Four Antonello da Messina works stolen in Renaissance painter's hometown
The theft deprived Messina of parts of the painter’s only surviving hometown altarpiece and a small two-sided panel, museum officials said.
- On the night of August 15, a national holiday in Italy, thieves stole four artworks by 15th century painter Antonello from the Museo Regionale in Messina, Italian media reported citing the museum's directorship.
- The stolen items include three panels from the Polittico di San Gregorio, the only Renaissance work by the painter to remain in his native city, plus a small two-sided painting depicting the Virgin with Child and Christ.
- Originally destined for the Monastero San Gregorio, destroyed by Messina's 1908 earthquake, the altarpiece was the only work by the Sicilian painter to never leave his hometown. The two-sided painting was part of the Wilhelm Soldan collection, purchased by the Sicilian Region.
- Italian police recently recovered paintings by French masters Paul Cezanne, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Henri Matisse near Parma, though a museum official reached by Reuters stated they could not provide information on the current investigation.
- Born around 1430, Antonello trained in Naples, studying Provençal and Flemish artists whose influence shaped his works. He returned to Messina in 1457, where he worked until 1474, leaving a legacy central to the city's artistic identity.
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A few pieces of a winged altarpiece and a special, double-sided painting were taken by thieves, who presumably stole the paintings to order.
The works were stolen during the night without triggering the alarm, which raised suspicions that it was a professionally executed theft.
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Four priceless works by Antonello da Messina were stolen from a museum in Messina, Italy. On the evening of August 15, four works by Antonello da Messina were stolen from the MuME Museum in Messina, in particular parts of the San Gregorio friary. Investigators are considering a version of theft at the behest of collectors.
Reformatorisch Dagblad
Four Renaissance artworks "of extraordinary value" have been stolen from a museum in Sicily, the Italian Ministry of Culture reports. The works in question are by the artist Antonello da Messina.
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