The National Portrait Gallery of Malta: A book and a portable museum
We shall never ever have a National Portrait Gallery in Malta, not unless the government virtually sets up a new ministry with a specific budget to buy portraits of significance and even commission others where it is deemed necessary by an advisory committee whose job is to pay tribute to those who deserve it. Purchases would also have to be made for portraits of any sort of merit which might have a national connection. National portrait galleries are rare especially if the are general and not too focused on people of importance: yes, London’s is the greatest and Scotland, Canada and Australia have them and some countries have not limited their collections of portraits as a specific focus.
Space
Nicholas de Piro’s new book is something original, novel and fresh. It is useful and full of easily discernible impact all set to entertain and even broaden the parameters not only of art lovers but also of historians, interior decorators, stylists, the young and the nostalgic.
The impact of ‘The National Portrait Gallery of Malta’ covers a broader spectrum than anything of this sort published before; with its hundreds and hundreds of portraits this book gives us the opportunity to examine the aspirations, the pretentions, the sophistication and even the naïve in and around our people over a period of many generations. It has had a gestation period of some ten years. The book is politically conscious and very broadminded but it remains basically an art book. Nicholas de Piro and his enthusiastic team, who visited literally hundreds of collections, have created a national monument which replaces the need of yet another museum. The book is both useful in triggering our abilities of estimation and serves sentiment, education, emotion, opinion, attitude and diversion.
It is a unique chance to see the sophisticated and unsophisticated side by side. It is a cheeky and sometimes mischievous look into so many people’s homes to examine so much that has never been available to the public, or even to the student. Here we see, for the first time perhaps, the great holding hands with the naïve – or that essential element within the element of artistry – the middle-ofthe-road, the pedestrian and commonplace on show for one and all to evaluate, to consider and to compare; and among all this we are blasted with the greats and worthies. This book allows us more than any museum to think and choose for ourselves.
The book leaves a legacy of controversy which is healthy and will be interesting to deal with in what may become an additional volume one fine day. For the present we have something very new in concept to examine.