Ancient mosaics
Several sites invite you to discover the ancient culture in Sicily. The Roman Villa of Casale
is particularly famous for its mosaics in an excellent state of preservation. Not far from Piazza Armerina, the villa houses about thirty works. The mosaics illustrate mythological scenes and scenes of daily life.Do not miss the corridor of the great hunt, almost 60 meters long. In a profusion of detail, the mosaics show captured animals ready to be transported to the games in Rome's Colosseum. The pictorial style suggests that African workers were involved in these creations.
The most comical room is probably the one with the "girls in bikinis". On these mosaics, ten young ladies are playing various sports... in two-piece swimsuits! For the anecdote, the room was uncovered in 1950, shortly after the birth of the bikini.
All these testimonies of the Roman civilization, carefully restored, are considered as the most precious of this type of remains.Sicilian Renaissance
The Renaissance spread to Sicily in the 15th and 16th centuries from Florence, Rome and Naples. Here it took on a specific style at the crossroads of Italian pictorial explorations, the cultural heritage of the late Middle Ages and the characteristics of Flemish painting. For it was in Messina that the Flemish came to work on the island. The Galleria Regionale della Siciliana in Palermo offers a detailed panorama of Sicilian painting from this period, showing that the Renaissance slowly took hold on the island from 1460-1470 with three major artists: Francesco Laurana, Domenico Gagini and Antonello da Messina.
Antonello is the only master of the Quattrocento from southern Italy. A portrait painter of genius, he was interested in Antiquity, perspective and the work of the Flemings. His curiosity led him to study in Naples, Venice and then Bruges, where he learned the technique of oil painting in the workshop of Jan van Eyck. Antonello da Messina's work is a synthesis between Flemish realism and Italian treatment of space. But what makes his talent exceptional is the psychological acuity of his portraits. He is the painter of the interior life. After a first stay in Venice, he returned to Sicily in 1470 and painted the altarpiece of Saint Gregory. His figures are no longer posed from the front but from three-quarters and volume is preferred to contour. Returning from a second trip in 1476, he painted the famous Condottiere. In his portraits, the sensitivity of the looks never ceases to be sharpened. He then painted the Portrait of the Unknown Sailor, an oil on walnut wood preserved in the Museo della Fondazione Mandralisca, in Cefalu. His works are now scattered all over the world, but Sicily keeps the polyptych of the Madonna of the Rosary in the Regional Museum of Messina. His depictions of Christ, with a tear in his eye, or of Mary, with a gentle smile, express a truly human compassion. No one had ever represented the divine in such proximity to the common man.Baroque art
Although it followed the trends of the continent, Sicilian painting of the 16th century does not present major artists. Around 1550, artists such as the Spaniard Juan de Matta and the Flemish painter Simone de Wobreck settled on the island, bringing various influences.
Pietro Novelli (1603-1647) is the most important Sicilian painter of the 17th century. Influenced by Caravaggio, he studied the paintings of the Italian Renaissance in Rome. In Naples, in 1630, he became interested in Neapolitan naturalists. All these influences will allow him to develop a realistic art. Returning to Sicily in 1637, Novelli painted mainly religious scenes. He composed for the Benedictines of Monreale and painted numerous frescoes for various churches in Sicily. In Palermo, he painted The Miracle of St. Philip in the Church of the Gesù. The Rosario Oratory in the Vucciria district of Palermo also has a painting by the artist. Among the series of the Mysteries of the Rosary, on the vault, the fifth painting is none other than the representation of the Coronation of the Virgin
by Pietro Novelli. His contemporary Antonio Barbalonga (1600-1649), a Baroque painter trained by Simone Comandè, moved to Rome where he became a student of Domenichino. Barbalonga executed numerous paintings for churches, including the Conversion of St. Paul for the church of the Convent of Sant'Anna in Messina. For his native city, he also painted a Saint Gregory for the church of the same name, and an Assumption for San Michele. Rome, Madrid and Palermo are home to several of his works.Sculpture
In the 16th century, sculpture confirmed its major place in Sicily.
