Antonello da Messina male portrait self-portrait. Italian artist Antonello da Messina: biography, creativity and interesting facts. See what "Antonello da Messina" is in other dictionaries

Antonello da Messina was born around 1430 and died as a relatively young man, in 1479. Vasari also covers his life in his collection of biographies. It was not by chance that I remembered Vasari; he wrote about almost everyone and told a romantic, almost adventurous, but completely unreliable story about Antonello. According to Vasari, Antonello da Messina went to the Netherlands as a youth and apprenticed with Jan van Eyck, who, as they were then sure, invented oil painting. Van Eyck, or rather the van Eyck brothers: Jan and Hubert did not invent, but improved oil painting. And so, Jan van Eyck allegedly kept the recipe in the strictest confidence even from his closest brothers, but the young Italian was so charming, he gained so much confidence that Jan van Eyck revealed the secrets to Antonello da Messina oil painting. And having found out everything from the master, Antonello left and brought the Dutch recipe to Italy.

Let's start with the fact that he could not study with Jan van Eyck, because van Eyck died when Antonello was only eleven years old. But he really knew the technique of oil painting very well, worked in it and obviously learned it from his homeland, in the south of Italy, from those Dutch people who could somehow at least, are indirectly connected with the circle of Jan van Eyck and other artists who worked in the first half of the 15th century. on the territory of Flanders.

"Salvator Mundi (Savior of the World)". 1465. Oil on wood. National Gallery, London.

Broad connections Italian city Messines and the Netherlands have their roots in the Middle Ages. These are primarily trade relations, but also cultural ones. It cannot be said that a whole colony of Dutch artists was formed in Messina, but since the reign of Frederick II, one of the most brilliant emperors of the Holy Roman Empire, who died in 1250, northerners - the French, the Flemings, the Dutch - have not been translated here. And Antonello da Messina, by his training, is clearly connected with them.
And Tuscany, let me remind you, at this time works entirely in tempera. Oil painting in the middle and third quarter of the 15th century. for the Italians it is still a complete novelty. Some experiments were carried out, but sporadically and were, so to speak, experimental in nature. And Antonello da Messina is experiencing his finest hour- this is a year and a half: 1475 and part of 1476, when he probably lived in Venice by invitation. At this time he creates many works and writes his best things. It is very possible that in Venice he was appreciated, higher, in any case, than in his homeland. It is possible that in 1476 Antonello was relatively for a long time ends up in Milan, to the Duke of Sforza. We know that he received such an invitation, and then returned to his homeland, Messina, where, as I already said, he died in 1479.
The very fact that Antonello da Messina disseminated and introduced not only into Italian, but also into german art a new, much richer, flexible, agile, artistic technique was enough for his name to remain in the history of art. But in addition, he is remarkable as a first-class master, one of the greatest artists of the Quattrocento, a master who distinguished himself in different areas easel painting. Both in the depiction of a naked body (his famous Dresden “St. Sebastian”), and in the formation of a purely Venetian type of altar “Santa Conversazione” (“Holy Conversation”) in his “Altar of St. Cassian”, which unfortunately has come down to us in fragmented form .

"Christ at the Column." About 1476. Wood, oil. Louvre Museum, Paris.

And finally, perhaps the most important thing, is the enormous contribution of Antonello da Messina to the development of Italian portrait painting. We talked about Botticelli, who in a certain sense was an innovator of portraiture, but in stages the works of Antonello da Messina precede Botticelli and in many ways, despite their outward modesty, surpass him.
Most of his works from the Venetian period have survived. But not only. There are also things that are defined as early works masters Among these is his famous “St. Jerome in his cell.” A small plaque dated approximately 1460 and made long before the artist appeared in the city on the Adriatic. In this work, his close connection with Dutch painting is especially noticeable. We have been convinced more than once, and I have spoken, and you yourself could feel that the interior as a specific problem, the interior as a theme embodied in its, so to speak, portrait specificity, did not attract Italian artists. Interiors of Tuscan masters of the mid-15th century. and the interiors of Ghirlandaio, if we talk about artists of the end of the century, are always somewhat fantastic, confusing, decorative, monumental, illogical and somehow have little relation to man. Antonello da Messina showed a completely different attitude to the interior in this small, but very important, milestone for Italian painting picture.

