more recognised as an avid collector, researcher and philanthropist who lived at the palazzo (formerly known as Noman House) rather than as an artist but, according to the palazzo’s curator, he was an artist in his own right.

“It is probably a result of a slowdown in his painting activity when he settled in Malta after buying Palazzo Falson together with his mother in 1927,” Caroline Tonna says.

“The palazzo became his life project and his ambition was to turn it into a dream home, embellish it with architectural features inspired by the Renaissance period and create a perfect set-up for of his collections.  His wish was also to open the house to the public as a museum after his death.”

Documents show that Gollcher studied art in Rome for two years under the mentorship of Polish painter Edouard Okun (1872-1945). The student-teacher relationship between the two developed into a close friendship and both exhibited their works at the 89th Esposizione di Belle Arti della Società Amatori e Cultori held in Rome in 1920.

Tonna adds that, in the following decade, Gollcher moved in circles of well-established artists, mostly Italian, and he also formed part of a brotherhood of artists who shared a love for pipe smoking and called themselves the Confraternita’ della Pipa.

Italian newspaper cuttings, preserved in the palazzo’s archives, show that the group used to hold fun events featuring playful rituals, fancy dress parties and the occasional art exhibition. Around 1924, Gollcher served as Gran Compare of the men-only artist group.

The bond between the artists remained strong even after the artists’ club fizzled out. Gollcher had a number of fine works of his artist friends in his collection which he generously donated to the then National Museum of Malta, now in the MUŻA collection.

Tonna says Gollcher was rated as a “maestro del bianco e nero” (master of black and white) for his masterly technique in etchings and litographs which he exhibited mostly in Italy, at least since 1918. He also executed paintings in oil, using hues of blues and bright contrasting colours on a coarse-woven canvas stretched on a simple wood frame. She adds that line dominates in his paintings, possibly as a result of his aptitude in making etchings and litographs.

He usually signed “O.F. Gollcher” on the left bottom corner of the canvas and included the date of the painting.

The 14 oil paintings by Gollcher found at the palazzo are considered a very important part of the museum’s collection.

“They are of high value to us because they shed light on Olof’s life as an artist, paintings executed by him during his early years as a young man. Some of these paintings have been exhibited in Italy, London, Paris and Malta,” the curator notes.

Gollcher was seemingly inspired by the Italian landscape, such as the southwestern region of Campania, the picturesque coastline of Amalfi Coast, the dramatic cliffs of Ravallo and Positano, the quaint towns like Cetara and Atrani and small villages like Maiori and Erchie in the province of Salerno.

His seascapes and landscapes are bathed in Mediterranean light

“His paintings are very serene and gives one a sense of stillness. His seascapes and landscapes are bathed in Mediterranean light and he hardly ever included figures in his paintings. He uses contrasting colours only for a few selected features such as doors and roofs that contrast with transparent blue skies and sea,” Tonna points out.

Gollcher set up an art studio on the roof of the palazzo where he had natural light and space for his easel painting. When Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti restored the palazzo between 2001-2007, this studio was converted into the museum café and another room on the ground floor was dedicated as Olof’s studio, where his works and objects preserved from his former studio are on display for the enjoyment of visitors.

Unfavourable weather conditions, such as high humidity and high temperatures, together with mould infiltration, however, had unfortunately damaged a number of paintings.

PrevArti were, thus, recently entrusted with the restoration and conservation project of six works, thanks to funds obtained from the Majjistral Action Group Foundation under the LEADER Programme of the European Union Rural Development Programme for Malta 2014-2020. The project was also co-funded by the O.F. Gollcher O.B.E. Art and Archaeological Foundation.

Pierre Bugeja, senior conservator at PrevArti, says that, perhaps, in the past, before Palazzo Falson was set up as a museum, these paintings might have been stored in a humid environment for some time, without proper ventilation. Besides, the type of canvas used for these paintings is extremely sensitive to changes in the environment  as it expands in high humidity and contracts when exposed to high temperatures.

“These constant movements caused the canvas to expand, lose their tension and deform. In a particular painting, the canvas had even detached from the stretcher frame. Because of these movements of the canvas, the oil paint film had cracked rapidly, forming stretcher marks and cupping, leading the paint to flake off in some areas,” Bugeja notes.

He adds that since the paintings were never varnished, the dust and dirt which accumulated upon ageing became embedded into the paintings’ surface, leading them to look duller than they were originally. The decorative frames were also in a bad state of conservation.

“The biggest challenge, however, was the removal of cupping of the paint layer and the deformations in the canvas,” the conservator says.

The restoration process involved the stabilisation of the canvas supports from the back followed by an intervention on the pictorial image; subjecting the paintings to controlled humidity and heat to remove the deformations present; strengthening the edges since they were frayed and deteriorated due to rusted nails and  cleaning of the paintings to remove the accumulated dirt. There was also a need for infilling and retouching of losses in the works, varnishing the paintings and the restoration of the decorative frames.

In all, the duration of the conservation and restoration project of the six paintings lasted four months.

Visitors now have a clearer view of the paintings and can perhaps easily guess Gollcher’s source of inspiration for each painting.

“We can identify some of these locations with photos taken by Olof from our photo archives and documents also reveal that he was in the Campania region. Olof also titled some of the paintings according to the location painted. There is also a painting of Xlendi, Gozo, a beach view and two boats in Malta’s Grand Harbour,” Tonna says.

The palazzo, in collaboration with the History of Art Students Association, will be  holding an online lecture on Thursday, May 27, about Gollcher’s art and the recently-restored paintings at 5pm. Tonna and Bugeja, together with art historian Charlene Vella, will share their views on the  subject. The lecture is free but booking is essential on bookings@palazzofalson.com. A link will be sent to follow the lecture.

Acknowledgements

Caroline Tonna is grateful for assistance received from former curator Francesca Balzan, who has thoroughly researched and published on Gollcher’s art, and Palazzo Falson research volunteers, who, over the past 14 years,  have been cataloguing and researching the archives.