Debbie Caruana Dingli
Debbie Caruana Dingli (b.1962) is Malta’s leading watercolour portraitist and oil cartoonist. She is descended from a family of artists, the most celebrated of whom are her grandfather Robert Caruana Dingli and his brother Edward, leading figures on the artistic scene in early 20th century Malta. Debbie has painted all her life. Her first solo exhibition was in 1985 when she was only 23 years old. It was held on the invitation of the Museum of Fine Arts, the most prestigious art institute on the Maltese islands and it was a resounding success. From then on Debbie became a full time artist. Her work in watercolour and oil portraits, illustration and cartoons is highly competent and incisive. It reaches below the surface to describe, satirize and comment about social situations and personal reflections. There are many layers to her art, yet it is never elusive. It is striking, thoughtful and utterly accomplished and never fails to leave its mark on the viewer.
Debbie Caruana Dingli
A Bank of Valletta Exhibition BOV Centre Sta Venera, Malta 15 June – 31 July 2015
Bank of Valletta plc would like to thank the following for their assistance in the realisation of this exhibition Organising Committee Maurice de Giorgio, Chairman Philip Grima, Secretary Dominic Cutajar Mariella Pisani Bencini Kenneth B. Micallef
Acknowledgements Celia Borg Cardona Gordon Caruana Dingli National Museum of Fine Arts, Valletta Pippa Zammit Cutajar Tonio Mallia Michael Micallef Eynaud The collectors who lent the artworks for this exhibition
Publishers Produced by
Bank of Valletta plc
Text Photography
Francesca Balzan Š 2015
Printers
Gutenberg Press, Gudja
To Maurice de Giorgio (1924-2015) Chairman of the BOV Exhibitions Organising Committee since its inception, for his outstanding contribution to culture and the arts in Malta
Midsea Books Ltd
Joe P. Borg Pippa Zammit Cutajar (p.1 and inside front flap)
ISBN: 978-99932-7-523-7 Copyright Š Bank of Valletta plc, Malta, 2015 All rights reserved in all countries. No part of the text or illustrations may be reproduced by any means of print, microfilm or other media without the written permission of the publishers.
Contents Foreword
John Cassar White Chairman, Bank of Valletta plc XXIII - iv
Debbie Caruana Dingli: A biography of her life in art Francesca Balzan XXIII - 3
Catalogue of Exhibits XXIII - 35
Exhibitions XXIII - 91
A Select Bibliography XXIII - 93
Foreword The exhibition, featuring works by Debbie Caruana Dingli, is the twenty-third in the series of retrospective exhibitions organised every year by Bank of Valletta. Renowned for her portraits and cartoons, throughout her career, Debbie has used colour, primarily watercolour as a flexible and poignant medium to make an incisive, sometimes scathing commentary about society. In many ways, she is the personification of a true artist, using her talent to engage with the viewer. We are therefore proud to host an exhibition of this prolific artist, tracing a 30 year career, during which Debbie Caruana Dingli has experimented and grown into a fullyfledged artist, albeit retaining a refreshingly uncomplicated attitude. At Bank of Valletta, we strongly believe that as a catalyst of the Maltese economy and an active corporate citizen, our commitment towards the community extends beyond our core business. In fact, we look upon our role in the arts and culture scene as one of the cornerstones of our Community Programme. Through these exhibitions, we seek to increase appreciation of Maltese contemporary artists. This year’s exhibition is particularly significant to Bank of Valletta, because we are honouring the works of a prominent female artist, who using her colourful palette, traces the turmoil and challenges which our society faces on a day by day basis, in an almost carefree yet evocative manner. I cannot fail to salute Mr Maurice de Giorgio, who, sadly passed away only a few days before the inauguration of this exhibition. Among other posts, Mr de Giorgio served as Chairman of the BOV Exhibitions Committee from its inception, and was actively involved in the setting up of this exhibition until his last days. Mr de Giorgio’s vision and contribution towards the artistic and cultural scene were exceptional, making him a point of reference to many. He has left an important legacy, which at Bank of Valletta, we are committed to take forward. We trust that the annual BOV Art Exhibition, which, over the years has transformed the internal street of BOV Centre into a veritable artistic hub will help broaden the appreciation of Debbie’s artistic talent whilst also acquainting the general public with an important female exponent of local contemporary art. John Cassar White Chairman Bank of Valletta
Debbie Caruana Dingli XXIII - 1
Debbie Caruana Dingli: A biography of her life in art Debbie Caruana Dingli was born to Mario and Bertha née Curmi on the 3rd March 1962. From the word go, she was surrounded by art. The family’s connection with art reaches far back into the 19th century with links to the Nazarener artist Antonio Falson, Girolamo Gianni, and the first Caruana Dingli artist, Raffaele (1851-1927).1 The next generation produced two outstanding Maltese artists who dominated the artistic scene in early 20th century Malta. These were Debbie’s grandfather Robert (1882-1940) and his brother Edward (18761950). The brothers Caruana Dingli were influential in both their personal art practice and in the teaching of art. Both Robert and Edward Caruana Dingli would in their time teach at the School of Art which was then at its apogee, producing the cream of Maltese artists. Edward, perhaps the better known of the pair, became the portraitist of the Maltese upper crust. Anybody who was anybody would just have to be painted by Edward Caruana Dingli. His portraits ticked all the boxes: the draughtsmanship was excellent, the likeness was accurate yet flattered the sitter, his palette was peachy and upbeat. This was exactly how you wanted posterity to remember you, and the commissions flowed in.
