Esprit Barthet


Esprit Barthet was an artist born in Valletta, Malta on 6 October 1919. Son of Camillo and Guzeppina Grixti.
He started art studies in Valletta, at the Government School of Arts. He went to Rome where he attended the Regia Accademia di Belle Arti and later to England, at the Academy of Arts in Bath. In the early 1950s he started experimenting with cubism and the abstract. Much of his work can be admired in public places, Government Departments and in many private collections in Malta and abroad.
In 1944, he married Teresa Borg and had six children.
He died on 4 July 1999.
There is a street named after him: 'Triq Esprit Barthet' in Swieqi, Malta. Triq means street in Maltese.

Training

; Romantic Tradition; cubism; abstract

Awards

He was awarded the title of Knight of the Italian Republic by the Italian Government and also invested as a member of the Order of St. John.

Paintings

Portraits

Barthet is also known for his abstract rooftops.

National School of Art

Parliament established the National School of Art in the 1920s. During the reconstruction period that followed the Second World War, the emergence of the "Modern Art Group", whose members included Josef Kalleya, George Preca, Anton Inglott, Emvin Cremona, Frank Portelli, Antoine Camilleri and Esprit Barthet greatly enhanced the local art scene.