In the footsteps of Antonello Da Messina : the Antonelliani in Sicily and Venice in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries

Abstract

This thesis seeks to broaden existing knowledge of the great Sicilian Renaissance artist Antonello da Messina whose work has in recent years been the subject of a growing corpus of research. The main objective is a reassessment of the available evidence of his legacy, in Sicily and Venice, perpetuated by the artistic activity of his immediate family circle, including his son Jacobello, his nephews Salvo d’Antonio, and Antonio and Pietro de Saliba and other close relatives. In this way, it provides precious insights into the workings of the family bottega which, there is reason to believe, Antonello and later his followers operated in both Messina and Venice. Special consideration is given to Antonio de Saliba whose works have survived better than those of the other artists. Moreover, he is the subject of many of the known documentary evidence. His artistic profile has, as a result, become better defined, but this study has also helped to clarify our understanding on the other antonelliani, and, to an extent, of Antonello himself. The thesis bases its arguments and conclusions on the functioning of artistic workshops, networks of patronage and the techniques used in structures and execution of altarpieces. The main argument is that Antonello revolutionised artistic production in eastern Sicily, and his legacy continued to be propagated without much change by his immediate circle for up to five decades from his demise. Furthermore, the thesis confirms how thanks to Antonello’s Venetian sojourn, his son and De Saliba nephews ventured to Venice, broadening their artistic horizons. Circumstantial evidence confirms that they came into contact with one of the greatest artists of the Venetian Renaissance, Giovanni Bellini, with whose bottega they were, it is here proposed, attached.