Antonello da Messina was born in Messina, Sicily, between 1429 and 1431.
He spent his early education in a provincial school, far from the artistic centers of Italy, where the main reference points were the masters of Southern France, Catalonia and the Netherlands. Around 1450 he moved to Naples. In the early 1450s he studied with Colantonio, a painter associated with the Dutch tradition. In 1475-1476 da Messina visited Venice, where he received and carried out commissions, became friends with artists, especially Giovanni Bellini, who adopted his painting technique to a certain extent.

Antonello da Messina’s mature work is a fusion of Italian and Dutch elements. He was one of the first in Italy to work in the technique of pure oil painting, borrowing much of it from Van Eyck. The artist’s style is characterized by a high level of technical virtuosity, meticulous elaboration of details and an interest in monumental forms and background depth, characteristic of the Italian school.

In the painting “Dead Christ Supported by Angels” the figures stand out clearly against an illuminated light background, where Messina, the artist’s hometown, is vaguely discernible. The iconography and emotional interpretation of the theme are associated with the work of Giovanni Bellini.

The paintings he painted in Venice are among the best. “Crucifixions” (1475, Antwerp) speaks of the artist’s Dutch training. In the 1470s, portraits began to occupy a significant place in his work (“Young Man”, c. 1470; “Self-Portrait”, c. 1473; “Male Portrait”, 1475, etc.), marked by the features of Dutch art: a dark neutral background, an accurate rendering of the model’s facial expressions. His portrait art left a deep mark on Venetian painting of the late 15th – early 16th centuries. He died in Messina in 1479.