Willie Apap, Benedizione, oil on canvas, 1966

© P. Mizzi (in collaboration with D. Cutajar)

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Willie Apap (1918-1970)

Benedizione

Oil on canvas

Signed and dated 1966

112 x 86 cm (without frame)

National Museum of Fine Arts, Malta (Reserved Collection)

Willie Apap’s masterpiece, Benedizione,1 belongs to a repertoire of late works which are highly

revealing of the iconographic and expressive ability of the artist. Although intrinsically appreciated

for its distinctive style and religious depth on the theme of redemption, the painting is seemingly

perverse to the main branches of European artistic practice of the time. Thus, its importance is

amplified further in the opportunity it provides to assess the development of Maltese twentieth-

century art against the wider international context.

At surface level, one can immediately recall the narrative of the adulterous woman as described

in the Gospel of St. John in the New Testament (John 8:1-11). This biblical subject was, however,

much more common to the visual arts during the time of the Catholic Counter-Reformation, rather

than in the twentieth century, thus bringing into question the intent of the creation of such an

image. The history of the painting is not yet fully studied, although the fact that is was locally

purchased by the National Museum of Fine Arts in Malta on 20 September 1968, just two years

after its completion, indicates that it was more likely to have been an exhibition piece rather than

1 The work is known under various titles as The Woman Taken into Adultery, Christ and the Adulteress, and The

Repentant Whore.

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an ecclesiastical commission.2 Indeed, aesthetically, it belongs to a group of paintings exhibited at

the Galleria Galeasso in Alba and Turin, in 1966. Here, the distinctive use of ‘tessere longitudinale’3

is noted by art critic Alfio Coccia as the main characteristic feature of Apap’s works. Coincidentally,

this is also a fundamental compositional feature in the Benedizione.

The named work is composed on a series of longitudinal and transverse planes, with the former

being emphasised by the vertical format of the painting and the stark contrasts created by the

interplay of light and shade. The vertical and horizontal sections give the painting a fragmented

appearance, although not as understood by the Cubist search for spatial and geometric

relationships. On the contrary, a sense of depth is readily perceptible. The compact group of figures

occupying two-thirds of the background runs horizontally across the painting in a frieze-like

manner. This contrasts sharply with the foreground which is composed of the slightly-off centre,

columnar figure of Christ, and the figure of a woman kneeling at his feet. Although this layout

allows for an explicitly straightforward reading of the biblical narrative, it is imbued with a much

more subtle theological implication. The relationship of the planes together with the kneeling

figure in the foreground, evoke the scene of the Crucifixion, whereby Christ was to redeem all of

mankind. Thus, the laying of Christ’s right hand onto the repentant sinner transcends the narrative

depicted, and extends his blessing into our world. It is, perhaps, for this reason that Christ looks out

of the picture frame and directly engages the beholder.

2 Espinosa Rodriguez, A., ‘The Provenance of the Paintings on Permanent Display at the National Museum of Fine Arts’,

in Porceedings of History Week 1983, Malta, Malta Historical Society, 1984, 123 3 ‘longitudinal strips’, Coccia, A., L’Italia, 4 December, 1966 in an article in response to the Galleria Galeasso exhibition.

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In Benedizione the pronounced facial features of Christ stand in contrast to the hidden face of

the kneeling figure in the foreground and, likewise, to the lack of individuality of the figures

occupying the space in the background.4 Again, this is, perhaps, to indicate that all of us are called

to repent. The lack of defined outlines and facial characteristics is a recurrent element in Apap’s

late works, although he never loses his sensitivity towards the human body.5 This enabled him to

focus less on the details and experiment more freely with his brush, while delving deeper into the

spiritual meaning of his work. Therefore, in silencing the background, the artist depicts the true

nature of Christ by highlighting him in thickly applied white paint. The intense shaft of light imparts

from beyond the painting itself and thus, implies a celestial relationship with God, while at the

same time confining the background to darkness.6 The emphasis of light and darkness is given

symbolic meaning and has parallels in Christ’s own words:

I am the light of the world; anyone who follows me will not be walking in the dark, but will have the light of life. John 8: 12

Thus, keeping this in mind, light reflects hope and redemption, while the darkness suggests fear

and sin.7 Perhaps this is the message which subdues the entire painting, and furthermore, dictates

the nature of the colour palette and its application in numerous planes and tonal variations.

