When the death of Anton Agius was announced in October 2008, it felt like it marked the end of an era. Through his many public commissions, the artist and sculptor cemented his name in the annals of Malta’s artistic heritage, leaving a rich patrimony of works of art and sculptures in media as diverse as bronze, concrete, stone, ceramics, lino printing and olive wood. 

He is particularly remembered for his monuments depicting some of the most significant periods and personages of Maltese history, all mostly created during the 1970s and 1980s at a time when a newly independent Malta, freshly installed as a republic state, was changing rapidly. 

So when it was decided that a monument to the monument maker should be erected in his home town Rabat, it was fitting that two of his former students and long-time friends, Joseph Scerri and Monica Spiteri, together with Anton’s brother Michael, would realise it.

Inaugurated in 2011 by the President of Malta, the monument marked the end of a major embellishment of the area known as l-Ghalqa ta’ Kola (Kola’s field), long left abandoned, which has now been transformed into a car parking area well used by all visitors to Mdina and Rabat. More significantly, it is surrounded by at least five of Anton Agius’s public works within walking distance.

Long term family friend, student and collaborator Joseph Scerri explained how Anton Agius’s family had very specific wishes for his monument. “Upon his sad demise, the family approached me to take on the task of producing a maquette in preparation of a large scale monument. I felt I could not be free to design whatever I had in mind without taking into consideration the highly emotive wishes of the family,” says Joseph.

“They suggested a portrait of him reflecting the way he was mostly remembered by his friends and those who frequented his studio. So in my model I depicted him working at his bench on a piece of olive wood forming a school of fish which was one of his favourite subjects. I felt I had to emphasise his love for nature, especially for animals much still for those weak and abandoned. It is for this reason that he is portrayed in the company of two of his dogs, one which he reared himself and another one which had been left abandoned and tied to his studio gates. I'm sure he would have simply loved the idea of having the portraits of two of his numerous beloved pets sharing his memory and glory,” he adds.

Joseph’s idea was to include in the monument “a vivid relic” from Anton's studio, so his brother Michael was entrusted to take a plaster cast of Anton's actual wooden working bench. “Michael carried out this task meticulously and one can clearly state that the bench featured in the monument is an authentic replica of the one found to this day in his studio,” points out Joseph proudly.

Artist Monica Spiteri was invited to participate in the realisation of the monument in honour of her former teacher partly because a few years before the sculptor’s death, she had sculpted a bust of him which was highly regarded by the master himself. That bust is now on display at the Mosta philanthropic society 'The Marquis Giuseppe Mallia Tabone'. Monica was responsible for modelling a copy of Anton’s 'Shoal of Fish', one of his famous works originally sculpted in wood and which now forms part of a private collection.

The monument was cast in bronze at the foundry of Massimo Del Chiaro in Pietrasanta, Italy, which is run by the Del Chiaro family who were old friends of Anton Agius.

Also hailing from Rabat, Joseph recalls how Anton Agius mentored him as he first started out as a sculptor. “I first got to know Anton as a child and then later I was at school with his son Chris. At the age of 26, I started taking sculpting seriously and I used to spend days and weeks in Anton’s studio, especially in summer. I was fortunate enough to assist him in some of his most famous monuments. Anton was the ideal tutor and mentor. He would encourage me and challenge my creativity whilst at the same time he would still hold me firmly to the ground with his constant sound advice for improvement. His energetic and humble character together with his  sense of humour left a mark on me and all those who were privileged enough to be his students and friends,” he says.

This is echoed by Monica, who also got to know Anton at the age of seven when he was her primary school teacher in Lija in 1959. He would later be her wood carving tutor at the school of art at MCAST. 

“We became good friends of his entire family. The friendship continued till his last days, when I used to drive him to hospital for treatments,” says Monica.

“I knew Anton as a very generous spirit and very free with his help and advice. He took his work very seriously and was a perfectionist. Anton enjoyed reminiscing especially about his years when he was on scholarship in England at St Martin’s College. Although most of his works were traditional, his real passion was modern art, which he specialised in at St Martin’s. Very often, Anton used to discuss a number of his compositions while they were in progress,” adds Monica.

Joseph remarked that Anton was “lucky enough to be entrusted with some of the major commemorative monuments of Malta's history. His love for his country managed to capture these moments in a most dramatic way, steaming out figures in his energetic style which was not always understood.”

Some of Anton Agius’s most notable major monuments include the Freedom Monument in Vittoriosa (Birgu), the Workers’ Memorial in Msida, Sette Giugno 1919 in Valletta, Dun Mikiel Scerri and Friends 1799, also in Valletta, Mikiel Anton Vassalli in Zebbug, and Anton Buttiegieg. 

Joseph is himself a monument maker. His numerous works include a bronze portrait of former Prime Minister and President of Malta E. Fenech Adami at the President’s official residence at San Anton Palace. Monica works in various media and her work can be seen in several countries. She has also won several awards including first prize at the Landscape watercolour competition held at the Malta Society of Arts, Manufacture and Commerce, third prize at the Biennale in Treviso, Italy and received the Judges’ Prize at the Italiano in Piazza competition held at the Malta-Italian Cultural Institute organised by the Italian Embassy in Malta.