St. Jerome in his cell. About 1475. Wood, oil. National Gallery, London.

Huge, powerful stone portals open into a slightly gloomy, but not at all gloomy room, which also has an element of some architectural fantasy. Something like a hall, if you try to perceive the entire opening architectural space as the integrity of a certain hall, the functions of which are not indicated. Another micro-interior appears in the interior - workplace or a semi-closed office where St. Jerome, the patron saint of humanists, a master scribe, works. If you look at the branches of the space, which bifurcate into the depths, then this space seems to go around the frame of the office, going in two streams into the picture. On the left there is something like a living room, light falling from the window onto the floor, stools standing near the window, a rectangular window in the back, and on the right - Gothic columns, a vault, almost a church nave suddenly appear. Gothic pointed arches also appear at the top, the height is not defined, it goes beyond the boundaries of the image, where impenetrable darkness thickens. There is some kind of almost romantic uncertainty here, especially since the interior ends, the floor approaches the wall, closer to the viewer, they are not on the same level, so it is difficult to imagine the wall as a single and monolithic one. This abundance of interior details, among which St. Jerome lives and works, clearly comes from the Dutch love of objectivity. There are various vessels here - ceramic, glass, metal, books, manuscripts, some wooden boxes crackling with varnish, and hanging towels. All this is very lovingly and subtly written, the way the Dutch wrote, and only from the Dutch masters could one learn such close attention to a thing and gain an idea of ​​its charm.

“Maria Annuciata” is one of the most famous paintings of the great Italian painter Antonello da Messina (1429/31 - 1479). Famous painter The Early Restoration painted the painting in 1475. Wood, oil.

Dimensions: 45 x 34.5 cm. this moment is in National Museum Palermo.

"Maria Annuciata" has character traits painting Yes Messina. The painters of the Early Restoration era were, perhaps, just learning the art of painting.

This was the time when great painters discovered new forms, invented new stylistic solutions and techniques, and became known for their own experiments with painting. The work of the Restoration painters directly affected the skill of all subsequent artists and still serves as an example for aspiring artists.

Antonello da Messina is no exception to the rule.

For brush of this artist Especially characteristic are portraits of people, stunning in realism and depth, and paintings on religious themes. In the painting “Maria Annuciata” and the painting “The Annunciation”, the painter depicted a bust-length portrait of a lady.

Here we can notice that Antonello da Messina is trying to express the inexpressible through symbolic things. Most of painters depicted the Annunciation precisely as genre scenes, but Antonello moves away from this practice and expresses a feeling of spiritual connection with the higher, like internal state Maria Annuciata.

Her gaze, the posture of her hands and head, her facial expression - everything shows that now Maria is at a great distance from the temporary world.

Maria Annuziata is against a dark background, as if emphasizing her detachment and her appearance from the world. But in own picture Antonello da Messina was able to emphasize the depth of the picture, relegating the figure of the lady to the background with the help of a book and a music stand, which is located in front of Mary.

Painting "Maria Annuciata" by Antonello da Messina

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Antonello da Messina (1429/30-1479) (Antonello da Messina) paintings by great painters

Giorgio Vasari (1511-1574)
"Biographies of the most famous painters, sculptors and architects" (translation by A.I. Venediktov)

"Biography of Antonello da Messina the painter"

