Two of eleven paintings by Antoinio De Saliba have been restored by members of the Research Programme for Late Medieval and Renaissance Art, at the Faculty of the History of Arts at the University of Malta. One of the paintings is that of The Deposition, the other of the Holy Mother and her Child.

The paintings date back to 1510, and originate from Messina. This proves that there was indeed an art sphere present on the island before the coming of the Knights. The project, which took over one year, was carried out by Paul Muscat from ReCoop Laborities, and supported by Banif Bank. Scientific analysis revealed three layers of colours, as well as the use of white lead. Most of the original wood was eaten away, and as a result the paintings’ structure became weak. The two paintings form part of a set of 11 paintings; however these are the only two which remain. The figure of baby Jesus was also changed drastically, from one less in line with paintings of the renaissance to one more in line with the baroque period. Indeed, the aim of the project was bringing the original back to life.

 The paintings will be placed at Cloisters of the Fransiscans, Rabat.