The Gagini family worked throughout the 15th century both on the Italian peninsula and in Sicily, particularly in Palermo, Messina and Trapani. His production is divided between repetitive workshop commissions and religious sculptural themes such as marble tabernacles. Antonello, son of Domenico Gagini, stood out thanks to the training he received from Michelangelo. His workshop in Palermo would later flourish. Domenico's grandson, Antonino, embellished the Chapel of the Madonna of Trapani by adorning the arch with his massive statues. This arch would have inspired the Sicilian Baroque in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Giacomo Serpotta (1652-1732), a master of stucco, was one of the leading sculptors of 18th-century Palermo. He is notably responsible for the equestrian statue of Charles II, which can be seen in the Trapani Museum.
In a 13th century palace, the Regional Museum of Medieval and Modern Art presents an eclectic collection of sculptures among paintings and various objects. Domenico Gagini is represented by his Madonna and Child. TheAnnunciation by Antonello of Messina, recently restored, has finally returned to its place.New genre
Sicily loves urban art. For some time now, initiatives have been multiplying in its favour. The neglected walls of Palermo, Messina and Catania are home to big names in street art such as Blu, C215 or Vhils. Since 2012, the small village of Giardini Naxos has organised the Emergence Festival, dedicated to street art. Recently the city of Catania invited eight artists to express themselves on silos at the entrance of the port. The Street Art Silos
illustrate the great themes of the Sicilian identity whilst revalorising the image of the maritime area and the cultural policy.In Palermo, several projects associate art and social action. The Push association has joined forces with the artist Ema Jons to create frescoes with children in Borgo Vecchio. Thanks to its success, the project will soon be extended to Naples and Catania.
The epicentre of Sicilian street art is in the old town of Palermo, in the Vucciria: Don Corleone hides behind a post, while a cartoonish character drives a racing car on an iron curtain. Surprises around every corner!
In the Capo Gallo reserve, an abandoned building site has been turned into an open-air gallery. Called Pizzo Stella Art Village, the place has a breathtaking view as a bonus!Photographic art
Sicilian photographers developed a particular style very early on, with a preference for black and white. The first generation is marked by four masters: Letizia Battaglia, Nicola Scafidi, Ferdinando Scianna and Enzo Sellerio, the master of neorealist photography.
Letizia Battaglia, born in Palermo in 1935, documented the bloody acts of the mafia against the Italian state. Awarded the W. Eugene Smith Award, her images of a violent reality are characterized by a deep respect for the victims and the criminals.
Nicola Scafidi, born in 1925, began working as a photojournalist in 1943, when the Allied forces landed on the island. He subsequently developed strong relationships with the cultural milieu and with personalities such as Ingrid Bergman and Roberto Rossellini.
His love for his native island permeates the work of Ferdinando Scianna, born in 1943 in Bagheria. He joined the Magnum agency with the support of Henri Cartier-Bresson. At a very young age, he began to photograph his compatriots. Later, he developed an international career, notably in fashion, without ever leaving Palermo. His fame exploded when he immortalized the model Marpessa in the streets and squares of Sicily. His snapshots of street children and ladies in black scarves are remembered, as well as his famous portraits of Barthes and Borges.
The new generation is led by Carmelo Bongiorno, Carmelo Nicosia and Sandro Scalia. Carmelo Bongiorno and Carmelo Nicosia were born in Catania in 1960. Sandro Scalia studied photography in Milan. In his colour images he tries to offer alternative visions of the Sicilian territory.
Carmelo Bongiorno is an artist, professional photographer and teacher. Founder of the Gruppo Fase, he focuses on the rendering of detail. Awarded a prize in Arles in 1989, he became in 1993, along with Sieff and Depardon, one of the six photographers chosen by the EEC for The Milk Routes.Nowadays
The KōArt Gallery in Catania works in collaboration with a committee based in Florence to promote major artists of the national and international scene. Moreover, it presents itself as a creative space sensitive to research that goes beyond purely aesthetic pleasure.
Among the art galleries in Palermo, the Museum of Contemporary Art of Sicily or Palazzo Riso is dedicated to exhibiting innovative interpretations of the Sicilian artistic heritage. Painters of poor art are richly represented as well as Land Art with works by Richard Long. You can admire the work of Carla Accardi, a great figure of abstract art, the sculptor Pietro Consagra or our national Boltanski. Good to know: the café-library is frequented by artists, especially the local avant-garde.
