From Malta to Purgatory: Images of Death and Dying in Hospitaller Malta – is the title of the next public talk at Il-Hagar in Gozo. The talk will be delivered by Dr Christian Attard

Dr Attard, from the University of Malta’s Department of Art and Art History, will be exploring the theology of the hereafter as it was understood in 17th- and 18th-century Malta, examining how these beliefs were both reflected in and influenced by the art and imagery of the period.

It also examines how, despite popular aphorisms which underlined the egalitarian nature of death, wealth, social status, and gender profoundly shaped the preparations for the afterlife.

Finally, the discussion incorporates the devastating plague of 1676, considering its alarming death toll and its significant influence on contemporary beliefs and visual representations.

Dr Christian Attard is a resident academic in the Department of Art and Art History, University of Malta, and also lectures at the Malta School of Art.

His areas of interest include the iconographies of plague and death, and the art of the late 19th and 20th centuries, with a special emphasis on Visual Culture methodologies.

Among Attard’s more recent projects is research about and conservation coordination (2019) of the cultic 17th-century crucifix, popularly known as Ta’ ?ie?u, made by Frate Innocenzo da Petralia, a study about the imagery of plague and death titled The Art of Dying Well:Visual Culture in Times of Piety and Plague (2022), and a study about one of Malta’s leading 20th-century artists, titled Antoine Camilleri, A World Within (2023).

The talk, which is taking place on Friday, the 4th of April at 7.30pm, is being held in collaboration with the Department of Art and Art History of the University of Malta.

Admission is free but seat reservations are recommended by sending an email to events@heartofgozo.org.mt

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