Antonello da Messina
Client: Scuderie del Quirinale
In an art historical coup, the Scuderie del Quirinale brought together virtually all of the 45 Antonello’s in existence from Museums from London to Washington, New York , Paris , Dresden , Antwerp, Sicily and Italy-wide . Sending works from their permanent collections to create this first-ever monographic show, the art world conspired to create what became known as the ‘impossible exhibition’ for the logistical and technical challenges these 15th Century works presented, claiming more than 3m visitors, an unprecedented figure.
The Source PR managed the international press relations for the exhibition. From the FT and the IHT, to specialist art magazines, the press coverage lent the show a truly international perspective that measurably contributed to the extraordinary numbers of general public and art connoisseurs to the show.
The Artist:
Antonello da Messina’s brief life spanned fifty years from 1430 to 1479. Antonello set up a family-run art workshop that was the only establishment of its kind with any prestige between Naples and Palermo , producing chiefly banners for confraternities, richly designed altars for churches and monasteries and a number of minute but striking portraits of extraordinary stylistic innovation. Masterpieces on display included:
St Jerome in His Study, Madonna Salting (National Gallery, London )
Ecce Homo, Group of Women ( Metropolitan Museum, New York )
Crucifixion ( Museum of Fine Arts , Antwerp )
Christ at the column, Group of women (Louvre, Paris)
Portrait of a young man ( Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, Madrid )
Crucifixion ( National Museum Brukenthal)
Madonna and Child (Uffizi Gallery, Florence )
Virgin ( Regional Museum of Messina )
Christ deceased supported by three angels ( Correr Museum , Venice )
Portrait of a young man (State Museums of Berlin )
Saint Sebastian (State art collection, Dresden )
Ecce Homo (Wildenstein collection, New York )
Virgin Mary (Regional Gallery of Sicily, Palermo )