maltatoday | SUNDAY •26 SEPTEMBER 2021
7
BOOKS
Discover the world of colour through the eyes
of a Portuguese knight in 18th century Malta
HAVE you ever found yourself
wondering about the nature
of colour – how colour actu-
ally ever came to be, and what
makes up each different colour?
If your answer is in the af-
firmative, you share this curi-
osity with a Portuguese knight
named Fra' Diogo de Carvalho
e Sampaio, who was inspired
to study such questions while
based in Malta in the late 18th
century, and whose published
treatise you can now see for
yourself in an exclusive Herit-
age Malta masterclass.
"This treatise is nothing else
than a clear exposition of my
ideas about colours, accord-
ing to the order they appear
to me." This is how Fra' Diogo
opens his treatise 'Tratado das
Cores', printed in Malta in 1787.
This was one of the few scientif-
ic works printed in Malta in the
18th century.
Fra' Diogo arrived in Malta in
1785 and started studying col-
our out of pure curiosity. Lat-
er he wrote more books about
colour while in Spain, which did
not pass unnoticed among Eu-
ropean theorists.
Join Cláudia Garradas at
MUŻA's Conference Hall on
the 29th of September from
18.30 till 19.30 hrs and get a
closer look at this printed work,
which includes exceptional
woodcuts hand-coloured by the
author himself.
Following the presentation,
attendees will also be able to get
a more in-depth explanation of
the work by Ms Garradas, as she
flips through the historic docu-
ment in a live demonstration,
given in small groups of six.
Admission to this event is free
of charge, but reservation at any
Heritage Malta museum or site
is required.