“When I talk to myself about the benefits and advantages received by the art of painting from numerous masters who adopted this second style, I cannot call them, based on their works, anything other than truly hardworking and excellent, for they tried with all their might to raise painting to a higher level.” step, regardless of convenience, or expense, or any personal interests. Meanwhile, working on boards and on canvas, they never used paints other than tempera, the beginning of this method was laid by Cimabue in 1250. , when he worked with the mentioned Greeks, and Giotto and others, who have been discussed so far, continued it; the same method was followed after them, although the artists admitted that tempera painting lacked a certain softness and liveliness that would only be theirs. managed to find, would have given more grace to the drawing and greater beauty of color and would have made it easier to achieve greater unity in the combination of colors, while in their writing they always used only the tip of the brush. However, although many have tried their best to find something similar, no one has discovered a good method, even using liquid varnish or other types of paint mixed with tempera. And among the many who made such or similar attempts, but in vain, were Alesso Baldovinetti, Pezello and many others, but none of them succeeded in producing works of the beauty and quality that they imagined. And even when they found what they were looking for, they were not able to get the figures on the boards to stay the same as they did on the wall, nor how to wash them so that the paint would not come off and so that they would not be afraid of any shocks when handling them. Many artists, having gathered together, repeatedly had fruitless debates about all these things. In addition, many exalted talents who painted outside Italy, namely painters from France, Spain, Germany and other countries, also strived. And in this state of affairs, it happened that a certain John from Bruges (1), a painter in those parts who was working in Flanders, highly valued for the great experience he acquired in this occupation, began to experience paints, and since he was also involved in alchemy, he also mixed different oils for varnishes and other things, according to the inventions of wise people, to which he belonged. One day, having completed the board with great care and spending the greatest effort on it, he coated it with varnish and, as expected, put it out to dry in the sun. However, either because the heat was too intense, or the wood was poorly fitted or poorly seasoned, the said board unfortunately came apart at the seams. And therefore, seeing the damage caused to him by the heat of the sun, John decided to never again allow the sun to cause such great damage to his work. And so, since the varnish annoyed him no less than the work with tempera, he began to think about how to let it dry in the shade and so that he would not have to expose his painting to the sun. Therefore, having tried many things, both in pure and mixed forms, he eventually discovered that linseed and nut oils dried the best of all the ones he had tested. Having boiled them with his other mixtures, he received the varnish that he and, perhaps, all the painters of the world had long dreamed of.
The rumor of John's invention soon spread not only in Flanders, but also throughout Italy and many other parts of the world, awakening in artists the greatest desire to know how he gave such perfection to his works. These artists, seeing his work, but not knowing what he used for them, were forced to glorify him - to give him immortal praise, but at the same time they envied him in every possible way, especially since for a long time he did not want anyone to see how it works or learned its secret. However, having lived to old age, he showed such mercy to Ruggeri of Bruges, his student, and Ruggeri to Ausse, who studied with him, and others who were mentioned when it came to oil painting in paintings.
And so a certain Antonello from Messina, who had excellent and quick talent, being a very insightful and experienced man in his field and having studied drawing for many years in Rome, first settled in Palermo and worked there for many years and, finally, in Messina, on his homeland, where with his works he confirmed the good reputation that he enjoyed in his homeland as an excellent painter. Having gone one day for his own needs from Sicily to Naples, he heard that the said king Alfonso had been sent from Flanders the above-mentioned panel by John of Bruges, painted in oils in such a manner that it could be washed, that it was not afraid of any shocks and had every kind of perfection. When he obtained permission to look at it, the liveliness of the colors, as well as the beauty and integrity of the painting, made such a strong impression on him that, putting aside all other matters and thoughts, he went to Flanders and, arriving in Bruges, became close friends with the said John and gave him many drawings in the Italian style and all sorts of other things. Therefore, and also because Antonello was very attentive, and John was already old, the latter finally agreed to show Antonello how he painted in oils. Antonello did not leave these parts until he had thoroughly studied that painting method , which I dreamed about so much. A short time later, John died, and Antonello left Flanders to see his homeland and initiate Italy into such a useful, beautiful and convenient secret. After staying several months in Messina, he went to Venice, where, being a man very inclined to pleasure and very devoted to Venus, he decided to settle forever and end his life where he found Lifestyle , quite consistent with his tastes. Having set to work, he painted in oils, using the method he had learned in Flanders, many pictures, scattered throughout the houses of the nobles of this city, where, thanks to the novelty of their execution, they became very highly valued., brought from Flanders to Venice, was discovered, Antonello until the end of his life enjoyed the love and affection of the magnificent nobles of this city.
Among the painters who stood in high esteem in Venice at that time, a certain master Domenico (6) was considered very excellent. When Antonello arrived in Venice, he showered him with all sorts of caresses and courtesies that could only be shown to the dearest and most tender friend. And therefore Antonello, not wanting to remain in debt for the kindnesses of the master Domenico, after many months, revealed to him the secret and method of painting with oil paints. With all the exceptional kindness and courtesy shown to him, nothing could be more dear to Domenico, and this is not surprising, for, possessing this secret, he, as Antonello expected, from now on always enjoyed the greatest honor in his homeland. And, without a doubt, those who believe that if they skimp on something that costs them nothing are sorely mistaken, everyone should serve them, as they say, glad of their beautiful eyes. The kindness of the master Domenico the Venetian extracted for him from Antonello’s hands what he had achieved with such difficulty and the sweat of his brow and which he would not have given up to anyone else, even for huge sums of money. But since the master Domenico will be told in due time, about how he worked in Florence and about the one to whom he gave what he received from others with his kindness, I will only say that Antonello, after the image in San Cassano, painted many pictures and portraits for the Venetian nobles, and Messer Bernardo Viecchietti, a Florentine, owns the most beautiful St. Francis and St. Dominic painted by his hand in the same picture (7).

