Maria Rossella Dalmas, John Cassar and Luigi Cassar Manghi decided to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the demise of their father, Giuseppe Cassar (1917–2002) by organising an exhibition of his works at the Wignacourt Museum, Rabat. The exhibition is a selection of 61 of his watercolour paintings and some photographs in their respective collections. Giuseppe Cassar is best remembered for his career as a professional photographer who, on retirement, decided to dedicate the rest of his life to painting. The first impact one gets on examining Cassar’s watercolours is serenity, tranquillity, peacefulness and that he was a romantic at heart. It is also easy to guess his background as a photographer. He was always on the lookout to find and paint the well and not so well-known urban and country landscapes and sights of our islands, from a different perspective as if he was looking through a camera’s viewfinder.

Cassar was a follower of the British School of Watercolour and an admirer of French watercolour artist Joel Thezard.

The work of Giuseppe Cassar is both subtle and full of gentle

beauty and should not be taken by storm. Like fine claret, it needs to be appreciated with delicacy and savoured at leisure.

The exhibition is open to the public between 10am and 3pm daily except on Sunday. It is planned to continue until 7 December.

(Please note that this is a shortened version of George Glanville’s article).