MATSEC AM Art case studies
MATSEC AM Art · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The MATSEC Advanced Matriculation (AM) Art examination is administered by the MATSEC Examinations Board, the examinations body of L-Università ta' Malta, based at Msida MSD 2080, Malta. The Board publishes its regulations, guidelines and policies, syllabi, current session information, applications, past papers, marking schemes and exemplars, and research and reports through its own section of the University website, so candidates should treat that section as the authoritative channel for the syllabus and administrative detail of the subject. The MATSEC AM Art case studies are 5 cases and about 2,800 words.
1The Sassetta label: dating a small gold-ground panel
A small panel painting, 31.5 × 24 cm, on poplar, entered a Maltese collection in 1907 as 'Follower of Sassetta, c. The gold ground is punched with a rosette and diamond pattern; the flesh tones are modelled with green earth underpaint.
604 words, about 3 min2Five months, €16,000: treating a damaged Baroque altarpiece
A 1680s oil on canvas, 172 × 118 cm, from a Maltese parish church, depicts a standing bishop saint. It was wax-resin lined in 1962 and has a 27 cm L-shaped tear in the upper right background.
594 words, about 3 min3One room, eleven objects: curating a critical display
A regional museum in Malta has one gallery, 7.2 × 5.4 m, with a single entrance and a skylight. The room holds 11 objects: three Orientalist oils from the 1880s showing North African markets and bathers; two 17th-century portolan charts on paper; one 19th-century Maltese landscape; four contemporary works, including a 12-minute video on Mediterranean migration and a photographic series of 12 prints; and one touchscreen.
543 words, about 3 min4Master or workshop? A contract, a ledger and two hands
In 1742 a Maltese confraternity contracted a master painter to supply an altarpiece, 3.2 × 2.1 m, of 'the titular saint, with due ornament', for 60 scudi; 400 gold leaves were itemised separately. The contract says the master must follow 'the design supplied by the prior' but does not name an assistant.
544 words, about 3 min5Watermark 1810: provenance and attribution of a chalk nude
A black-chalk drawing, 24 × 18 cm, shows a seated male nude. It is offered at auction as 'Circle of a major Bolognese artist, late 16th century'.
515 words, about 3 min