When Signoria Antonello then commissioned several stories for the Palazzo Ducale, which they did not want to hand over to Francescodi Monsignore, a Veronese, despite the fact that he was highly patronized by the Duke of Mantua, he fell ill with pneumonia and died at the age of 49, without even starting this work (8). The artists gave him a very solemn funeral for the fact that he gifted art with a new manner of painting, as evidenced by the following epitaph:
"Mr. All-Good, All-Great, Anthony the painter, best decoration
his Messina and all of Sicily, here he is buried. Not only for his paintings, which were distinguished by their special beauty and art,
but also for the brilliance and durability that he was the first

The death of Antonio saddened his many friends, and especially Andrea Riccio, the sculptor who sculpted in Venice, in the Palace of the Signoria, two naked statues of Adam and Eve, which can still be seen there and are considered beautiful (9).
Such was the end of Antonello, to whom our artists must undoubtedly be indebted for introducing the method of painting in oils into Italy, no less than to John of Bruges for inventing it in Flanders, for both benefited and enriched this art . Indeed, thanks to this invention, artists eventually achieved such perfection that they were able to depict their figures almost alive.

And this is all the more valuable, since only a few writers attribute such a manner of painting to the ancients.
And if it were possible to be convinced that the ancients really did not have it, then in this achievement our time would surpass the perfection of the ancients. But just as nothing is said that has not already been said, so, perhaps, nothing is done that has not already been done. Why, without further talk, I will move on and, having in every possible way praised those who, in addition to drawing, have enriched art with something, I will move on to the rest.”
(1) John of Bruges - Jan van Eyck (died 1441).
Van Eyck, apparently, did not invent, but improved the technique of oil painting, and Vasari’s story about him is not reliable.
(2) Ruggeri from Bruges - Rogier van der Weyden (c.1400-1464), Ausse - Hans Memling (c.1433-1494).
(3) It is unknown what picture we are talking about here.
(4) No information has been preserved about Antonello’s stay in Rome and Bruges. Most likely, he became acquainted with Dutch painting in Naples, without leaving Italy. Oil painting was known in Italy before him, and therefore the credit attributed to Vasari for introducing the Italians to the new painting technique does not belong to him.
(5) The work has been preserved and is now in the Vienna Museum of Art.
(6) Vasari’s further story about Antonello’s stay in Venice is hardly plausible.

(7) The work has not survived. (8) Antonello died not in Venice, but in Messina; his age is also not specified accurately.(9) Andrea Riccio - Venetian sculptor. The statues of Adam and Eve in the Doge's Palace do not belong to him, but to Antonio Riccio (Rizzo).

Antonello da Messina - representative of the southern

I am amazed by his portraits, images with a deep inner world, but not closed within themselves, representing not so much a personality as a status or idea, but namely real individuals, real living people.

