Marriage alliances for the sake of art : the case of Renaissance Messina, Sicily, and the repercussions for the Maltese Islands

Abstract

A study on Antonello da Messina (c.1430-79) and his followers allows for insights into Eastern Sicilian networks of patronage and workshop practices. Antonello da Messina was the great Sicilian master of the Early Renaissance whose artistic genius moved him to develop his pioneering use of the oil technique, his acute realism, and his manipulation of light. His output left an impact not only in his hometown of Messina and elsewhere in Sicily, but also in Venice. Antonello is known to have been influential in Venice where he spent a few months between 1475 and 1476 working on painting commissions. His presence there influenced Giovanni Bellini (c.1430-1516) and affected the development of late Quattrocento Venetian art. Antonello’s artistic career moulded that of his son, the painter Jacobello (c.1454?-c.1490), and also those of his nephews, the brothers Antonio (1466/7-c.1535) and Pietro de Saliba (documented 1497-1501), and their cousin Salvo d’Antonio (documented 1493-d.pre-1526).