Vincent Apap

Vincent Apap, OBE (; 13 November 1909 – 15 February 2003) was a Maltese sculptor who is well known for designing various public monuments and church statues, most notably the Triton Fountain in Valletta. He has been called "one of Malta's foremost sculptors of the Modern Period" by the studio of Renzo Piano.

Biography

Apap was born in Valletta in 1909, and he was the older brother of the musician Joseph Apap and the painter William Apap. He attended the government central school, and in 1920 he began to attend evening classes in modelling and drawing. He was one of the first students to enroll in the newly established School of Art in 1925, where he studied sculpture under Antonio Micallef. In 1927, he won a scholarship to the British Academy of Arts in Rome, studying under the renowned Maltese sculptor Antonio Sciortino.

He returned to Malta in 1930, and soon afterwards he won his first commission, the Fra Diego monument in Ħamrun. This made him well known within Malta's art scene, and he regularly exhibited his works at the Malta Art Amateur Association exhibitions throughout the 1930s. He was appointed assistant modelling teacher at the School of Art in 1934, becoming head of school in 1947. He remained there until his retirement in 1971, but was recalled seven years later in 1978.

Apap married Maria Bencini in 1941, and they had three children: John, Nella and Manon.

Awards and honours

Officer of the Order of the British Empire (1956) Gold medal of the Society of Arts, Manufacture and Commerce (1965) Cavaliere Ufficiale Repubblica Italiana (1968) Order of Merit (1993) He was nominated a knight of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta in 1963.