4 J. P. Cassar, Pioneers of Modern Art in Malta, I, PhD Dissertation, Department of History of Art, University of Malta,

Msida, 2002, 147 5 Emmanuel Fiorentino, Louis A.Grasso, Willie Apap (1918-1970), Sliema, Carmelo Zammit La Rosa, 1993, 101

6 Peter Mayo, National Museum of Fine Arts, Valletta, Midsea Books , 1995, 86

7 J.P. Cassar, 2002, 147

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In fact, there is a constant play between light and shadow, creating a range of tonal values

which enhance the perception of depth and three-dimensionality. The use of columnar segments

to highlight certain portions of the composition was actually adopted from nature itself and is the

most recognizable feature of Apap’s style.8 In addition, the use of a rather monochromatic palette

became even more recurrent as a result of his declining health. Indeed, this can be seen in the

somewhat sombre atmosphere of the scene depicted, created by dominating blue and green glazes

set against a backdrop of grey tones. The only break from this monochromatic scheme is confined

to the red drapery of the female figure, and thus, serves to focus the attention on the foreground –

where the main event and subject of the painting occur.

In all its aesthetic simplicity and directness, the painting is, nonetheless, a complex essay on

theological theory, and somewhat of a comment, consciously or not, on twentieth-century Maltese

traditionalism. Apap’s rendition of this subject is traditional insofar as the incorporation of

figurative imagery, oil technique and narrative clarity of the subject is concerned. However, it is

imbued with the same sort of looming and tense atmosphere found in his own Descent from the

Cross (1964), defined as an expression reflecting the ‘struggle in coming to terms with aggressive

invasive modernism but also Apap’s struggle of a sisyphean yearning towards faith’.9 Hence, the

8 Willie Apap was described by his contemporaries as ‘il pittore delle strisce’. He adopted the idea of incorporating

streaks within his paintings while observing the effect of rain falling in the distance. See E. Sammut, Homage to Willie Apap, 1918-1970, Mdina, Friends of the Cathedral Museum, 1984, 14 9 Schembri Bonaci, G., Willie Apap: Descent from the Cross, Msida, Midsea Books Ltd., 2008, 29

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stoning,10 to which the sinner was condemned, is overshadowed by the accepting figure of Christ –

a fundamental relationship that mirrors the shift from the material reality of punishment to that of

spiritual atonement.

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Initially there were some stones lying in the foreground near the feet of Christ, however these were removed at a later stage by the artist himself. They are not visible in the photograph.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Anon., Apap’s Paintings on Exhibition in Rome, The Times of Malta. 19

June 1964 Cassar, Joseph Paul, Pioneers of Modern Art in Malta: a critical analysis of the

beginnings of a cultural change in a European perspective, 1900-1970, vol. 1, Ph. D dissertation, Msida, University of Malta, Department of History of Art, 2002

Coccia, Alfio L’Italia, Milano, 4 December, 1966 Espinosa Rodriguez, Antonio, ‘The Provenance of the Paintings on Permanent Display at the

National Museum of Fine Arts’, in Porceedings of History Week 1983, Malta, Malta Historical Society, 1984, 97-124

Espinosa Rodriguez, Antonio, Paintings at the National Museum of Fine Arts in Malta, Valletta,

Malta: Said International, 1990 Fiorentino, Emmanuel & Grasso, A. Louis, Willie Apap (1918-1970), Sliema, Carmelo Zammit La Rosa, 1993 Mayo, Peter, National Museum of Fine Arts, Valletta, Midsea Books, 1995 Sammut, Edward, ed., Homage to Willie Apap, 1918-1970: An Exhibition of Paintings

and Drawings, 12-31 May, 1984, Mdina, Friends of the Cathedral Museum, 1984

Schembri Bonaci, Giuseppe, Willie Apap: Descent from the Cross, Msida, Midsea Books Ltd.,

2008