Antonello da Messina relied on the Dutch pictorial tradition, in particular on the most advanced direction of that period - the Van Eyck technique, but in relation to the Italian understanding of the human image. An interesting fact is that he became the first artist of the 15th century to discover the expressiveness of a smile, which in his case is part of a portrait fibula, and is in many ways akin to the archaic smile of Greek sculpture. Another distinctive detail of his portraits: all these images are emphatically democratic. Despite the fact that most often these are quite rich and high-ranking people, their clothes are simple, devoid of luxury, which allows one to guess about their position in society. Messina portrayed human, personal uniqueness, rather than class exclusivity.

Portrait of a man. According to some assumptions - a self-portrait.

A few more male portraits

Trivulzio de Milano (?)

Religious theme.

Here we see the opposite of a smile - grief and suffering, so expressive that the heart skips a beat.

Images of the Savior vary from refined and noble to somewhat rustic in facial features, but so filled with inner spiritual content that there is no doubt: before us is the Savior.

His Salvator Mundi is delightful and refined - Savior of the World (one of THEIR nicknames)

Sorrow and suffering in this image of THEM

Deep sadness in this bright image of THEM

And in this face, seemingly rustic in its facial features, the question seemed frozen: “Father, why did you leave me!?”

Pietà with Three Angels

The golden light makes it difficult to see the faces clearly; the lack of description creates the effect of being illuminated by an inner radiance.

And finally, his stunning Virgin Annunciate look

Everything came together here - both smile and sadness. Sadness of the heart and a smile of awareness. And maybe under the silvery-bluish cover there is a dream.

I couldn’t resist, I stole this one from the internet private photo paintings.

Madonna and Child

In a black veil of mystery, with black jet at her feet, she is beautiful.

I don’t indicate the source, I collected it for a long time and I can’t say where it came from in the end. Not all famous paintings Antonello da Messina included in this post.

In the era Early Renaissance represented the southern school of painting. He was the teacher of Girolamo Alibrandi, who was nicknamed Raphael of Messina. To achieve depth of color in poignant portraits and poetic paintings, he used oil painting techniques. In the article we will pay attention short biography artist and will dwell on his works in more detail.

Representative of the new direction

Much information about the life of Antonello da Messina is controversial, doubtful or lost. But it is quite obvious that he demonstrated Venetian artists luminous possibilities of oil painting. Thus, the Italian laid the foundation for one of the key trends Western European art. Following the example of many other artists of that time, Antonello combined the Dutch tradition of optically accurate reproduction of image details with the pictorial innovations of the Italians.

Historians have found a record that in 1456 the hero of this article had a student. That is, most likely, the painter was born before 1430. The Neopolitan Colantonio was the first teacher of Antonello da Messina, whose works will be described below. This fact is confirmed by the message of G. Vasari. Just at that time, Naples was under the cultural influence of the Iberian Peninsula, the Netherlands and France, rather than Northern Italy and Tuscany. Under the influence of the work of Van Eyck and his supporters, interest in painting increased every day. There were rumors that the hero of this article learned the technique of oil painting from him.

Portrait master

Antonello da Messina was an Italian by birth, but by artistic education he belonged essentially to the pictorial tradition northern Europe. He painted portraits superbly, which make up almost thirty percent of his surviving works. Antonello usually depicted the model from the chest up and close-up. In this case, the shoulders and head were placed against a dark background. Sometimes in the foreground the artist painted a parapet with a cartellino (a small piece of paper with an inscription) attached to it. The illusionistic precision and graphic quality in the rendering of these details indicate that they are of Dutch origin.

"Male Portrait"

This painting was painted by Antonello da Messina in 1474-1475. is one of his most best works. The master's palette is limited to rich brown, black and individual strokes of flesh and white flowers. The exception is the red cap, complemented by a peeking dark red stripe of the underdress. Inner world the drawn model is practically not revealed. But the face radiates intelligence and energy. Antonello modeled it very subtly with chiaroscuro. The sharp depiction of facial features combined with the play of light gives Antonello’s work an almost sculptural expressiveness.

"This is a man"

Portraits of the Italian attract the viewer with a glossy, shiny surface and chamber format. And when Messina transfers these qualities into religious painting (the painting “This is a Man”), the sight of human suffering becomes terribly painful.

