Four fifteenth-century paintings attributed to Antonello da Messina were taken from a museum in Sicily during a carefully targeted robbery on Saturday evening. Two panels were abandoned near the museum, but two important works remain missing as police examine how the thieves escaped despite functioning alarms, surveillance cameras and security staff.
Antonello da Messina (c. 1430–1479) was a Sicilian painter whose portraits and religious works helped shape Italian Renaissance art. His works are on display throughout museums in Italy and the wider world.
Thieves entered the Museo Regionale Interdisciplinare di Messina, also known as MuMe or the Museo Regionale “Accascina,” at around 9:50 p.m. on August 15. The robbery took place during Ferragosto, one of Italy’s most important public holidays, while much of the city’s attention was focused on the annual procession of La Vara.
The thieves initially removed three of the five surviving panels from Antonello’s Polittico di San Gregorio, or San Gregorio Polyptych, completed in 1473. They also took a small double-sided devotional painting showing the Madonna and Child with a praying Franciscan friar on one side and Christ in the Pietà on the other.
Madonna and Child by Antonello da Messina, which was stolen – photo by Saliko / Wikimedia Commons
However, two of the polyptych’s panels were found abandoned on a low wall near the museum shortly after the robbery. These depicted St Gregory the Great and St Benedict. According to Gazzetta del Sud, they were noticed by people passing near the museum.
The central panel, showing the enthroned Virgin and Child with angels, is believed to remain missing, along with the double-sided painting.
Questions over museum security
The other side of the previous painting – it shows Christ in the Pietà – photo by Saliko / Wikimedia Commons
Early reports suggested that the thieves had bypassed the museum’s security systems, but the Sicilian regional government later said that both the alarm and surveillance cameras had functioned properly. Recordings and other evidence have been handed over to investigators.
Gazzetta del Sud reports that four security guards were present at the museum. Investigators are now attempting to determine what went wrong after the alarm was activated and why the thieves were able to escape with the paintings.
According to an initial reconstruction, three masked intruders entered through a secondary door. They appear to have acted quickly, breaking into the cases containing the paintings before escaping through a side area where part of a railing near a gate had been forced open. The fact that two panels were abandoned outside the museum suggests that something may have disrupted the escape.
“The theft of Antonello da Messina’s masterpieces housed in the Accascina regional museum is a criminal act of exceptional gravity and an intolerable affront to universal cultural heritage,” says Renato Schifani, president of the Sicilian Region. “These works are not only deeply rooted in the history of Messina and Sicily, but also represent a legacy for Italy and the entire world. Their theft is a wound for everyone. The absolute priority now is to find them as quickly as possible and bring those responsible to justice.”
The interior of the Museo Regionale Interdisciplinare di Messina – photo by Tiber1960 / Wikimedia Commons
Italy’s Minister of Culture, Alessandro Giuli, issued the following statement:
I learned with shock and sadness of the theft at the Regional Interdisciplinary Museum of Messina, where three panels from the San Gregorio Polyptych and a double-sided panel depicting the Madonna and Christ in the Pietà, attributed to Antonello da Messina and of extraordinary value to our cultural heritage, were taken.
I spoke with the Mayor of Messina, Federico Basile, to whom I expressed my support for the city and the entire community following what happened. I immediately consulted with the Carabinieri Command for the Protection of Cultural Heritage. As always, I have confidence in the work of the security forces and, in this particular case, the police, who are conducting the investigation. The Ministry of Culture is fully prepared to collaborate with the regional authorities, which are responsible for managing the island’s museums under Sicily’s special autonomous status.
The Messina prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation, with police forensic specialists and officers from the Carabinieri’s cultural heritage protection unit examining the scene and surveillance footage. Investigators are reportedly considering whether the robbery was commissioned for a private buyer or connected to the illicit art market.
The paintings are so well known that selling them through any legitimate auction house, gallery or dealer would be virtually impossible. Their recognisability, however, does not necessarily prevent them from being concealed in a private collection or used as collateral in criminal transactions.
A polyptych that survived disaster
The central panel, showing the enthroned Virgin and Child with angels, remains missing. Wikimedia Commons
The San Gregorio Polyptych was commissioned by Fabria Cirino, abbess of the Benedictine monastery of Santa Maria extra moenia in Messina. Antonello signed and dated the work in 1473.
