Mario Buhagiar
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Mario Buhagiar | |
|---|---|
| Born | 4 January 1945 |
| Died | 28 February 2026 (aged 81) |
| Alma mater | University of London |
Mario Buhagiar (4 January 1945 – 28 February 2026) was a Maltese art historian and author who was a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London (FSA) and member of the National Order of Merit (MOM). He was a professor in history of art at the University of Malta and was for 25 years head of the History of Art Department, which he founded.
Buhagiar introduced history of art as an academic discipline at the University of Malta in 1988 and saw it grow into a fully fledged department which he directed for several years producing in the process a cohort of art historians who now occupy the key posts of Malta's heritage and cultural institutions.
On the attainment of his first degree from the University of London, he was first attached to the Maltese National Museums Department where, with the support of the Council for Cultural Cooperation of the Council of Europe, he pioneered the drawing up of a Protective Inventory of the Maltese Cultural Heritage. He also served as president and vice-president of the Malta Historical Society.[1]
In 1968 he was founder with George Serracino-Inglott of the Youth Section of Din L-Art Helwa and was responsible for the discovery of and initial rehabilitation programme of the Late Medieval Church of the Annunciation at Hal Millieri.
Buhagiar was the author of specialised books and studies on art and archaeology, and he has read papers on art historical and related topics in various international seminars and been guest lecturer in several universities and Fine Arts Institutions in Europe. His areas of specialisation are Maltese Early Christian Art and Archaeology, Medieval Art and Antiquaries, and the Art and Architecture of the Knights of St John. His art historical and archaeological studies have established the European context for Maltese art history and medieval archaeology and has provided scholars with the essential framework for the future development of research on the subject.
He was together with Associate Professor Charlene Vella studying Renaissance paintings in Malta and securing funds together in order to conserve and restore these paintings. They started by studying a painting of the Madonna adoring the Child in Żejtun attributed to Antonio de Saliba in 2011[2] and proceeded with two paintings by Antonio de Saliba dated to 1510–15 in the Franciscan Observant church of Santa Maria de Gesù in Rabat, Malta, portraying the Madonna and Child with Angels and the Deposition from the Cross between 2013 and 2014. The last one of these panels they studied was Salvo d'Antonio's 1510 predella from the Mdina Cathedral Museum collection.
Between 12 January and 27 February 2026, the University of Malta Library held an exhibition of documents from his personal special collection, which he had donated over three years. The collection, built from his research library, spans Early Christian art, architecture and urban studies, local ecclesiastical history and parishes, and Maltese language, literature and folklore.[3]
Death
Buhagiar died on 28 February 2026, at the age of 81.[4]
