Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1498412
6 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 3 MAY 2023 NEWS NEWS MUŻA, the National Art Mu- seum, has launched its first exhibition in the series Your MUŻA – a series of outreach and accessibility efforts where works from the national art collection will be temporarily loaned to different localities that bear relevance to a com- memorative event, a special theme or an artist that is rep- resented in the said collection. The current exhibition, ded- icated to Francesco Zahra, is being held at the Oratory of the Holy Crucifix in Senglea and will run until 22nd May. Francesco Zahra died 250 years ago, in August 1773. Considered as one of the fore- most Maltese artists of the 18th century, he was born, baptized, bred and artistically mentored in Senglea. Works from the na- tional collection, directly and indirectly related to Zahra, have thus been taken out of the museum and brought tempo- rarily to a locality bearing inti- mate ties with this artist's life and times. The community of Senglea can now celebrate the talents and successes of this Baroque painter from the com- fort of their own hometown. The Oratory of the Holy Cru- cifix was chosen as the venue of the exhibition because the impressive stone carving and statuary adorning the walls are the work of Francesco Zahra's father, Pietro Paolo, while four paintings that make up a cycle about the passion of Christ, al- so at the Oratory, are by Franc- esco Zahra himself. Artefacts on display at the ex- hibition – titled Your MUŻA: Celebrating Francesco Zah- ra – include a painting by Gi- an Nicola Buhagiar, who was Francesco Zahra's teacher; coins dating to the time of the Order of St John in Malta; a painting by Antoine Favray, who admired and briefly col- laborated with Zahra; the art- ist's baptismal record; a paint- ing by Zahra that is usually on display at the Archbishop's Curia; commission records of the Oratory's sculptures and paintings; and Francesco Zah- ra's self-portrait, showing him in his mid-40s at the peak of his artistic career. Speaking at a press conference marking the launch of the ex- hibition, Mario Cutajar, Herit- age Malta's Chairman, pointed out that MUŻA is the National Community Art Museum and should therefore always be close to the people. The main aim of this exhibition, and of the ensuing ones, is in fact to enable MUŻA to bring art from the national collection, along with other works, nearer to the community – right by its door- step – in order to better under- stand who we are as a nation. Bernadine Scicluna, Princi- pal Curator at MUŻA, said that the Cottonera area, of which Senglea forms part, gave birth to several families of art- ists, including highly talented marble-cutters, sculptors and craftsmen. It was in this cultur- ally rich context that Francesco Zahra was born and raised, and lived until he got married and moved elsewhere. Through his works, which may be admired in many churches across Malta and Gozo, Zahra managed to diffuse the Baroque style that had been introduced locally in the 17th century, thanks to Mattia Preti's presence and strong influence, Bernadine Scicluna said. Rev. Canon Fr Robin Camill- eri, Archpriest of the Senglea parish, said that it is difficult to find a local parish church that does not bear a work of art by Francesco Zahra or his father Pietro Paolo, since they com- plemented each other in their projects. It is a pleasure for the Basilica's administration to be closely collaborating with Her- itage Malta in acknowledging Francesco Zahra, a worthy hu- man legacy of the Senglea par- ish. Through this exhibition, the public has the opportunity to get to know Francesco Zahra and discover his art up close in his native city, the Archpriest concluded. In connection with this exhi- bition, Professor Keith Sciber- ras, Head of the Department of Art and Art History within the Faculty of Arts of the Uni- versity of Malta, will be giving a talk on Wednesday 10th May at 19:00 at the Collegiate Basil- ica of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, Senglea. The talk, to be delivered in Maltese, will pro- vide a brief background about Francesco Zahra and his im- portance in 18th-century Mal- tese art, and will place in con- text the works at the Oratory of the Holy Crucifix as well as the exhibition itself. Your muza: a series of exhibitions taking artworks directly to communities Court told man murdered his mother and aunt over suspicion that they spiked his coffee CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 The lead investigator, Inspec- tor Kurt Zahra, testified this morning as the insanity trial, known as a "ġurin" in Maltese, began before madam justice Consuelo Scerri Herrera earlier today. The homicide inspector recounted how he had arrived at the crime scene soon after receiving the call, finding it to have already been preserved by the duty magistrate, who had ar- rived before him. The suspect had opened the door for police officers. The washroom where the murders occurred was at the back of the property, and Zahra had found the aunt lying face up with her arms spread out on the floor in a pool of blood. A blood-smeared knife was found nearby on a white table with a potted plant placed on top of it. Micallef was examined on-site for any inju- ries, with the doctor advising Zahra to have the man escorted to Mount Carmel Hospital. Two days later, Micallef was examined and declared fit for interrogation by the psychiatrist treating him. He was escorted to police headquarters, where he was read his rights, and re- fused legal assistance. Micallef released an audio-visual state- ment describing the strained relationship he had with his mother and aunt during his au- dio-visual statement which was played in court. Micallef told the police that his aunt would make him a strong cup of coffee every morning, which he suspected of being spiked with something. He had overheard his aunt and mother talking in the washroom, with his aunt allegedly saying, "Do you think he realized? What have we done!" Interpreting the words as a threat, Micallef picked up a long knife from the kitchen drawer and went up to the washroom, where he stabbed his aunt, be- fore turning to his crying moth- er and stabbing her too. Micallef had explained dur- ing the interrogation that his relationship with his moth- er was "sometimes good and sometimes bad", and she would always interfere whenever he tried to have a relationship with a woman. He stated that his mother wanted him to stay at home. There were no previous physical clashes between Mi- callef and his mother and aunt, who had been living in the fam- ily home for ten years, he said. The trial continues today, with medical and psychiatric profes- sionals expected to testify. Law- yer Francois Dalli is Micallef's defence counsel. Micallef told the police that his aunt would make him a strong cup of coffee every morning, which he suspected of being spiked with something