Antonello da messina biography of christopher

Now, while matters stood thus, it came to pass that, while working in Flanders, Johann of Bruges [Jan van Eyck], a painter much esteemed in those parts by reason of the great mastery that he had acquired in his profession, set himself to make trial of various sorts of colors, and, as one who took delight in alchemy, to prepare many kinds of oil for making varnishes and other things dear to men of inventive brain, as he was.

Now, on one occasion, having tken very great pains with the painting of a panel, and having brought it to completion with much diligence, he gave it the varnish and put it to dry in the sun, as was the custom. But, either because the heat was too violent, or perchance because the wood was badly joined together or not seasoned well enough, the said panel opened out at the joinings in a ruinous fashion.

Whereupon Johann, seeing the harm that the heat of the sun had done to it, determined to bring it about that the sun should never again do such great damage to his works. And so, being disgusted no less with his varnish than with working in distemper, he began to look for a method of making a varnish that should dry in the shade, without putting his pictures in the sun.

Wherefore, after he had made many experiments with substances both pure and mixed together, he found at length that linseed oil and oil of nuts dried more readily than all the others that he had tried. These, then, boiled together with other mixtures of his, gave him that varnish that he--nay, all the painters of the world--had long desired.

Afterwards, having made experiments with many other substances, he saw that mixing the olors with those oils gave them a very solid consistency, not only securing the work, when dried, from all danger from water, but also making the color so brilliant as to give it lustre by itself without varnish; and what appeared most marvellous to him was this, that it could be blended infinitely better than distemper.

Rejoicing greatly over such a discovery, as was only reasonable, Johann made a beginning with many works and filled all those parts with them, with incredible pleasure for others and very great profit for himself; and, assisted by experience from day to day, he kept on ever making greater and better works. The fame of this invention soon spread not only through Flanders, but to Italy and many other parts of the world, and great desire was aroused in other artists to know how he brought his works to such perfection.

And seeing his pictures, and not knowing how they were done, finally they were obliged to give him great praise, while at the same time they envied him with a virtuous envy, especially because for a time he would not let any one see him work, or teach any one his secret. But when he was grown old he at last favoured Roger of Bruges, his pupil, with the knowledge, who passed it on to his disciple Ausse [Hans Memling?

Description [ edit ]. Notes and references [ edit ].

Antonello da messina biography of christopher

Sources [ edit ]. Further reading [ edit ]. External links [ edit ]. Antonello da Messina. Saint Jerome and Abraham panels c. For other uses, see Antonello name. Portrait of Manpossibly a self-portrait. MessinaKingdom of Sicily. Biography [ edit ]. Early life and training [ edit ]. Early career [ edit ]. Venice [ edit ]. Return to Messina and death [ edit ].

Style and legacy [ edit ]. Selected works [ edit ]. References [ edit ]. National Gallery. Retrieved 24 April Gothic Art. New York: Peebles Press International. ISBN OCLC It is translated in Carol M. Indeed, Messina influenced a generation of Italian artists - notably Giovanni Bellini - with his work. For answers to questions about the meaning and scope of the creative visual arts, see: Art Definition, Meaning.

Early Life Little is known of Messina's early life. Records show that he was artistically trained in Naples, then an important centre of Early Renaissance art. He was taught by the painter Niccolo Colantonio. Colantonio practiced a synthesis of artistic styles, combining influences from Burgundy, Flanders and Provence. There is some documentary evidence to suggest that he may have learnt oil painting techniques from a relative of Jan Van Eyckwho was in Naples around First Works Messina's first recorded important work is the Sibiu Crucifixion c.

Both already show the artist's characteristic combination of Flemish technique and realism, combined with a typically Italian modelling of figurative forms. Contrary to usual practice, he created form with blocks of colour instead of line. Messina was not only influenced by his Master Colantonio, but also by the works he had seen of the Northern Renaissance painters Jan van Eyck and Roger van der Weyden.

Christus had taken over the Van Eyck's workshop in Bruges after his death. A document testifying to the presence of a 'Piero da Bruggia' Petrus from Bruges?