Originally made up of six wooden panels arranged across two levels, its lower section showed the Virgin and Child enthroned between St Gregory and St Benedict. Above them were the Angel Gabriel and the Virgin of the Annunciation, while a central upper panel, probably showing the dead Christ supported by angels, was lost centuries ago.
The work had already been separated from its original frame by the sixteenth century. It underwent a damaging restoration in 1842, when abrasive substances were reportedly used to clean its painted surfaces.
It then survived the catastrophic Messina earthquake of 1908, which destroyed the former monastery where the city’s museum was housed. The panels were left exposed to rain in the days after the disaster, causing further losses to the painted surfaces, particularly on the figures of the Virgin and St Gregory. A series of conservation campaigns began in 1912.
The polyptych has particular importance for Messina because it is the only surviving work by Antonello known never to have left his native city. Its theft therefore represents not only the loss of an important Renaissance painting but the removal of an object closely connected to more than five centuries of local history.
The second missing work is much smaller, measuring approximately 16 by 12 centimetres. The double-sided panel came from the collection of Wilhelm Soldan and was acquired by the Sicilian regional government through Christie’s in 2003, the same year that it was attributed to Antonello. The thieves removed it directly from a reinforced display case.
“We are devastated by what happened. They were two of Antonello da Messina’s most important and best-known works. It is a tremendous loss for the museum, the city, the community and the art world,” museum director Marisa Mercurio said.
Antonello da Messina and the Early Renaissance
Born in Messina around 1430, Antonello trained in Naples, where he encountered paintings from Provence and the Low Countries. He became known for combining Italian approaches to form and perspective with the precise details, luminous colours and layered oil-painting techniques associated with northern European artists.
Only around 40 paintings attributed to Antonello are believed to survive. Earlier this year, the Italian government paid $14.9 million for another rare double-sided panel by the artist, known as Ecce Homo, shortly before it was due to be auctioned in New York.
The Museo Regionale remained closed on Sunday while investigators examined the scene. It is expected to reopen on August 18, although the search for the central panel of the San Gregorio Polyptych and the double-sided devotional painting continues.
Top Image: San Gregorio Polyptych in Messina – photo by Derbrauni / Wikimedia Commons
Four fifteenth-century paintings attributed to Antonello da Messina were taken from a museum in Sicily during a carefully targeted robbery on Saturday evening. Two panels were abandoned near the museum, but two important works remain missing as police examine how the thieves escaped despite functioning alarms, surveillance cameras and security staff.
Antonello da Messina (c. 1430–1479) was a Sicilian painter whose portraits and religious works helped shape Italian Renaissance art. His works are on display throughout museums in Italy and the wider world.
Thieves entered the Museo Regionale Interdisciplinare di Messina, also known as MuMe or the Museo Regionale “Accascina,” at around 9:50 p.m. on August 15. The robbery took place during Ferragosto, one of Italy’s most important public holidays, while much of the city’s attention was focused on the annual procession of La Vara.
The thieves initially removed three of the five surviving panels from Antonello’s Polittico di San Gregorio, or San Gregorio Polyptych, completed in 1473. They also took a small double-sided devotional painting showing the Madonna and Child with a praying Franciscan friar on one side and Christ in the Pietà on the other.
However, two of the polyptych’s panels were found abandoned on a low wall near the museum shortly after the robbery. These depicted St Gregory the Great and St Benedict. According to Gazzetta del Sud, they were noticed by people passing near the museum.
The central panel, showing the enthroned Virgin and Child with angels, is believed to remain missing, along with the double-sided painting.
Questions over museum security
Early reports suggested that the thieves had bypassed the museum’s security systems, but the Sicilian regional government later said that both the alarm and surveillance cameras had functioned properly. Recordings and other evidence have been handed over to investigators.
Gazzetta del Sud reports that four security guards were present at the museum. Investigators are now attempting to determine what went wrong after the alarm was activated and why the thieves were able to escape with the paintings.
According to an initial reconstruction, three masked intruders entered through a secondary door. They appear to have acted quickly, breaking into the cases containing the paintings before escaping through a side area where part of a railing near a gate had been forced open. The fact that two panels were abandoned outside the museum suggests that something may have disrupted the escape.
