MUŻA Survey Identifies Top Three Paintings

‘Masterpieces at MUŻA’, Heritage Malta’s prestigious must-see exhibition draws to a close at the end of October. Don’t miss out on your last chance to see these 13 outstanding Old Master paintings, which include autograph works from the likes of world-renowned artists Giovanni Baglione, François Boucher, and Claude-Joseph Vernet.

Since the exhibition’s debut in June 2021, thousands have flocked to the capital, making the most of this rare opportunity, to feast their eyes on these masterpieces, the majority of which have been out of the public eye for decades in an international private collection.

A recent survey commissioned by the agency, involving 400 participants, was conducted gauging the public’s response to the exhibition of artwork ranging from the late 15th to the mid-18th centuries.

Amongst the many questions posed, respondents were asked to identify the three paintings on display they liked best.

Here’s the run down to the top three most popular artworks:

In third place we find the tondo ‘Madonna and Child with the young St John the Baptist and an Angel in a Landscape’ (late 15th/early 16th century) a collaboration between Maestro Tommaso and his mentor Lorenzo di Credi.

The calming blue and green tones that imbue this stupendous landscape reflect the serene and peaceful composition of ordered nature and the symmetrical arrangement of the painting’s subjects in the foreground.

The runner-up is ‘The Tempest’ (1751) by consummate landscape painter Claude-Joseph Vernet.

Pivoted at the centre of the maelstrom of wind, waves, and destruction, the outstretched arm of a tiny orange-clad figure points to the promise of calmer weather and blue skies that peek through the tumultuous bleakness of the sky.

Claiming the top stop is the large, impressive oil and tempera on canvas of ‘Leda and the Swan’ (16th century) after Michelangelo Buonarroti

Queen Leda’s pairing with Zeus, Olympian god of the sky and thunder, who is disguised as a swan, was a popular High Renaissance subject. The painting depicts Mannerist tendencies of elongating and twisting the figure, also known as ‘figura serpentinata,’ a spiralling technique that features heavily in Michelangelo’s oeuvre.

See these paintings up close and join a complimentary guided tour on the 30^th and 31^st of October 2021, at 10.00hrs, 11.30hrs or 14.00hrs. Normally tours of the exhibition are self-guided, but this is a unique chance to avail yourself of a more in-depth understanding of the artwork on display.

Tickets priced 10 Euro (including entrance to both the exhibition and the permanent exhibition at MUŻA) are available  by pre-booking either from any Heritage Malta museum or site or online HERE

OWN YOUR OWN MASTERPIECE!

Purchase a 40 x 50cm fine art print of one of the ‘Masterpieces at MUŻA’ paintings this October and receive an exhibition catalogue for free.

BUY NOW by Clicking HERE

This exhibition is being supported by Visit Malta; the Ministry for the National Heritage, the Arts, and Local Government; the Ministry for Finance; and the Department of Art and Art History at the University of Malta.

MUŻA is a project part-financed by the European Union under the European Regional Development Fund – European Structural and Investment Funds 2014-2020