With tears on his face and a rope around his neck, the naked Christ gazes at the viewer. His figure fills almost the entire field of the canvas. The interpretation of the plot is slightly different from the iconographic theme. The Italian sought to convey the psychological and physical image of Christ as realistically as possible. This is what makes the viewer focus on the meaning of Jesus' suffering.

"Maria Annunziata" by Antonello da Messina

This work, unlike the painting “This is a Man,” has a completely different mood. But it also requires inner experience and emotional participation from the viewer. As for “Maria Annunziata,” Antonello seems to place the viewer in the place of the archangel in space. This gives a feeling of mental participation. The Virgin Mary, sitting behind the music stand, holds the blue blanket thrown over her with her left hand, and she raises her other hand. The woman is completely calm and thoughtful, her evenly lit, sculptural head seems to radiate light against the dark background of the picture.

“Maria Annunziata” is not the only bust-length portrait of a woman painted by Antonello da Messina. “The Annunciation” is the name of another similar canvas by the painter, which depicts the same Virgin Mary, only in a different pose: she holds a blue veil with both hands.

In both he tried to express the feeling of a woman’s spiritual connection with higher powers. Her facial expression, the posture of her hands and head, as well as her gaze tell the viewer that Mary is now far from the mortal world. And the black background of the paintings only emphasizes the detachment of the Mother of God.

"St. Jerome in his cell"

In the paintings discussed above there is not even minimal interest in the problem of conveying the surrounding space. But in other works the painter was significantly ahead of his time in this regard. In the painting “St. Jerome in his cell” depicts the saint reading at a music stand. His office is located inside a Gothic hall, on the back wall of which there are windows cut into two floors. In the foreground the image is framed by a border and an arch. They are perceived as proscenium (a technique common in the art of countries located north of the Alps). The mustard color of the stone emphasizes the contrast of shadow and light inside the cave-like room. The details of the picture (landscape in the distance, birds, objects on the shelves) are conveyed with very high degree accuracy. This effect can only be achieved by applying oil paint quite small strokes. But the most important advantage of da Messina’s painting lies not in the reliable rendering of details, but in the stylistic unity of the air and light.

Monumental altar

In 1475-1476 the artist lived in Venice. There he painted a magnificent altarpiece for the Church of San Cassiano. Unfortunately, before today Only its central part has been preserved, where the Madonna and Child towering on a throne is depicted. On both sides of her are saints. This altar belongs to the type of sacra conversion. That is, the saints are in the same space. And this is the opposite in form to a polyptych divided into parts. The reconstruction of the monumental altar was based on more late works Giovanni Bellini.

"Pieta" and "Crucifixion"

Antonello's oil painting, or more precisely, the ability to convey lighting with this technique, was very highly appreciated by his fellow artists. From that time on, Venetian colorism was based exclusively on developing the great potential of a new direction. Da Messina's works of the Venetian period have the same conceptual tendency as his early works. The heavily worn Pietà, even in its damaged state, fills viewers with an intense sense of compassion. On the lid of the tomb, the dead body of Christ is held by three angels with pointed wings cutting through the air. The artist depicted central figure close-up.

It is as if pressed to the surface of the canvas. Empathy for the depicted suffering is what Antonello da Messina achieved using the above technique. “The Crucifixion” is another painting by the painter. It is similar in theme to the Pietà. The canvas depicts Jesus crucified on the cross. To his right sits Mary, and to his left is the Apostle John. Just like the Pieta, the painting aims to evoke empathy in the viewer.

"Saint Sebastian"

This painting is an example of how Antonello competed in the depiction of heroic nudity and mastery of linear perspective with his northern Italian colleagues. Against the backdrop of the stone-paved square, the body of the saint pierced by arrows takes on enormous dimensions. The space rushing into the depths, a fragment of a column in the foreground and a perspective with a very low vanishing point indicate that the painter used the principles of Euclidean geometry in constructing the composition.

• Antonello da Messina, whose paintings were described above, usually depicted his heroes chest-length, close-up and against a dark background.
• According to G. Vasari, the Italian traveled to the Netherlands to find out the secret new technology painting. However this fact not proven.
• It has not yet been reliably established who taught the hero of this article oil painting. According to rumors, it was Van Eyck.