“The theft of Antonello da Messina’s masterpieces housed in the Accascina regional museum is a criminal act of exceptional gravity and an intolerable affront to universal cultural heritage,” says Renato Schifani, president of the Sicilian Region. “These works are not only deeply rooted in the history of Messina and Sicily, but also represent a legacy for Italy and the entire world. Their theft is a wound for everyone. The absolute priority now is to find them as quickly as possible and bring those responsible to justice.”
Italy’s Minister of Culture, Alessandro Giuli, issued the following statement:
I learned with shock and sadness of the theft at the Regional Interdisciplinary Museum of Messina, where three panels from the San Gregorio Polyptych and a double-sided panel depicting the Madonna and Christ in the Pietà, attributed to Antonello da Messina and of extraordinary value to our cultural heritage, were taken.
I spoke with the Mayor of Messina, Federico Basile, to whom I expressed my support for the city and the entire community following what happened. I immediately consulted with the Carabinieri Command for the Protection of Cultural Heritage. As always, I have confidence in the work of the security forces and, in this particular case, the police, who are conducting the investigation. The Ministry of Culture is fully prepared to collaborate with the regional authorities, which are responsible for managing the island’s museums under Sicily’s special autonomous status.
The Messina prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation, with police forensic specialists and officers from the Carabinieri’s cultural heritage protection unit examining the scene and surveillance footage. Investigators are reportedly considering whether the robbery was commissioned for a private buyer or connected to the illicit art market.
The paintings are so well known that selling them through any legitimate auction house, gallery or dealer would be virtually impossible. Their recognisability, however, does not necessarily prevent them from being concealed in a private collection or used as collateral in criminal transactions.
A polyptych that survived disaster
The San Gregorio Polyptych was commissioned by Fabria Cirino, abbess of the Benedictine monastery of Santa Maria extra moenia in Messina. Antonello signed and dated the work in 1473.
Originally made up of six wooden panels arranged across two levels, its lower section showed the Virgin and Child enthroned between St Gregory and St Benedict. Above them were the Angel Gabriel and the Virgin of the Annunciation, while a central upper panel, probably showing the dead Christ supported by angels, was lost centuries ago.
The work had already been separated from its original frame by the sixteenth century. It underwent a damaging restoration in 1842, when abrasive substances were reportedly used to clean its painted surfaces.
It then survived the catastrophic Messina earthquake of 1908, which destroyed the former monastery where the city’s museum was housed. The panels were left exposed to rain in the days after the disaster, causing further losses to the painted surfaces, particularly on the figures of the Virgin and St Gregory. A series of conservation campaigns began in 1912.
The polyptych has particular importance for Messina because it is the only surviving work by Antonello known never to have left his native city. Its theft therefore represents not only the loss of an important Renaissance painting but the removal of an object closely connected to more than five centuries of local history.
The second missing work is much smaller, measuring approximately 16 by 12 centimetres. The double-sided panel came from the collection of Wilhelm Soldan and was acquired by the Sicilian regional government through Christie’s in 2003, the same year that it was attributed to Antonello. The thieves removed it directly from a reinforced display case.
“We are devastated by what happened. They were two of Antonello da Messina’s most important and best-known works. It is a tremendous loss for the museum, the city, the community and the art world,” museum director Marisa Mercurio said.
Antonello da Messina and the Early Renaissance
Born in Messina around 1430, Antonello trained in Naples, where he encountered paintings from Provence and the Low Countries. He became known for combining Italian approaches to form and perspective with the precise details, luminous colours and layered oil-painting techniques associated with northern European artists.
Only around 40 paintings attributed to Antonello are believed to survive. Earlier this year, the Italian government paid $14.9 million for another rare double-sided panel by the artist, known as Ecce Homo, shortly before it was due to be auctioned in New York.
The Museo Regionale remained closed on Sunday while investigators examined the scene. It is expected to reopen on August 18, although the search for the central panel of the San Gregorio Polyptych and the double-sided devotional painting continues.
Top Image: San Gregorio Polyptych in Messina – photo by Derbrauni / Wikimedia Commons
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