Pubblikazzjonijiet Indipendenza has just published an impressive volume about the late Antoine Camilleri ? the artist. It is called Antoine Camilleri: His Life and Works 1922-2005 and is by Joseph P. Cassar.

The author analyses the importance that artist Antoine Camilleri played in Maltese contemporary art. With over 450 illustrations, CamilleriJs work is discussed against the historical background of the time. Reference is made to Antoine's upbringing, his artistic education at the Malta Government School of Art under the tutorship of Edward Caruana Dingli, his studies in France at the Ecole Superieure des Beaux Arts under Nicholas Pierre Untersteller, and back in Malta where he was instrumental in the formation of the Modern Art Group.

The book discusses how Antoine Camilleri has been considered by his colleagues, friends and students as a loving teacher and artist who through the hardships of life, matured from the extraordinary energy and wild cries of youth to the meditative silence of old age. The book focuses also on drawings, paintings and sculpture, on his years at Bath Academy in England, his printing oeuvre, his work as a designer, as well as on some of the artist's favourite themes such as the family, the sea, fishing villages and fishermen, his models, the self-portraits, the fertility goddess, the human chessboard, his expressionistic and religious works.

The book contains a rich showcase of photographs of the artist at work and the various studios that he had. There is also a chapter dedicated on how the artist has been depicted by some of his contemporary artist-friends.

It also contains a detailed interview that the author had conducted with the artist, which throws light on the artist's symbolic language and artistic credo. There is also a detailed chronology complete with bibliography and index. The book is a fitting tribute to the artist, only one year after his demise.

Author Joseph Paul Cassar is a well-known personality in the art field and was also a personal friend of the artist. Cassar is an artist himself, an art historian and critic, curator and educator. He has published various monographs and art catalogues. He lectures on Maltese Modern Art both locally and abroad.

Antoine Camilleri: His Life and Works 1922-2005 is the 254 publication by Pubblikazzjonijiet Indipendnza – PIN, and is for sale at leading booksellers for Lm25.