Christ at the Column by Antonello da Messina, The Louvre, Paris.

Arriving in Rovereto by train is an experience in itself: mountains and the Vallagarina Valley of the Adige River nestle the town. I never felt the need to visit this north Italian town, but I now had a reason. This was the inauguration of an exhibition on Antonello da Messina (c. 1430-1479), a great artist of the Renaissance who left an impact not only in his native island, but even in the Republic of Venice and elsewhere.

It is due to his artistic genius that an exhibition dedicated to this master has been set up, after the successful and exhaustive 2006 exhibition held at the Scuderie del Quirinale in Rome. This is, in fact, the fourth exhibition since World War II that deals with the art of da Messina, and therefore, there have been past opportunities to see quite a few paintings by the artist under one roof.

This exhibition, however, does not claim to be a comprehensive exhibition on da Messina (which explains why certain ‘key’ paintings do not feature), but one that analyses the aspects that influenced the artist, and his influence on others. As with any great exhibition, this one proposes new ideas resulting from studies that have been recently carried out.

Portrait of a Man by da Messina, Galleria Borghese, Rome.

The exhibition, curated by Ferdinando Bologna and Federico De Melis, boasts just under 30 exhibits, 15 of which are by da Messina, which also include drawings. The other paintings are related to da Messina and his artistic oeuvre, such as works stemming from Provencal, Flemish, Burgundian, and Italian art, including Venetian. There are works on display by Colantonio, Jan van Eyck, Alvise Vivarini, Giovanni Bellini, and Antonello’s son Jacobello, as well as manuscripts that belonged to Alfonso V of Aragon, among others.

The paintings reached Rovereto from Turin, Rome, Paris, London, Venice, Madrid, Philadelphia, Washington, Sibiu (Romania), and of course, Sicily. There were surprisingly no paintings by Antonello in German museums and galleries.

It is, at first, perplexing as to why the exhibition is being held in a Modern and Contemporary Art Museum (Mart), which comes as a result of the insistence of the director of the museum, Cristiana Collu.

It is because da Messina’s art is considered to be modern, that an exhibition by a renaissance artist is taking place in this gallery. Da Messina’s art shares characteristics with another renaissance artist, Piero della Francesca. This comes by way of their use of shapes in their compositions and their particular use of light, which was to influence the father of modern art, Paul Cezanne.

Da Messina was very modern when he painted his subjects pushed up against the foreground, and therefore, as close as possible to the viewer, as can be seen in his portraits and in his two Annunciate Virgin paintings (in Palermo and Munich, the latter not included in this exhibition). Therefore, a connection between the art of della Francesca and da Messina, that had been supposed by Bernard Berenson, is now being further explored.

Some of the works in this exhibition are relatively small in dimension, but their presence is far from insignificant. The exhibition was tastefully and elegantly set up to reflect a medieval/renaissance interior, albeit all in white, with a lot of breathing space between each exhibit. Literature highlighting the main events of da Messina’s life and career was also displayed, which is how the exhibits were distributed.

Da Messina, born in Sicily, lived during the reign of a great patron of the arts, King Alfonso V of Aragon, who resided in Naples, and also features in this exhibition. Da Messina, who presumably spent some time in Naples, perhaps in connection with Colantonio, was able to acquaint himself with the varied collection of the king, and absorbed the Spanish, French and Northern European influences into his art. The artist was a great assimilator of these influences as well as an outstanding inventor of new themes.

As with any great exhibition, this one proposes new ideas resulting from studies that have been recently carried out

The two Annunciate Virgin paintings mentioned earlier are striking for the minimalist approach, which led da Messina to dispose of the depiction of the Archangel Gabriel in the scene, and allowed the viewer to confront the young Madonna in this special emotional moment. The Palermo version is a masterpiece that beckons for the chiaroscuro baroque days, with its dark background and harsh illumination, nonetheless executed so subtly with tonal gradations.

After viewing the exhibition, the words of praise for da Messina’s artistic genius – “Magico Antonello” (magical Antonello) or “È troppo grande Antonello” (He’s too great an artist, Antonello) – ring true, not that I needed convincing.

Da Messina’s oeuvre survives only partially, due to many works having been lost, as well as documentation, in the earthquake that devastated Messina, repercussions of which also left an effect on Malta, in 1908. Nonetheless, he still inspires many artists and art historians today, and his mysteriousness does not diminish our esteem for him.

Da Messina’s works lived on after his untimely death (aged 49) due to his son Jacobello and his nephews, Antonio and Pietro de Saliba, and Salvo d’Antonio, as well as a host of other followers who kept his tradition alive in Sicily and in Venice.

The ‘Antonello tradition’ also reached Malta before the arrival of the Knights of St John, with paintings and altarpieces being commissioned by local patrons from d’Antonio and de Saliba reaching Malta at the turn of the century.

Antonello da Messina is open at the Museo di Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Trento a Rovereto in Rovereto, until January 12, 2014.