Last December, RECOOP successfully concluded the conservation and restoration of three portraits located within the halls of the historic seat of the Malta Chamber of Commerce in Valletta. The portraits in need of conservation and restoration were two portraits by Giuseppe Cali depicting Sir Richard More O’Ferrall and Achille Camilleri as well as another painting depicting Carlo Maria Muscat whose author remains anonymous.
The portrait of Richard More O’Ferrall, embellished in a heavy, ornate golden frame hangs in the landing between the Chamber’s imposing staircase and the Sir Agostino Portelli Hall. Before being taken down for restoration and conservation, the painting’s varnish was heavily oxidised containing grime and atmospheric particulate. However, More O’Ferrall’s governing power achieved through Cali’s tour de force was already evident, waiting to emerge from underneath the yellowy-brown tint. Sir Richard served as an instrumental figure for the setting up of the Malta Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise together with Sir Agostino Portelli with the intent of transforming Malta into a hub of British trade within the Mediterranean basin.
The other portrait by Giuseppe Cali shows the stern column-like figure of Achille Camilleri who served as President of the Malta Chamber between 1891 and 1893. The portrait, which hangs in the Sir Agostino Hall, encapsulates Calì’s exceptional capture of the sitter’s distinct features. This painting presented a considerable number of planar distortions and its legibility was hindered by an overall dusty haze.
The third portrait, of unknown authorship, shows Carlo Maria Muscat, a merchant and elected politician, seated at his desk holding a pamphlet titled Esposizione d’Industria Maltese 1864 which suggests the sitter’s probable involvement in the organising of the exposition. Muscat sits erect on a velvet armchair and sets his meditative gaze on the viewers which creates a captivating tension. Like the other paintings being discussed, this portrait presented a veil of yellowed varnish and grime as well as a lacuna at the lower part of the canvas. Both of the Muscat and Camilleri portraits are embellished in a heavy oak frame with acanthus leaf motifs with alternate black and gold chromatic hues. The maker of the frames, who is known through an affixed card on the verso of both frames, was Ettore Vella & Bros, who had a workshop in Strada San Giovanni. Ettore Vella’s workshop was appointed by the Duke of Edinburgh and it was common for entities with a close affinity to the Crown, such as the Malta Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise, to engage the services of workshops or enterprise with a direct commitment to the British monarchy.
As soon as the portraits entered into the RECOOP laboratories a thorough photographic analysis was carried out in order to map out the treatments which were necessary for all paintings. The varnish removal and the cleaning of all three paintings required special attention as a result of the presence of bitumen. Bitumen is a highly viscous substance which is derived from the fractional distillation of crude oil. During the late eighteenth century and the nineteenth century it was widely used as a pigment which provides an incredible sense of depth to dark renderings. Many artists of the likes of Sir Joshua Reynolds and Theodore Gericault employed this pigment extensively in a quasi-experimental manner throughout their career in order to achieve heightened and dramatic effects. In the case of the three portraits Bitumen never really dries, as a result of its high boiling point and long, saturated hydrocarbon chains thus making it extremely sensitive during cleaning procedures. A special cleaning solution was devised in order to clean the paintings’ surfaces without altering the paint layer. This solution was used meticulously by our dedicated team of conservator-restorers who successfully cleaned all three paintings while preserving the integrity of the fragile pictorial layer.
What emerged from beyond the layers of oxidised varnish and dirt left the whole RECOOP team in awe. The dark green skies in the portrait of Sir Richard More O’Ferrall turned into a stormy swirl of bright whites and blues through which the sitter passes through like a gust of wind, amplified by the free-flowing nature of his heavy brown cape. Calì’s other portrait depicting Achille Camilleri serves as almost antithesis to More O’Ferrall’s depiction due to their contrast in movement. Camilleri makes no interaction with the audience, however he does his best to direct the viewer’s attention towards the ink well, adorned with the head of a crowned, silver lion which is suggestive of British rule and its tight relation with the Chamber of Commerce. However, Giuseppe Calì’s bravura in capturing the droopy eyes and frizzy beard of Camilleri does distract the viewer from fulfilling the intentions of Camilleri. In Carlo Maria Muscat’s portrait, which is of unknown authorship but does indeed share pictorial qualities pertinent to Calì’s circles, there is a prevalent humanity which is devoid of any bombastic rhetoric. Muscat served as an elected politician and President of the Chamber of Commerce in 1889. He was considered to be one of Malta’s most accomplished merchants.
Sir Richard More O’Ferrall’s portrait was executed at a time shortly after his death in 1880 and it is probable that Calì made use of an existing print of the Irishman. Cali’s indebtedness to Domenico Morelli’s fiery Verismo can be felt in the aura of Sir Richard More O’Ferrall’s persona. More O’Ferrall, who served as a Governor of Malta from 1847 until 1851, was rather revolutionary as a figure. He transformed Malta into an important hub for the trans-shipment of grain, he solidified Malta’s infrastructure, bettered the public service and was essential, as already mentioned, for the setting up of the Malta Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise. Most importantly he tackled the hot issue relating to popular representation and the constitution. While his tenure was indeed met with strong opposition, Sir Richard’s quest to ameliorate the livelihood of the Maltese is evident in his propulsive pose. The frame of this painting was entirely gilt however, prior to conservation, it did present some sporadic losses and the gold had a dusty haze which was eventually removed.
This project was indeed one which gave us great satisfaction. The portraits of these three seminal figures in the Chamber’s history who contributed greatly in the shaping of Malta’s socio-political fabric during the nineteenth century.
