Antonello da Messina, properly Antonello di Giovanni di Antonio, but also called Antonello degli Antoni and

Anglicized Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influenc ...

as Anthony of Messina ( 1430February 1479), was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

painter from Messina, active during the Early

Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( it, Rinascimento ) was a period in Italian history covering the 15th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Europe and marked the trans ...

. His work shows strong influences from Early Netherlandish painting, although there is no documentary evidence that he ever travelled beyond Italy.

Giorgio Vasari Giorgio Vasari (, also , ; 30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an Italian Renaissance Master, who worked as a painter, architect, engineer, writer, and historian, who is best known for his work '' The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculp ...

credited him with the introduction of

oil painting Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments with a medium of drying oil as the binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on wood panel or canvas for several centuries, spreading from Europe to the rest of ...

into Italy, although this is now disputed. Unusually for a southern Italian artist of the Renaissance, his work proved influential on painters in northern Italy, especially in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

Biography

Early life and training

Antonello da Messina - St Jerome in his study - National Gallery London

Antonello was born at Messina around 1429–1431, to Garita (Margherita) and Giovanni de Antonio Mazonus, a sculptor who trained him early on. He and his family resided in the Sicofanti district of the city. Antonello is thought to have apprenticed in Rome before going to

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, where Netherlandish painting was then fashionable. According to a letter written in 1524 by the Neapolitan humanist

Pietro Summonte Pietro Summonte (1463–1526) was an Italian Renaissance humanist of Naples, a member of the learned circle of friends in the Ciceronian manner that constituted Pontano's Accademia Pontaniana. Summonte's care in preserving his correspondence o ...

, in about 1450 Antonello was a pupil of the painter Niccolò Colantonio in Naples. This account of his training is accepted by most art historians.

Early career

Antonello returned to Messina from Naples during the 1450s. In around 1455, he painted the so-called ''

Sibiu Crucifixion The ''Crucifixion'' is the subject of three different paintings by the Italian Renaissance master Antonello da Messina; the first one was completed around 1454/1455, the second and the third in 1475. They are housed in the Brukenthal National Mu ...

'', inspired by

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

treatments of the subject, which is now in the Muzeul de Artǎ in Bucharest. A ''Crucifixion'' in the Royal Museum of Antwerp dates from the same period. These early works shows a marked Flemish influence, which is now understood to be inspired by his master Colantonio and from paintings by

Rogier van der Weyden Rogier van der Weyden () or Roger de la Pasture (1399 or 140018 June 1464) was an early Netherlandish painter whose surviving works consist mainly of religious triptychs, altarpieces, and commissioned single and diptych portraits. He was highly ...

and Jan van Eyck that belonged to Colantonio's patron, Alfonso V of Aragon. Antonello da messina, madonna salting

In his biography of the artist,

remarked that Antonello saw an

by Van Eyck (the ''Lomellini Tryptych'') belonging to King Alfonso V of Aragon at Naples and consequently introduced oil painting to Italy. Recent evidence indicates that an "Antonello di Sicilia" (di Sicilia meaning 'from Sicily') was in contact with Van Eyck's most accomplished follower,

Petrus Christus Petrus Christus (; 1410/1420 – 1475/1476) was an Early Netherlandish painter active in Bruges from 1444, where, along with Hans Memling, he became the leading painter after the death of Jan van Eyck. He was influenced by van Eyck and Rogier v ...

, in Milan in early 1456. It appears likely that this was in fact Antonello da Messina as this would explain why he was one of the first Italians to master Eyckian oil painting, and why Christus was the first Netherlandish painter to learn Italian

linear perspective Linear or point-projection perspective (from la, perspicere 'to see through') is one of two types of graphical projection perspective in the graphic arts; the other is parallel projection. Linear perspective is an approximate representation, ...

. Antonello's paintings after that date show an observation of almost microscopic detail and of minute gradations of light on reflecting or light absorbent objects that is very close to the style of the Netherlandish masters, suggesting that Antonello was personally instructed by Christus. Also, the calmer expressions on human faces and calmness in the overall composition of Antonello's works appear to be owing to a Netherlandish influence. He is believed to have shared Van Eyck's techniques with

Gentile Gentile () is a word that usually means "someone who is not a Jew". Other groups that claim Israelite heritage, notably Mormons, sometimes use the term ''gentile'' to describe outsiders. More rarely, the term is generally used as a synonym fo ...

