Door, 2021
acrylic on canvas, 130 × 100 cm

“We flew into Malta on a late evening in September. We take a taxi to the hotel, from the windows of which we can see Valletta beautifully lit up. It is one of the smallest capital cities in Europe.

The next day, we take a long walk into the centre of Valletta. Tomek takes odd short-cuts to discover hidden nooks among the houses. On the way, we pass gardens, the University of Malta, the port, the defensive walls, and the beauty of the city is revealed to our eyes. The soaring townhouses create an exceptional atmosphere, along with their colourful shutters and their cords and lamps. Valletta enchants us with the variety of its wooden balconies, large and small, in all the colours of the rainbow. They are part of the Maltese way of life. At one time, they had the function of allowing people “to see and not to be seen.” Today they are mostly a decorative element. My attention is particularly drawn to the doors into the houses, decorated with knockers in the shape of heads of animals, angels, or women. Behind them are small courtyards or beautiful stairways with original Maltese tiles.

In Valletta literally everything pleased me. It’s a wonder it took me so long to get there.”

SEA EU Maritime Universities
in the Paintings of Aneta Oniszczuk-Jastrząbek, Gdańsk 2022