The Malta Independent on Sunday
Master of Science on Marouflage Paintings
Paintings conservator-restorer Amy Sciberras has completed a Master of Science degree (M.Sc.) at the University of Malta, which study was supervised by Prof. JoAnn Cassar, Head, Department of Conservation and Built Heritage, Faculty for the Built Environment. Amy’s dissertation is entitled “A Study on the Deterioration Phenomena of Marouflage Paintings. The nave marouflage paintings by G. Briffa at the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Nadur, Gozo.”
The main aim of this study was to research the deterioration phenomena, causes and mechanisms on marouflage paintings in the Maltese Islands, which painting technique involves the attachment of canvas supports to the interior of architectural settings.
The focus of Amy’s exhaustive investigations were the marouflage paintings by Maltese artist Ġuzeppi Briffa (1901-1987) which decorate the nave in the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in Nadur, Gozo. This study was aimed at understanding decay problems in an interdisciplinary scientific approach, at identifying the types of deterioration phenomena manifested by the marouflage paintings, including main sources and causes of decay, and ultimately at understanding whether agents of decay are still active, or whether we are looking at the result of past deterioration processes.
Based on this research and analysis, Amy developed recommendations for the improvement of the immediate environment of the marouflage paintings and ultimately proposed conservation treatments for these paintings.
Even though the marouflage technique has often been employed in Malta and Gozo for decorating the interior of Churches, few textual sources exist about the application of the marouflage technique and related deterioration problems with regards to the Maltese context. This topic which has been investigated for the first time at postgraduate level by Amy Sciberras in her recent M.Sc. studies, was also made possible by a scholarship awarded by the Malta Government Scholarship Scheme (MGSS).
A special thank you to the various members of the Vella and Grech families - owners of the Church, who have kindly allowed Amy to study these paintings and willingly allowed access to the Church even in hours when this would normally be closed.