and Giovanni Bellini. Between the years of 1456 and 1457, Antonello proved himself to be a master painter in Messina. He also shared his home with Paolo di Ciacio, a student from Calabria. The artist's earliest documented commission, in 1457, was for a banner for the Confraternità di San Michele dei Gerbini in Reggio Calabria, where he set up a workshop for the production of such banners and devotional images. At this date, he was already married, and his son Jacobello had been born. In 1460, his father is mentioned leasing a brigantine to bring back Antonello and his family from

Amantea Amantea ( Calabrian: ; ) is a town, former bishopric, ''comune'' (municipality) and Latin Catholic titular see in the province of Cosenza in the Calabria region of southern Italy. It is the twentieth municipality in the region by population, while f ...

in Calabria. In that year, Antonello painted the so-called ''

Salting Madonna The ''Madonna with Child'' (''Salting Madonna'') is a painting attributed on basis of style to the early Italian Renaissance master Antonello da Messina, depicting the Madona holding the doll-like Child and wearing an ornate golden crown, held by ...

'', in which standard iconography and Flemish style are combined with a greater attention in the volumetric proportions of the figures, probably indicating a knowledge of works by

Piero della Francesca Piero della Francesca (, also , ; – 12 October 1492), originally named Piero di Benedetto, was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance. To contemporaries he was also known as a mathematician and geometer. Nowadays Piero della Francesca i ...

. Also from around 1460 are two small panels depicting ''Abraham Served by the Angels'' and ''St. Jerome Penitent'' now in the

Museo Nazionale della Magna Grecia The Museo Nazionale della Magna Grecia (''National Museum of Magna Græcia''), Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Reggio Calabria (''National Archaeological Museum of Reggio Calabria'') or Palazzo Piacentini is a museum in Reggio Calabria, souther ...

in Reggio Calabria. In 1461 Antonello's younger brother Giordano entered his workshop, signing a three-year contract. In that year Antonello painted a ''Madonna with Child'' for the Messinese nobleman Giovanni Mirulla, now lost. Historians believe that Antonello painted his first portraits in the late 1460s. They follow a Netherlandish model, the subject being shown bust-length, against a dark background, full face or in three-quarter view, while most previous Italian painters had adopted the medal-style profile pose for individual portraits.

John Pope-Hennessy Sir John Wyndham Pope-Hennessy (13 December 1913 – 31 October 1994), was a British art historian. Pope-Hennessy was Director of the Victoria and Albert Museum between 1967 and 1973, and Director of the British Museum between 1974 and 1976. ...

described him as "the first Italian painter for whom the individual portrait was an art form in its own right". Although Antonello is mentioned in many documents between 1460 and 1465, establishing his presence in Messina in those years, a gap in the sources between 1465 and 1471 suggests that he may have spent these years on the mainland. In 1474, he painted the ''Annunciation'', now in Syracuse, and the '' St. Jerome in His Study'' also dates from around this time.

Venice

Antonello went to

in 1475 and remained there until the fall of 1476. His works of this period begin to show a greater attention to the human figure, regarding both anatomy and expressivity, indicating the influence of Piero della Francesca and Giovanni Bellini. His most famous pictures from this period include the ''Condottiero'' (Louvre), the '' San Cassiano Altarpiece'' and the '' St. Sebastian''. The ''San Cassiano Altarpiece'' was especially influential on Venetian painters, as it was one of the first of the large compositions in the ''

sacra conversazione In art, a (; plural: ''sacre conversazioni''), meaning holy (or sacred) conversation, is a genre developed in Italian Renaissance painting, with a depiction of the Virgin and Child (the Virgin Mary with the infant Jesus) amidst a group of sain ...

'' format which was perfected by Giovanni Bellini (Antonello's surviving work in Vienna is only a fragment of a much larger original). It is also likely that Antonello passed on both the techniques of using oil paints and the principles of calmness on subjects' faces and in the composition of paintings to Giovanni Bellini and other Venetian painters during that visit.Hartt pg. 563; Raunch pg. 361 While in Venice he was offered, but did not accept, the opportunity to become the court portrait painter to the Duke of Milan.

Return to Messina and death

Antonello had returned to Sicily by September 1476. Works from near the end of his life include the famous '' Virgin Annunciate'', now in the

Palazzo Abatellis Palazzo Abatellis (also known as Palazzo Patella) is a palazzo in Palermo, Sicily, southern Italy, located in the Kalsa quarter. It is home to the Galleria Regionale della Sicilia, the Gallery of Art for the Sicilian region. History The pala ...

in Palermo, and the San Gregorio Polyptych. He died at Messina in 1479. His testament dates from February of that year, and he is documented as no longer alive two months later. Some of his last works remained unfinished, but were completed by his son Jacobello. Antonello da Messina 031

Style and legacy

Antonello's style is remarkable for its union of Italian simplicity with Flemish concern for detail. He exercised an enormous influence on Italian painting, not only by the introduction of the Flemish invention, but also by the transmission of Flemish tendencies. However, no school of painting formed after his death, with the exception of the Sicilian Marco Costanzo.