Opposite: Self Portrait, Watercolour, 1985, National Museum of Fine Arts Collection
Debbie as a toddler with her family in 1963 1
D. Cutajar ‘Four generations of artists’ in The Sunday Times, 16/07/1989
XXIII - 3
Debbie’s first day at school
Debbie, always a keen swimmer, with her elder brother Gordon
Debbie with her father dressed as Father Christmas
XXIII - 4
Edward Caruana Dingli was also a highly skilled watercolourist as his genre and folklore scenes attest. These have become iconic images of an idealized Malta of yesteryear where people were apparently always well fed, peasants posed picturesquely, and the sun never ceased to shine on this happy Mediterranean island. Debbie’s grandfather, Robert Caruana Dingli chose a different path in art. His artistic oeuvre is still underappreciated, calling out for a major exhibition. Notoriously at logger heads with his brother Edward, it is no wonder that their art went off in different directions. Robert did landscape and large commissions, however one of the areas in which he was truly outstanding was in his cartoons and sketches. His wicked wit and acute powers of observation were easily matched by his strong drawings, lampooning characters or situations. In Debbie’s words: 'Robert was a prolific painter, and painted both landscapes and figures. He also made a name for himself as an engraver and illustrator. Giuseppe Cali was his art mentor in Malta. He then furthered his studies in London. For a while he worked with ‘Punch’ and ‘The Tatler’. Robert and his brother Edward were both professors at the Art School of Malta and among their students were many well-known artists including Anton Inglott, William Apap, George Preca, Emvin Cremona, Esprit Barthet and Antoine Camilleri. Robert was commissioned to paint various posters, both in Malta and England, one well-known one being for PEARS soap. In 1924 he won the Silver Medal at the British Empire Exhibition.'2
Other members of the family also painted, and so Debbie grew up surrounded by stories of family artists. Her grandfather Robert’s paintings filled the walls at home. Various family members actively sketched or painted around her (her own father sketched very well and was artistic and her uncle George was a particularly strong influence in terms of learning to make art) and of course, she bore a surname which is synonymous with art. Various school books were illustrated by her grandfather, including ‘Outlines of Maltese History’ and ‘Ġabra ta’ Ward’. Debbie’s earliest memory of art is an oil painting by Robert Caruana Dingli that always raised a smile. Hung above the WC in the spare bathroom at her childhood home, it depicted a priest wrinkling his nose in disgust. As a young child growing up and becoming more aware of the heavy artistic legacy that she would bear, she was in awe of Edward’s portraits and Robert’s cartoons and illustrations but with time she would internalize their works, absorb lessons from their art, but ultimately shake off the burden of having to match up. Debbie recalls that as a child she drew and cut out paper figures, giving them individual characters, playing with them instead of dolls. This same tendency would re-emerge decades later in her large oil cartoons. From a young age she was already irrevocably drawn to art and would tag along with her elder brother, Gordon, when he was sent to art lessons. Gordon later became a surgeon, Debbie an artist. Debbie started formal art tuition at the Convent of The Sacred Heart in St Julian’s under Margaret Chircop. At the time the curriculum included other forms of art like batikmaking, printing and the use of other media, but Debbie just wanted to draw and paint. 2 D. Caruana Dingli, The Malta Stamp Official Bulletin of the Philatelic Bureau, Europa 2003, Maltapost. See also Mario J. Caruana-Dingli, Caruana-Dingli Artists, Progress Press, 1989
Francesca Balzan is an art historian, artist and is the curator of Palazzo Falson Historic House Museum in Mdina. Francesca’s research focus is in the decorative arts and she has published extensively on the history of Jewellery in Malta. Her 2009 book ‘Jewellery in Malta, Treasures from the Island of the Knights 1530-1798’, was awarded the National Book Prize for historical research. She has curated a number of exhibitions including recently a major exhibition organized by Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti titled ‘Vanity, Profanity & Worship: Jewellery from the Maltese Islands’ (Valletta, 31/03/13 – 26/05/13). Francesca is an occasional visiting lecturer at the University of Malta and is a council member of the Notarial Archives Resources Council. She is a Member on the Scientific Committee of OADI (Rivista dell’ Osservatorio per le Arti Decorative in Italia).
Front Cover: Paul Oils, 70 x 90 cm, 2012. Detail Back Cover: Fear Oils, 100 x 100 cm, 2005. Detail
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