Selected works

*''

'' (1455) - Muzeul de Artà,

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*'' Abraham Served by the Angels'' - Museo della Magna Grecia, Reggio Calabria *'' Portrait of a Man'' (1460s) - Oil on wood, Civic Museums,

Pavia Pavia (, , , ; la, Ticinum; Medieval Latin: ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy in northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was the cap ...

*'' Ecce Homo'' (c. 1470) - Tempera and oil on panel, 42.5 x 30.5 cm,

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

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*'' Ecce Homo'' (1470) - Tempera and oil on panel, 40 x 33 cm, Galleria Nazionale di Palazzo Spinola,

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*'' St. Jerome Penitent'' - Various techniques on wood, 40.2 x 30.2 cm, Museo della Magna Grecia, Reggio Calabria *'' San Gregorio Polyptych'' (1473) - Tempera on panel, 194 x 202 cm, Regional Museum, Messina *'' Ecce Homo'' (c. 1473) - Tempera on panel, 19.5 x 14.3 cm, Private collection,

*'' Portrait of a Man'' (1474) - Oil on wood, Staatliche Museen, Berlin *'' Madonna with Child (Salting Madonna)'' - Oil on wood, 43.2 x 34.3 cm, National Gallery, London *'' Portrait of a Man'' (1474) - Oil on wood, 32 x 26 cm, Staatliche Museen, Berlin *'' Annunciation'' (1474) - Oil on panel, 180 x 180 cm,

Bellomo Palace Regional Gallery Bellomo Palace Regional Gallery ( it, Museo di palazzo Bellomo) is an art museum in Syracuse, Sicily. Bellomo Palace The museum is situated in the premises of Bellomo Palace. The origins of the palace have been traced to the 12th century, the tim ...

, Syracuse *'' St. Jerome in His Study'' (c. 1474) - Oil on wood, 46 x 36,5 cm, National Gallery, London *'' Ecce Homo'' (1475) - Oil on panel, 48.5 x 38 cm,

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*'' Portrait of a Man (Il Condottiere)'' (1475) - Oil on wood, 35 x 38 cm, Musée du Louvre, Paris *''

Crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagi ...

'' (1455) - Oil on panel 52.5 x 42.5 cm, Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp *''

'' (1475) - Wood, 42 x 25,5 cm, National Gallery, London *'' Portrait of a Man'' (c. 1475) - Oil on wood,

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*'' Portrait of a Man'' (c. 1475) - Oil on panel, 36 x 25 cm, National Gallery, London *'' Portrait of a Man'' (1475–1476) - Oil on panel, 28 x 21 cm, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid *'' San Cassiano Altarpiece'' (1475–76) - Oil on panel,

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*'' The Dead Christ Supported by an Angel'' (1475–78) - Panel, 74 x 51 cm, Museo del Prado, Madrid *'' Christ at the Column'' (c. 1475–1479) - Oil on wood, 25,8 x 21 cm, Musée du Louvre, Paris *'' Virgin of the Annunciation'' -Oil on panel,

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*'' Portrait of a Man'' (1476) - Oil on panel, Museo Civico d'Arte Antica, Turin *'' Virgin of the Annunciation'' (c. 1476) - Oil on wood, 45 x 34,5 cm, Museo Nazionale, Palermo *'' St. Sebastian'' (1477–1479) - Oil on canvas transferred from panel, 171 × 85 cm, Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden *'' Portrait of a Young Man'' (c. 1478) - Panel, 20.4 x 14.5 cm, Staatliche Museeun,

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*''Portrait of an unknown man'' - Oil on panel, Museo Mandralisca, Cefalù *''Madonna and Child'' - Oil and tempera on panel transferred from panel, National Gallery of Art,

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

References

Sources

*
(online)
* Christiansen, Keith

In ''Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History''. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. (March 2010) * *

External links

* ttp://www.bestofsicily.com/mag/art24.htm ''Best of Sicily'' Magazine article on Antonello da Messina and the technique of egg tempera / oil media*
Web Gallery of Art''Petrus Christus: Renaissance master of Bruges''
a full text exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, which contains material on Antonello da Messina (see index) {{DEFAULTSORT:Antonello Da Messina Italian Renaissance painters Quattrocento painters 1430s births 1479 deaths Italian male painters Italian portrait painters Painters from Messina Kingdom of Sicily people 15th-century Italian painters Catholic painters